by Anne R. Allen
We all have a writing craft issue or two…or three or four or five, no matter where we are in our careers. Yes, even professional authors who have written ten or more novels. I’m wrestling with some myself with my forthcoming Camilla book, Catfishing in America, which is still, alas, only half way there. It’s at that stage that Melodie Campbell called the “Chaos Point” in her wonderful post for us “My Novel is a Mess.”
Thing is—creating compelling narrative takes more than great characters, sparkling dialogue and exciting action. All those elements have to come together in one story.
One story.
Not a series of episodes. Not a tangled mess of storylines that go in twelve directions. (Which is where my book is now. 🙁 )
As children of the classic television era, a lot of us older writers tend to think in episodes rather than one long story arc. I know I do. My first book, which I worked on for a decade, wasn’t a novel: it was a series of episodes. It had lots of story, but no plot. No wonder it got over 300 rejections.
It took a very kind agent to read the whole manuscript and tell me what was wrong. “It reads like a series of scripts for a sit-com,” she said. Finally, I had that “aha” moment: I had episodes; not a novel.
It took a superb editor (Thanks, Mark!) to rescue it and turn it into one story. And I’m rather proud of the result: The Lady of the Lakewood Diner. (On sale for only 99c this month at all the Amazon stores.)
Fix a Major Writing Craft Issue by Fighting the Episode Habit
I know I’m not the only writer who’s had to deal with the writing craft issue of episodic storytelling. It’s the number one problem I see confronting the new novelist. And sometimes seasoned authors get caught up in episodic writing, too.
One of my favorite movies about writers is Wonder Boys, based on Michael Chabon’s prize-winning novel. In the film, Michael Douglas plays Grady Tripp, an author who can’t finish his book. Everybody assumes he’s blocked, but—as we discover when he opens a closet stacked with reams of typed pages—the problem is he can’t make the story end.
I’m willing to bet that Grady Tripp’s issue was episodic storytelling.
Look at the trouble TV writers have ending a series. The weak last episodes of Seinfeld, The Sopranos, and Lost come to mind. And don’t get me started with Dexter…
Episodic storytelling happens when one scene doesn’t generate the problem of the next scene. You could shuffle the scenes around and pretty much the same things would happen.
E.M. Forster illustrated this in one of his famous lectures on novel-writing: “‘The king died and then the queen died’ is a story. ‘The king died, and then queen died of grief’ is a plot.”
To write a successful novel, you need a plot. Just the one. Each scene needs its own story arc, but we also need one over-arching plot to compel us from scene to scene.
So how do we do that?
Here are a few things I’ve learned that help me fight my episodic storytelling habit:
1) Start a novel with the ending in mind.
I always do this now. After my disaster with the Novel That Would Not End, sometimes I even write the last scene first.
It never ends up being the actual last scene, but it helps me enormously to have it sitting there as a goal.
2) Write short fiction before starting that first novel.
If you think of your novel as a short piece stretched out, it can help you keep that plot in mind. If I’d spent that decade writing short fiction instead of polishing up that endless collection of chapters, I’d probably have reached my career goals much faster. And I’d have a ton of stories that could be published again and again. Stories have a long shelf life and can be pure gold, getting your name out there in online journals and especially in anthologies with better known writers.
One of the most prolific and successful authors I know, Catherine Ryan Hyde, was an accomplished, multi-published short story writer before she sold her first novel. I’ve read a lot of her novels, and I find they read more like long short stories or screenplays than the big sagas of yore. You are immersed in an experience with only a handful of people instead of lots of experiences with a big cast of characters. It’s the kind of novel readers are craving these days. Spare and to the point.
Also, if you choose to self-publish, readers are much more likely to pick up your book if they’ve heard of you. One way to get heard of is publishing short fiction in your genre. Short fiction publication also shows you’ve been vetted by someone other than your mom and your cat.
3) Write a logline before you start.
Or at least when you’re only a few chapters in.
I’m not telling you to outline. I know we should, but I can’t bear to outline myself. Stories are so much more interesting to write when you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. But you want to have the basic story in your head.
Here’s a simple way to do that.
Try plugging your idea into this formula: When______happens to_____, he/she must_____or face_____. (More on loglines in my post on Hooks, Loglines and Pitches.)
4) Make sure your story has an antagonist.
This doesn’t necessarily mean a mustache-twirling Snidely Whiplash bad-guy. But you need a force working against the hero that’s powerful enough to keep the plot going for an entire novel.
