Novel Kicks Writing Room: Ideas and Plot Planning

Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room.

Today, the exercise will be about generating ideas and then creating a small plot plan.

We will be preparing a character, a scenario and a situation.

First – characters – 

Write down three characters. Don’t let yourself overthink it. Just write the first three things that come to mind. For example: 

• A retired pickpocket who never learned to read.
• A therapist that lies to protect feelings.
• A teenager who can hear plants screaming.

Next, let’s look at the situations (compelling situations or inciting incidents) and write down three. For example – 

• Due to a technical glitch, someone manages to claim a winning lottery ticket that’s already been claimed.
• Finds a door in their flat that wasn’t there yesterday.
• Is accused of a crime they technically did commit, but not in the way anyone thinks”

Finally, what is at stake? This is the thing that the character could lose or gain that really matters. Again, write down three. 

• Their only family member’s trust.
• A chance to escape their hometown.
• The truth about who they really are.

Really allow yourself to get strange, exciting, interesting combinations. Clichés are fine as starting points but should be twisted.

Now, pick one character, situation and stake from your lists. You could always use this random number generator to pick. 

So, mine would be –

Character: a retired pickpocket who never learned to read. 

Situation: finds a door in their flat that wasn’t there yesterday. 

Stakes: the truth about who they really are. 

If you don’t like the combination you’ve ended up with, you are welcome to swap one for another in your list, but you must keep two of the three you originally picked.

Now, we are going to turn your choices into a premise. 

We are now going to write 1 – 2 sentences using the following template –

When [character] [situation], they must [goal linked to stakes] or else [consequence].

So, mine would be –

When a retired pickpocket who never learned to read finds a door in their flat that wasn’t there yesterday, they must discover what’s on the other side before the door disappears forever or lose the only clue to who they really are.

Finally, we are going to build a three-act skeleton. 

We are going to expand on your premise and put it into a three-act outline. You are welcome to use bullet points.

Act 1 – Setup

Where does the story start (time/place)?

What does the character want at the beginning (even if it’s small)?

How does the situation push them out of normal life?

Act 2 – Complications

What are 2–3 obstacles or twists that make things harder?

Who helps or hinders them?

What do they learn that changes how they see the problem?

Act 3 – Resolution

What’s the big choice or confrontation at the end?

How are the stakes resolved (won, lost, transformed)?

What’s different about the character now?

As usual, have fun.

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.