
How can questions drive plot? Hereās a summary of what Iāve learned.
Ā
Un-put-downable books utilise these types of questions:
The long (big) question: this is the novelās overarching question which can be used in your elevator pitch and is answered by the end of the novel, e.g. Will Gatsby win Daisy?
Mid-length questions: propel the reader into the next chapter.
Short questions: are answered in the next sentence or paragraph.
The attention-grabbing āHookā:
Hooks are often what/why/will questions which are usually implicit rather than explicit. Theyāre the questions readers ask themselves within the first couple of pages (often after reading the first line), e.g. āYou better not never tell nobody but Godā from The Colour Purple poses the questions: Whoās talking? Who are they talking to? And, crucially, what shouldnāt they reveal to others?
Tip: Amazonās āRead Sampleā option is a great way to study opening pages for their hooks!
Ā
The Heroās Journey (Campbell/Vogler)
ACT 1: What is the protagonistās ānatural worldā/status quo situation? What is the inciting incident that changes everything? What factors make them ācross the thresholdā into the ānew worldā and what is this new world like?
ACT 2: Who is the āmentorā character and what do they suggest or give? What is the protagonistās first challenge? Temptation? Darkest moment, i.e. the worst thing that can happen to them?
ACT 3: Whatās the final, big conflict scene? What does the protagonistās āroad homeā look like? How has the character changed/what have they learned?
Other questions to consider:
How do you want the reader to feel at different points throughout the novel, including after the final page?
What makes your protagonist relatable? Why should the reader invest in them for 300 pages?
Do they have key strengths and weaknesses? e.g. Sherlock Holmesās intelligence vs his addictive nature.
Does your character have both external conflict and an internal conflict? External can be thought of as character vs other character/s; character vs society (e.g. 1984, The Hunger Games, The Handmaidās Tale); character vs nature/technology/the law etc. Itās sometimes called the antagonistic force. Internal is the character vs themself (their flaws, weaknesses, self-doubt etc).
How do you ramp up the tension throughout the novel? Have you considered what your character would find most challenging in a given scene/situation?
Experience
Iāve been trying to answer these questions in relation to my current work-in-progress and itās really helping, both to drive my scenes and to reassure myself that Iām on the right track. I often go back to the ālongā question to check Iām staying focused on the big picture/end goal.
Final Thoughts
What key questions do you ask yourself as youāre planning/writing/editing?
Have I missed any important questions?
Which questions will you find useful to apply going forward?
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