So the hero can’t simply slay a new dragon in each chapter.
He needs to live in constant danger from the Big Momma Dragon who never lets go and can’t be slain by ordinary means. And Big Momma Dragon has to get meaner and more dangerous as her little dragons get slain.
And he can’t be “his own worst enemy.” You need somebody or something or some aspect of society that actively thwarts the hero and keeps him from his goal.
5) Create characters who act rather than are acted upon.
Because writers tend to be introverted observers who lurk in the shadows, we often create protagonists who are like us. But a lurking, observing protagonist doesn’t make things happen. She watches things from the outside. We need a protagonist who’s inside the story, making things happen.
And she has to make things happen in sequence. The protagonist’s actions and choices should cause each new event. When you have a hero who causes things to happen by her actions (no matter how stupid) the story moves forward. If she just dithers and muses, the story gets stuck.
You can do E. M. Forster one better with something like: “The king died, then the queen faked her own death to run off with a hot young dragon-slayer.”
6) Consider writing your first novel in a genre with built-in structure.
Romances and Mysteries have firm story structures. Romances need a HEA (Happy Ever After ending) with lovers united. Mysteries have to end with the revelation of who dunnit. This doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite genre. Women’s fiction can have a traditional romance story structure. So can historicals, fantasy and paranormal.
The mystery structure can be used in almost any genre from chick lit to scifi, and the unsolved mystery doesn’t have to involve murder.
7) Look for structure issues…
Recently a writer asked me how to deal with that nagging feeling something isn’t right with his WIP—even though he’d been polishing it forever. I told him most first novels have a writing craft issue related to structure. It’s always worth a check of your story structure if something doesn’t seem “quite right.”
Ask yourself these questions:
- Could you remove a scene or two and still have the same story outcome?
- Does the plot build from one inciting incident to an inevitable climax?
- Do you have both a protagonist and an antagonist?
- Does the protagonist have a goal that isn’t achieved until the end?
- Does your book have one overarching story line?
That scene that doesn’t quite work may turn out to be a detour that moves away from the plot, so you may have to eliminate it. (Don’t you hate that? Remember to save it for another novel or a short story someday.)
Obviously, it helps if you start the novel with some of the above things in mind, but even if you don’t, you can often fix a structure problem if you step away from the manuscript and re-examine it later with fresh eyeballs.
Put the file in a virtual drawer
It sounds a little voodoo-ish, but magic happens when you give your writer self some time away from a manuscript and come back to it with your reader hat on.
Here’s what I advised the writer with the nagging writing craft issue: put it in a drawer and walk away. Close the file and don’t look at it for a month. Go read book in your genre. Then read another. Then read some books on story structure.
Robert McKee’s STORY–although it specifically addresses screenplays–is the structure Bible. Another screenwriter favorite is SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder. Another oldie but goodie is James N. Frey’s HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD NOVEL. Also Kristen Lamb’s blog has some fantastic advice on structure and the antagonist. Do a search on her blog for “The Big Boss Troublemaker.” Jami Gold’s blog is a wealth of information on structure, beats, and story arcs. She even has some free “beat sheets” that can help you build a solid structure for your novel.
When you get back to that old WIP, I’ll bet you’ll see a solution and you’ll find a way to corral those episodes into one complete novel with a single over-arching plot.
How about you, scriveners? Have you struggled with the writing craft issue of episodic writing? Do you have recommendations for some good books or blogs on story structure? Have you ever written a Novel That Would Not End? Do you struggle with structure in your novels?
BOOK OF THE WEEK
THE LADY OF THE LAKEWOOD DINER
A comedy that pokes fun at the myth of a Golden Age, making parallels between the Grail legend and the self-mythologizing of the Baby Boomer Generation.
Someone has shot aging bad-girl rocker Morgan Le Fay and threatens to finish the job. Is it fans of her legendary dead rock-god husband, Merlin? Or is the secret buried in her childhood hometown of Avalon, Maine?
Morgan’s childhood best friend Dodie, the no-nonsense owner of a dilapidated diner, may be the only one who knows the dark secret that can save Morgan’s life. And both women may find that love really is better the second time around. Think Beaches meets Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
“A page turning, easily readable, arrestingly honest novel which will keep you laughing at yourself. Who doesn’t remember crashing on a mattress at a friend’s apartment with the stereo blasting Iron Butterfly and no idea where you’ll stay the next night? A cultural masterpiece for the discerning reader.”…Kathleen Keena, author of Adolescent Depression, Outside/In
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Featured image: The Studious schoolboy (oil on canvas) by Larrue, Guillaume (b.1851)
Catfishing in America — I love the title, Anne. After your humorous posts on Facebook, I’m sure you’ll have heaps of story fodder.
