0-100 Real Quick Tips For Writing: Plot Lines

Ok, plot lines are important because without them you have no direction (very self explanatory.)

You need a beginning, a middle and an end, yes? Like an essay… WAIT! DON’T LEAVE! I WON’T BRING SCHOOL INTO THIS!

The Beginning sets the scene, introduces characters and presents the problem.

The Middle builds tension and works towards the climax of the story.

The end basically wraps everything up and ties up loose ends.

-Keep your plot line interesting-

Don’t make your story too straight forward. Have a few short comings and foiled plans to throw things off a bit.

For the most part people like the suspense, it will keep them on the edge and wanting to read more if small problems keep popping up along the way.

If you can get the reader to read 3-4 chapters into your story, then you have them for the rest of the ride- I’m just talking from personal experience here. If I’m not interested in the first chapter then most of the time I move on to a different book.

Try and have something shocking or interesting that happens within the first 2 chapters. Character does something cool, unexpected, clever. Just SOMETHING! otherwise people will move on.

Example: Vow – Katsuki Bakugou X Reader by TheFicQueen

This story is my ultimate favourite story! In the first chapter Author-chan has reader put Bakugou in a headlock. WHAT?! Yeah… you wanna find out that happens after that!

Good old Google suggests that you dive into a dramatic scene first up. Like: fight scene, death scene, natural disaster scene, kidnapping, smut, anything that is going to be fast paced and get people’s attentions.

~Study your story~

Sounds weird, but I like to brush up on the content I’m about to talk about. In my ‘Pinpoint’ Todoroki X Reader story, the reader has a gem quirk. I actually read up on gems and used certain precious stones that would fit the part of the story at hand.

All of my random insert characters have Japanese names. Their names are actual romanized Japanese words; such as ‘Uwaki’ From my Dabi X Fem!Reader – Uwaki is the word for ‘flirt’ in Japanese… and he is, indeed, a flirt lol.

I’m now doing the same for the Bakugou X Kirishima AU where Kirishima is a dragon. Best believe that I’m on a detailed encyclopedia website that outlines information about dragons. I’m also using Magic: The Gathering as reference for dragon stuff. (This rabbit hold is hella deep guys!)

So get involved in your story!

Plot notes?

Yes I do write out plot notes. They don’t even need to be that detailed in the beginning it could be as easy as:

Person X wants to go to the beach to meet Person Q.

Packs bag for the trip.

Forgets sunglasses.

Goes back home.

Catches person Q in their house setting up for a surprise party.

Hug.

End.

Very straight forward

You can roll with that and start writing but sometimes when you write, things pop into your head and you wonder ‘what would happen if I added this other thing in?’ So you can then go to plot notes and add extra stuff in as you go.

EG. 

Person X wants to go to the beach to meet Person Q.- person X has bought new swimmers and can’t find them to put them in bag, rummages though wardrobe and gets distracted by pictures of them and person Q growing up.

Packs bag for the trip.

Forgets sunglasses.- they were favourite sunglasses of person Q, Q doesn’t take notice of many things but they took notice of the glasses.

Goes back home.- trips and falls on knee, very sad… limping.

Catches person Q in their house setting up for a surprise party.

Hug.

End.

See now there’s a tiny bit more depth to it… as far as my personal plot notes go I do have random snippets of dialogue that I put in that I thought would be cute to use 

EG,

Person X wants to go to the beach to meet Person Q.- person X has bought new swimmers and can’t find them to put them in bag, rummages though wardrobe and gets distracted by pictures of them and person Q growing up.

“Where the frick frack Knick knack are my swimmers. For fucks sake I better not have thrown them out by accident,” you muttered.

Packs bag for the trip.

Forgets sunglasses.- they were favourite sunglasses of person Q, Q doesn’t take notice of many things but they took notice of the glasses.

Goes back home.- trips and falls on knee, very sad… limping.

Catches person Q in their house setting up for a surprise party.

“I’m supposed to be meeting you at the beach??” Confused.

“Er… Umm… ah…” flustered- caught in act.

Hug.

End.

By putting in little pieces of dialogue it helps give your characters some personal that you can keep them true to their traits when it comes time to write the book.

Obviously you can change things as you go… no one sees the notes but you so if, when you get to the end of the book, you’re like “you know what? I want them to go to the beach after all…” then you can do that! Own your story babeyyy you’re the author! 😉 

How to flesh out plot-

Add sub plot! 😀 Subplot In fiction, is a secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance. Subplots often involve supporting characters, those besides the protagonist or antagonist.

^^^ I literally copy pasted that from Google lol 

So for example… in my Hawks book. Brian’s little antics with Miranda was sub plot. He’s not the main character (although I think he thinks that he was lol) but I still wrote little side stories about what he was up to because HE WAS SO DAMN FUN TO WRITE OMG THE ENERGY IN HIS CHARACTER ok I’ll calm down lol 

So by all means, add in subplot to flesh your story out 😉 

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