How do I successfully structure a long fiction piece?

Question

I’ve ‘completed’ three novels – a thriller, a coming-of-age story, and a mystery. I’ve had expert readers for all three including Sue Grafton who read two of them. All the expert readers have the same reaction. Sue’s, at the halfway point, was ‘We need to find you a good agent.’ By the time she reached the end, it was, ‘Hmmm. Back to the drawing board.’

To be more explicit, the comments tend to be: excellent writing and excellent start, but then, as the story draws to a close, the structure and plot begin to shake. There is a set of problems here I struggle with. I’ll ask about the two obvious ones:

How can I develop a lightweight structure from the beginning of a project that I can write to?

How can I revise effectively after writing myself into a corner?

Are there tools you use, like spreadsheets, outlines, note cards?

Answer 1

To save repetition:

Write to the finish, or edit as you go?

(TLDR: Writing a novel is like building a bridge across a chasm alone. After halfway getting to the other side will always require compromise. Only when you have a whole, functioning bridge can you really go back and make it less lopsided.)

If you've chewed all that over I think what is fundamental is that what you describe definitely seems to indicate some sort of lopsidedness and you have to remember that this is natural. Weirdly I think that the quality of writing in any given work tends to go up even as the available story options go down as you will obviously be a better craftsman 50000 words later. Without being able to see the work you've done I couldn't possibly tell you why it is your stuff goes flat towards the end, and if you're paying people to read it surely they should offer some concrete advice, shouldn't they?

Answer 2

I have a hunch: The endings are not satisfying. When that's true, there's nothing for the second half of the novel to build toward.

If that's true, then perhaps the problem is not structure per se, but the ending. And if that's true, there's a good chance that the beginning somehow doesn't lend itself to a satisfying ending.

In my experience, three things make for a satisfying ending: A strong external conflict, a strong internal conflict, and an inextricable relationship between the two. The internal conflict makes the external conflict especially relevant and difficult for this character. The external conflict exacerbates the internal one, or the internal conflict makes the external one irresolvable.

So: Look to the beginning. Is there a strong external conflict? Does the main character have a strong internal conflict? Are the internal and external conflicts inextricably related?

Then look to the ending: Does the ending resolve both the external and internal conflicts, in a way that gives strong meaning to the interplay between internal and external conflicts?

Answer 3

I think having an outline solves all three questions you pose. In reverse order:

If you are not a "discovery writer," then YES, you need an outline. In fact, you should be getting a beta or two to look over your outline and bat that around for a while before even writing anything. You may have a few vague points ("John and Gertrude meet and discuss Oscar's problem" or "shootout at the warehouse") but the main lines of your plot should be there. You can put in notes like "by the end of this scene, Robin and Chris have made up" without knowing exactly how it happens.

Effective revision: depending on the severity of the problem, you may have to back up to the halfway point, or potentially start over. Think of your story as a braided rope which has started to kink somewhere. You have to unbraid the rope to find the blockage. I think having an outline will help with this. If you don't have an outline already, try reverse-engineering one from your existing story, and that may reveal where it went pear-shaped. It will also be easier to move the pieces around in outline form than in paragraphs, scenes, or chapters.

The thorough, beta-tested outline IS your "lightweight structure." As long as the major parts hold up, you can embroider around the bones and allow a certain amount of discovery in the writing. If you know the final destination, there are many ways to get there.

Answer 4

The best tool would be a mind mapping tool. Your can use it to visualize your ideas or organize the plot of the novel. Its very easy to manipulate the ideas and relations you want to create once everything is down and visible. There are many mind mapping software available. Including Mindjet Mindmanager and ThinkBuzan's Imindmap. I use the mind mapping tool that comes with Xiosis Scribe word processor. All of these are fully commercial alternatives but there are also those that are free for personal use like XMind and also an entirely open source alternative FreeMind.