BTW, to anyone reading these comments, be sure you follow Anne on Twitter and Facebook. She shares useful information for writers every day, even when she’s sick or without electricity. 🙂
Tip #1: fantastic. Having a direction steers a plot, even if subplots lead a writer down an occasional detour.
As soon as I hit Post Comment, I’m on my way to Amazon to pick up a copy of The Lady of the Lakewood Diner.
Stay safe!
Kathy,
You’ll love Lady of the Lakewood Diner. Great fun, great weaving together of themes, great character. And might I add, it’s not episodic at all.
CS–Thanks for the shout-out. And I do think that Mark’s advice helped me weed out all those “episodes.”
Kathy–I hope you have fun with Lady of the Lakewood Diner. It’s my own personal favorite of all my books. Writing “Catfishing” has been so much fun because I use the silly scam Romeos who try to friend me on FB. Thanks for all the kind words about my social media. I try to keep things light and helpful. 🙂
Thanks Anne! These days the entire writing process seems like it happened in another life, but I think I can use a few of these pointers whenever I do start up again. Sometimes I see a plot thread weaving its way into more than one novel- these characters have lives, after all. They meet again, they remind each other of the past: they look askance at the new guy who doesn’t know what that’s the wrong thing to say. I believe readers in my tribe love being able to reflect across titles, mainly with the characters but hopefully about the world you build for them too.
But heck yes, not all at once!
Will–I know what you mean about “another life”. The days when I can sit and work on creative writing all day seem to have evaporated. But I know they’ll come back.
When we want episodes, a series is the way to go. And readers gobble them up. There’s nothing more fun than to be reading a book and suddenly recognize a character from somewhere earlier in a series.
Anne—A good cure for episodic writing is to end each chapter with a cliffhanger that will catapult the characters (and the reader) into the next chapter. A good cliffhanger will pose a question — btw, not necessarily a literal question. A good cliffhanger can also be a hint, some foreshadowing or an unresolved issue hanging suspended, but basically end each chapter with a crucial question that MUST BE ANSWERED.
The writer has to make the reader feel that s/he *must* know the answer to the eternal question: “What Happens Next?”
More thoughts here on writing a cliffhanger: https://annerallen.com/2019/08/7-rules-cliffhanger/
Ruth–GREAT tip! Yes, cliffhangers keep that story propelled into the next scene. Thanks for the link!
This is great advice. I’m writing a fanfiction story in episodes that I plan to post on Archive of Our Own as well as my own website. I created an outline beforehand to make sure there’s an overarching storyline and characters who act – and interact – to drive the story forward (weirdly fun). I’ve broken down the scenes as you suggest, Ruth, to leave the reader wanting more – I hope!
This is one of the ways I’m staying connected with writing while waiting for a manuscript to be reviewed by an agent. It’s fun, and works wonders at calming the nerves.
Thanks for another great article!
Linda—thanks! Sounds like you’re taking a great approach with your storyline plus the scene by scene breakdown.
Good luck with your fanfic!
Thank you for this article, Anne. To add to your list of helpful advice: Another solution for episodic writing is to write a chapter-by-chapter outline. Like piecing together a puzzle, outlines show you how all your chapters build on one another.
Leanne–Outlines solve a lot of craft issues, especially structural ones. But a lot of new writers get very antsy when you tell them they can’t be pantsy. 🙂 Sorry. But you’re absolutely right. A chapter by chapter outline does help avoid these problems.
This made me think of what I’ve done in the past, being unable to tolerate outlines (too tight — cackcack). I use log lines for each chapter. It was a quick way to see where I’d run off through the fields or left something important behind — great post, btw!! Thanks! :O)
Maria–What a great tip! You don’t have to outline: just write a logline for each chapter!
Or you could just title your chapters.
Leanne–I love chapter titles–both as a reader and a writer. I always use them. I think they help a lot with the story arc within the chapter. But they don’t always help with the overall structure. At least my storylines tend to escape in spite of the chapter titles. 🙂
I guess I’m fortunate that I’ve always started knowing the ending. I usually work backwards a bit to see how the character got there.
Good to know forces qualify as antagonists. I’ve never had a character who was the villain.
