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.

You can read a text version of this video on Medium: https://quotidianwriter.medium.com/4-plotting-pitfalls-and-how-to-avoid-them-aaadec8a72a7

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Behind-the-scenes notes for this video: https://ko-fi.com/Blog/Post/4-Plotting-Pitfalls-and-How-to-Avoid-Them-Behind-Z8Z618IAC

Twitter: https://twitter.com/QuotidianWriter

Title and End Music: “Clockwork” by Vindsvept - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zl4EGLoiI8

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

SOURCES
Janice Hardy’s Blog: http://blog.janicehardy.com/2018/01/is-your-novel-all-premise-and-no-plot.html

Writer’s Edit analysis of “The Hunger Games”: https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/literary-devices/plan-novel-using-three-act-structure/

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)