Novel Writing Made Less Impossible -- Working the Master Plot, Pt. 1

Okay, with any luck, you've been massaging your elevator pitch. All three sentences are as exciting and enticing as they're gonna get.

Now, we're going to work on fleshing out that plot. For that, we're turning to one of my favorite wordsmiths, one of the most prolific and influential writers I can think of, Mr. LESTER DENT.

As you know from last week's blog, Dent shared his wisdom and the formula that when he followed it, he sold that tale. If nothing else, it's a solid foundation for your story.

So let's begin ...

This is a formula, a master plot, for any 6,000 word pulp story. It has worked on adventure, detective, western and war-air. It tells exactly where to put everything. It shows definitely just what must happen in each successive thousand words.

(I will add my comments in BOLD) This word count is NOT a hard and fast rule. It's not like if you write under 5,999 or in excess of 6,001 that the principles become invalid. I've used this for short stories and stage plays as well as full novels. The concept works great with most fiction genres, even to this day. No yarn of mine written to the formula has yet failed to sell.

Okay, gentle reader, NOW remind me why you might NOT want to do this? The business of building stories seems not much different from the business of building anything else. Here's how it starts: 1. A DIFFERENT MURDER METHOD FOR VILLAIN TO USE 2. A DIFFERENT THING FOR VILLAIN TO BE SEEKING 3. A DIFFERENT LOCALE

Readers do like exotic locales and the author is their guide. How many James Bond films took place in Bloomfield, Illinois?

4. A MENACE WHICH IS TO HANG LIKE A CLOUD OVER HERO One of these DIFFERENT things would be nice, two better, three swell. It may help if they are fully in mind before tackling the rest. A different murder method could be--different. Thinking of shooting, knifing, hydrocyanic, garroting, poison needles, scorpions, a few others, and writing them on paper gets them where they may suggest something. Scorpions and their poison bite? Maybe mosquitos or flies treated with deadly germs?

Do your research or consults experts in their fields. Run your idea by them so they can figure out how to make the threat work (but reassure them that your interest is literary, not practical). You can pay them off with a free copy of your work and perhaps a special thank-you within those pages. If the victims are killed by ordinary methods, but found under strange and identical circumstances each time, it might serve, the reader of course not knowing until the end, that the method of murder is ordinary. Scribes who have their villain's victims found with butterflies, spiders or bats stamped on them could conceivably be flirting with this gag.

This has been a staple of detective and super-hero literature for decades. It's also been used a lot … I mean a LOT. Strive to make your gimmick as unique as possible. Probably it won't do a lot of good to be too odd, fanciful or grotesque with murder methods.

Know your intended demographic. For instance, your YA novel might not be the place to overly-describe a grisly murder. If nothing else, write out your inappropriate version of a scene in your first draft, then remember the taste level of your fan base when you edit.

By the same token, if your readers expect a graphic description of pain and gore, don't let them down. They're counting on you! The different thing for the villain to be after might be something other than jewels, the stolen bank loot, the pearls, or some other old ones.

Murder may not fit your genre. For instance, not every Romance begins with a violent, mysterious death so much as a terminally broken heart (or so it feels).

Keep in mind that Lester Dent wrote mostly action/adventure so that's his point of reference.

However, I used a similar framework when plotting Santastein. For me, I can't see how a lot of Dent's framework won't work with science fiction, romance, comedy, whatever.

Or it could be an encounter with a bizarre person in a bizarre situation. Here, again one might get too bizarre.

Instead of "bizarre," I'd say "unrealistic, given the setting." For instance, you might have to really work to make a werewolf appearance appear relevant to a historical romance. Any more, with so much genre-swapping, what is really too "bizarre?"

And that concludes this part of Lester Dent's information. Don't worry ... there's a lot more and it gets a LOT better. But now, I hope you're noticing that the more work you put in BEFORE you write, the smoother the process will be.

NEXT WEEK: Working the Master Plot, Pt. 2

LAST WEEKEND: Once again, Deb Longoria hosted NOBLE CON, an intimate two-day gaming con held in Noble, Illinois. It was two days of fun with her, the incredible volunteers, TORC Press' Joseph Morris, Cloverleaf Radio's own Ian Boothby, and the wonderful ladies of D20 Stitchery and Scott Thorne of Castle Perilous, where I'll be in a few weeks.

THIS WEEKEND: As my travel season draws to a close, I'm attending one of my favorite shows, PORTER COUNTY MONSTER CON in Valparaiso, Indiana. Talk about a packed show, go to https://www.portercountymonstercomiccon.com/guest-dealers for the list of guests and vendors. Plus, there will be a cosplay contest, of which I am one of the judges, and all manner of amusements at the Porter County Expo Center at 215 Division Road.

NEXT SHOW: To celebrate the upcoming Halloween, CASTLE PERILOUS at 207 West Main Street in Carbondale, Illinois will be throwing a party! Owner Scott Thorne will be giving away comic books (more with purchases) for Halloween Comicfest and the surprises shall abound! You can also bring in cans of food and newspapers to aid some local concerns. Go to castleperilous.com for more information on the store and check out their events calendar for all the coolness available.

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