Alex–How smart you were to know to start with the ending in mind from the beginning of your career. It took me a while to learn that trick.
I totally agree with Ruth re cliffhangers. It’s a device I constantly employ as a mystery author. Another is to ask myself “How does this chapter/event/dialogue advance the plot?” The answer could be that it’s a red herring or a deliberate bit from the unreliable narrator, but every bit MUST have a purpose and it MUST pull the reader forward.
The advice to have characters who act and are not passive is also a winner. The old adage of “make every character want something” is part of it. Put those things in competition and it will be easier to avoid the passive character pit of despair.
All that being said, I’m currently up to my ears in sticky notes, outlining 3 books at once for a new mystery trilogy. Each book must have its own thriller arc, while combining to resolve an overarching crime with all the characters having grown in the process (except for the ones who get killed off, of course). I needed this exact post today!
Carmen–Cliffhangers work for any genre, too. I was re-watching a Downton Abbey episode last night and saw how often Julian Fellows has a character open a door and you don’t see who it is, or someone drops a conversational bombshell and the scene closes. I always say the minor characters in a story need to be like that obnoxious actor who has one line in a scene and asks the director “What’s my motivation?”
Wow. You’ve taken on a major project there. Best of luck with it. Sounds exciting!
I love the line: ““‘The king died and then the queen died’ is a story. ‘The king died, and then queen died of grief’ is a plot.” Super way of looking at writing a book. Thank you.
Patricia–I ran into that E.M. Forster line a long time ago, and it has stuck with me. It is helpful, isn’t it?
Good stuff here, Anne. Helpful to writers at any stage of development. I think a big challenge is maintaining continuity throughout the story – following a logical plot arc.
My writing right now involves a based-on-true-crime series where each chapter is a scene that furthers the investigation. I aim for 50K words with +/- 1,300 words per chapter. That makes for about 37 scenes making the plot play out. I start with a plot outline in flowchart form where each scene is given a date, location and a part-sentence of what it needs to accomplish. Then, I try to use some sort of a scene opening hook and a type of cliffhanger at each chapter/scene end.
But, the outline is only a framework like a pair of bookends. What goes on inside with exposition and dialogue is all pantser at work. However, the flowchart outline lets me clearly see what has to happen and it gives clarity – continuity – as I move along. So far, it works. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. 🙂
Garry–True crime and memoir present a whole new set of issues, because you have to stick to what really happened. And what really happened doesn’t always come out in a neat story arc. But it sounds as if you’re handling it very well.
On #2, gotta disagree because I went that route. All you really learn is how to write short stories. A novel is not a stretched out short story….having through that particular thing, too. It just meant for me spending a lot of time trying to make a novel longer and looking in the wrong places for skills. Though both forms are fiction, they are different. If you want to do novels, write novels to learn them. If you want to do short stories, write short stories. Where short stories are better is if you want to experiment short term on a writing skill or try out your world for a future fantasy novel.
Linda–Writers’ talents do go in different directions. Our great short story writers like Eudora Welty and Alice Munro didn’t have success with novels. But I don’t think new writers should skip this stage. Jumping right into a novel without working on short fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction can be like jumping into the deep end of the pool without swimming lessons.
Short fiction has it’s own version of the deep end–the length restrictions. It’s not necessarily easier because you have to figure out how to make it work within the mandatory length. A lot of writers will simply run over without understanding why they ran too long (or pretty much, they tried a short story and got a novel).
Creative non-fiction…think that’s a rabbit hole (says she who has done that, technical writing, screen writing, journalism, and poetry). It’s writing yes, it’s writing practice, yes, but the skills don’t translate across. And it’s terribly easy to procrastinate from writing novels by doing other writing. Had practice at that too.
Great post and much fodder for thought. I’ve always had the ending scene in mind, it’s that danged middle that’s the problem for me and the pacing to get from start to finish. However, this gives me fresh eyes to consider if I’m doing the episodic thing with my chapters. I do try to end with a cliffhanger, of sorts, but sometimes I miss the mark by a mile.
I have started writing a very simple chapter by chapter outline, just noting what has to happen. I might have to try adding, how does the chapter end? to the equation. Do they find the clue, or have a near miss? Do they get attacked? Etc. etc.
And, heaven help me with an over reaching arc for a series.
