4 Plotting Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Whether you outline in advance or write on the fly, plotting a novel is hard work. Using examples, I’ll show you how to improve your novel’s plot structure by highlighting personal relationships, defining the protagonist’s goals, adding a midpoint reversal, and creating narrative questions with interesting answers. Understanding common developmental issues can help you avoid them before they occur or diagnose problems in manuscripts you’ve already written.

Background Music by Vindsvept:
+ “Hearthfire”
+ “Woodland Lullaby”
+ “Voyage to Nowhere”
+ “Wildkin Glade”
+ “Over the Mountain”
+ “The Fae”
+ “Leaving the Dream”

SOURCES

Plotting Pitfalls (0:00)
1. Lack of Personal Stakes (0:52)
2. Unfocused Trajectory (4:55)
3. Slow Middle (10:23)
4. Unsatisfying Payoffs (17:25)
Plot Grows From Character (24:55)

[Ahopek]

"Choosing change over stagnation is the essence of story." When valuable writing advice overlaps with valuable life advice... 😳 I feel confronted, and thank you for it. 😆

[Real_Genji]

I remember coming up with an entire grand plot, and after so much planning and I was about to start it, I found a MASSIVE plothole that could potentially ruin the entire story if it were found out.
Fun

[johnterpack]

The slow middle is why I get bored with serial shows. When there's 27 seasons of a show you know nothing is going to happen for a while. "Gee, what color will this wedding be?" "Oh no, they've run out of main characters and are starting to kill secondary characters."

[TrueMohax]

For repetition you can replace it with the character describing their day to day work, or turn it into a short montage. Using a montage can show the reader the repetitive and monotonous life the character lives while also showing the passage of time. Using this method is useful for fetch quest storylines, characters looking for more excitement in their lives, or to prevent the feeling that the characters are teleporting to locations.

[irened]

My characters just sit around and have coffee. I am opposed to drama. You will read my novel of 3 people having coffee and the waitress who brings it to them.... AND LIKE IT! :D

[ceru]

Queen has blessed us with 26 minutes of content.

[uncertaintyunravelled]

Thanks a lot for the video. I'm writing a fanfic right now and I hadn't even realized that part of the reason why everything seemed to slow down once in a while was that I didn't give my protagonist enough of a reason to care for portions of it. It killed the pace and the interest some of my readers had. There were significant events but they felt dull.

[lillydevil]

Speaking of unsatisfying payoffs:

I just got done reading a relatively new YA trilogy that started out perfectly--it was dark, heavy, serious. It didn't really FEEL like something made for Young Adults (or, more brutally, it seemed way better written in the beginning than most YA fiction XD)

Then the typical sh!t eventually happened (boy goes on dangerous adventure with girl. They eventually get feelings for one another.) The usual.

But there was an amazing mystery at the very start of the series to do with the MC's origin--where he came from, how he ended up where he was, etc. And it was heavily mentioned (it heavily fostered curiosity about it) for the whole series...

And then in the end, they just have the character do the whole 'No, this family (that I know exactly nothing about aside from the fact that they gave me up for whatever reason) isn't something I care about anymore, because I now have a FOUND family'

And just ends the book like that. No proper resolve. No anything. It's like getting edged for 6 hours and your partner just walking tf away.

(But, get this, I discovered that there actually WAS some resolution to this mystery--IN THE 'SPECIAL EDITION' OF THIS SERIES. Like, wtf? So not only did this author butcher any respect I had for them for just leaving this HUGE mystery to fall flat, they did some shady thing where you'd only get the full story (that should have been in the original trilogy) by buying or renting a whole new book.)

(Jeez, it's a good thing someone posted it online so I didn't have to go through the trouble of that XD But, it's like come on man, give me a break)

[Keyboardje]

My main 'plotting problem' is... that I don't plot. I'm a pantser. Well, I do some plotting, but during the actual writing, not in advance. If I plan a story, knowing what will happen to who, let alone how it will end, I feel like the story is done already, and have no urge to have to write it down. Instead I have to surprise myself while writing, as I would get surprised by reading a story someone else wrote.
It still astounds me that my stories actually make any sense in the end, but they do, as if I did plot and plan everything from the start.

[nightwing]

I believe the only way for your brilliant efforts to payoff and for us to show the utmost of gratitude is to extract better material of ourselves to provide as writers. Diane, we can never thank you enough!

[MythicalNine]

I rarely comment on videos, but I feel like I just have to express my gratitude somehow for your videos. They're among the best writing advice videos I have ever come across and I feel like I have become a much better writer thanks to them. I always feel like I'm learning so much watching your videos, more than most other writing videos, and the depth and quality of them are absolutely great! I love how you bring up stuff I personally have not seen as often, at least not put together in this way, and the diversity in examples etc. and I want to thank you for that. You put a lot of hard work into these and it's really showing. Thank you so much for helping me and other fellow writers on our journeys!

[joeldrummond]

"Oooh, this is juicy!" I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt. You truly have a beautiful gift, Diane! Thanks for another entertaining and informative video.

[RevolutionGamingShorts]

His eyebrows raised at the realization, mind racing with new found potentiality. A river rushed from his fingertips as hours and hours on end were lost to the page, gratefully.

[bestunto]

I've been struggling to outline this story I've had in my head for a while and your video just helped me figure out that making the ending a midpoint reversal could work really well. Thanks!

[nocturnus]

Love how French novelcraft is used as the illustrator here. Just because they went long & meandering does not mean the plot was absent. If the artist is paid by the word or page, why not take some savor time and go full Ferris Bueller?

[royaltysanchez]

Screenwriter here, I use these methods and this channel of novelty to help with my writings!

[korodrion]

This is one of the best and most accurate plot-related advice i've seen out there in a while and god knows i've watched many. The amount and the quality of the information is astonishing. Thank you so much, you're a pearl!

[thDecember]

Thank you! Generally, writer advice videos are so _uninspiring_ that I can't wait to get through them, hoping to find just one nugget of wisdom. Your video is a treasure trove. Perhaps the old saying is true, "When the student is ready the master appears". I am writing a time travel novel with dual timelines that interweave throughout the story, and it's driving me batty to keep it properly structured. I believe your advice will help, and I look forward to watching your other videos as well. Subscribed.

[TheWorld_]

I can’t thank you enough for this video...
I finally ‘get it’ about what personal stakes really are.
This video is a true education.

[Quiro]

Premise: A young boy witness the murder of his parents after a night in the movie