In a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog, Susan DeFreitas suggests five “hacks” that might save a flagging novel. While many plot problems are only disguised character problems, sometimes the plot is the issue. “Sometimes the problem with a novel really is what happens in the story, the order in which it happens, and the way that it happens,” DeFreitas says. Her five solutions include:
- Shorten the time frame. Some novels need a big canvas, but most don’t. “If you have a novel that feels slow in places, a novel that chronicles a long period of time in the protagonist’s life, or a novel that chronicles a whole historical period … my best advice to you would be: See if there’s a way you can tighten the time frame overall,” DeFreitas recommends. A shorter timeline can strengthen the cause-and-effect chain and help you disappear those slow sections.
- Get rid of events (and characters!) that do the same work. Do you have scenes with repeating emotional beats or characters who serve the same or similar function? Time to cut or combine. “If you can do so without having to do a TON of revision to the story as a whole, then that just goes to show that event or character wasn’t doing a whole lot of work for the novel anyway,” DeFreitas writes.
- Add a subplot or consequence. In contrast, maybe your novel needs a subplot or consequences. “In cases like these, you generally have too direct a path from the protagonist to their goal, for better or worse—and not enough in the way of complications,” DeFreitas explains. She recommends introducing a subplot or complication after the first act, when your readers already have a sense of your protagonist and story goals.
- Start earlier. Did you start your novel in the right place? “Sometimes writers (especially newer writers) think they have to start off with the big conflict and fireworks of their story’s inciting incident,” DeFreitas says. “Which tends to feel more confusing for the reader than anything else.” If your beginning feels muddled, start with a scene just prior and give you readers time to acclimate to your story world.
- Create a real climax. Does your central conflict resolve with a big moment or does it peter out? “A climax in which all the core conflicts of the novel come to a more or less dramatic head—whether it takes place in just one scene or a series of scenes—is just generally more satisfying to read than one in which one or more of those core conflicts seem to just fizzle out, off the page, like a dud firework,” DeFreitas writes. Pulling that off means going deeper and longer in the scene and creating vulnerable, difficult moments for your protagonist.