Brenda–Oh, yeah. The middle is where the dragons are. I’m fighting some right now. If you can outline, that helps a lot. I usually do, but I threw out my outline when I saw the book going in a different direction. Now I need a new one. 🙂
Oh, what a great post, Anne! Yes, it is SUCH a temptation to write episodes instead of a complete story arc. Episodes are FUN! But that’s not a novel. Yes, short stories introduce a new writer to the concept of a complete story – beginning middle and end. And I do think they are a great way to learn writing. I had 24 short stories published before I even attempted a novel. I call those short stories my apprenticeship.
I do outline now, as an outline gets me the contract for a book. But even so, the outline keeps me honest. I’ll know if I have a novel or not, via the outline. And sometimes it’s clear I don’t. I tell my students, “not everything you write has to be a novel.” Sometimes it can be a great short story or novella.
Melodie–I think that’s a great thing to tell your students. “Think outside the novel.” Shorter works sell better and peoples’ attention spans are shrinking. This is especially true for memoirs. Sell a bunch of short pieces and you’ll get a bigger audience than just launching a big book.
You’re right that episodes are fun. Long story arcs can be a bear. Glad to hear my short story theory worked for you.
The best piece of writing advice I’ve read in twenty years. Nathan tried to explain it to me once in a phonecall, but for one reason or another, I didn’t get it. You nailed it. Thank you.
Danielle–What a day brightener! Wow! High praise. I’m glad this “clicked” with you. So you’ve had Nathan as an editor! I’ll bet you learned a lot. He’s great.
Very useful and timely. I will be using #7 as I edit my project this week.
Lissa–I’m so glad my question list helps. It’s helped me through some very confused manuscripts.
Great post; I still write episodically after 20 years. Trying to break the habit, but it’ll be difficult because I don’t like to preordain the story. Also, I think that helps me avoid the middle section slow-down. Although it still leaves me with the episodic problem.
SK–And you write such wonderful episodes! I know how hard it is to string them together with an overarching story arc, but it can be done. I think you’ve done it with your published books.
Thanks for this — it gave me a great idea for improving the plot of a novel that I’ve been working on (mostly in my head) for years.
Lisa–Fantastic! So glad to know this helps.
So… if we have one of those manuscripts like Grady Tripp, how do we conquer the mass of it? Are you recommending a re-boot? Start over and use a merciless editing method? Start over and outline with an overarching plot? I’ve published the first bit of my novel with the idea that I’d publish two more books in the series, but I’m finding that I’m struggling to end it.
Jen–Each out of control novel has its own quirks, but what my editor did was have me write a whole new beginning that set up a new over-arching storyline. You might start with a new logline. Expand from there so you’re sure what that one thread is that pulls all the story along–think of it like a zipline. Then remove things that don’t propel the plot along that line. Maybe save them for the next book. Use the questionnaire in #7. That might spark an “ahah” moment.
I do have an overarching plot thread but although that’s still there at the end, I’m struggling to pull all the character threads together at the end. I am sure those questions in #7 will help me better evaluate scenes as I get things sorted. Thanks a heap!
JF–It is hard to make sure all those threads are attached to the main one, isn’t it? I hope my questions help!
This is truly helpful advice, Anne.
I believe in writing backwards or having an ending in mind, although I am not sure about writing the ending scene first.
I never start a story without a logline. I got that from a writing manual and it helps a lot when formulating plot.
Number five gave me pause. This is something I need to work on. What would I do without you?
Thanks for mentoring all of us through your blog.
~Ingmar Albizu
Ingmar–Thanks! That logline helps a whole lot, doesn’t it?
As I said, I’ve always got an ending scene in mind, but I usually don’t use it. Something more interesting comes along.
Scene structure takes care of the episodic problem. One of my all-time favorite craft books is Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. Love, love, love Jamie’s beat sheets!
Sue–Thanks for the tip! That’s not one I know. Jami is the best, isn’t she?
Thanks, Anne. I always learn something here. You’d think that after two reasonably well-received mysteries, the third one would come easy. But, to quote you, it’s currently “a tangled mess of story lines that go in twelve different directions.” Well, maybe less than a dozen, but way too many. Clearly, I’m trying to do way too much in one story. Thanks for the reminder.
Gay–You may have too many storylines, but there’s something wonderfully satisfying about bringing a bunch of storylines together and tying them up with a big bow. I think readers like it too. Giving the WIP an editorial look may help.
Thank you for the article. It really is so easy to write many pages, and realize that there is no plot, simply episodes. Good tips for catching that before you get too far in your story.
Tina–That’s what happened to me. And I think trying to make a daily wordcount can contribute to the problem. Better to catch the problem earlier rather than later.