Multiple guffaws have been guffawed over amateur writers blogging and telling other amateur writers how to get ‘er done. But as fools rush in where angels fear to tread, here I go.
I’ve read multiple craft books, but what made all I’d learned coalesce into an a-ha moment was a series of podcasts about character VS plot all the way through a story: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/write-character-arcs/
KMW’s podcasts come across like mainline story theory ideas pondered, understood, and re-told in her own words.
I borrowed a slew of NYT best selling YA books to see if they followed “story theory according to KMW” with plot VS character. I also borrowed “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” which won some award in 1958.
I have fond memories of WoBP as it was part of our 8th grade curriculum, so it’ll fall between MG and YA. Does anyone read it anymore? The real question is: was story theory taught to mid-20th century authors? Obviously, WoBP was published long before KMW released her podcasts.
Since WoBP was 206 pages, it was easy to identify the where the first plot point was to appear (about 25% or 50 pages) the midpoint (50% or 100 pages), the third PP (75% and 150 pages), climax et al.
Sure enough, like clockwork, and without fail, the plot and character arcs turned like ballroom dancers at or very near the precise marks where KMW said they should. Elizabeth George Speare, the author of WoBP, made it look simple, but sure as anything the formula for structuring the story was there… the lie, the ghost, everything, it was there!
I’ve tried looking for plot points with books aimed at more mature audiences, but in some the plot points weren’t as obvious. Maybe for YA/ MG books (and movies!) a more simpler plot structure is in order, and older people are expected to be disciplined and less coddled.
The only really obvious plot point in “A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole was the third plot point, which appeared on page 300 of a 400 page novel: “All signs were pointing upward, and his wheel was revolving skyward.” This summed up the second half / second act where all plot threads looked like they were to be resolved in Ignatius’ favor. The third act demolished Ignatius’s plans in a delightfully funny way.
My kid is eating his breakfast and I need to go pay attention to him. I hope to post something again soon.
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I’m not sure if subscribers will be flocking to this, ha ha. I hope it isn’t too ghastly, boring, or amateurish. A good grade in college level technical writing does not a novelist make. I hope that long forgotten achievement can count towards the mountain of work to become a novelist / blogger. We’ve all got to start somewhere!
Jennifer Edelmeyer's Blog 