The Golden Rules for a Good Plot

Follow These Rules from Our Novel Editing Experts

Writing a novel can be a daunting task.
Luckily, Scribendi.com's editors are here to help
guide you every step of the way.

The professionals at our novel editing service are constantly asked for helpful tips concerning plot development and manuscript writing. Everyone wants to know the secret behind amazing novels. While we can't provide you with a guaranteed best-seller formula, we can offer a few basic tips.

Five golden rules for a good plot:

1. Use your plot skeleton to choose your complication and the steps to its resolution—this is your plot.
2. Flesh out your plot with colorful characters and a vivid setting.
3. Plan each scene and event to bring the readers one step closer to the climax (resolution).
4. End your story at a natural stopping place. That is, wrap it up as quickly after the climax as possible. Don't give in to the temptation to let it drag on.
5. Make sure your characters resolve the conflict on their own. Don't rely on an act of nature or an unknown hero to clean things up at the last minute (see our article on plot resolution to learn more about these types of "paper dragon" endings).

Of course, our manuscript editors realize this isn't as easy as it sounds. It's like telling a cat that if it races through the mud, leaps over the fence, does a three-quarter corkscrew, and catches the Frisbee in mid-flight—all to a racy samba tune, the cat will finally gain the respect of the dogs in the park. While this accomplishment will likely set some tails wagging, it will take a good long time and many sessions of trial and error for the cat to learn such a feat. The same is true when crafting a winning plot. Your first attempt might not be perfect; it will likely take time and practice to come up with a great storyline—and even once you've got it, you still have the hurdles of character and setting to overcome. Add a unique writing style to the mix, and you just might have a great novel. However, if you have a good, solid structure for your plot, you can take it into any setting and act it out with any set of characters, and it will never let you down.