How to Plot Your Novel: Sequence 5 & 6
No Going Home for You, Dorothy
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If you’ve followed along so far, you’ve seen how to create the foundations of your book:
In case you just got here: thanks for joining! I’m Fleur Bradley, author of over a dozen books, and every Sunday I’m sharing how I brainstorm and plot a novel, from idea to a finished (and edited) draft. My goal is start writing a new manuscript in 2024.
Here’s what we’ve covered so far:
Sequence 5: Re-Direct and Focus
So your detective has new clues, your thriller has heightened stakes, and your fantasy protagonist just realized this new world is not all it’s cracked up to be.
Welcome to sequence 5. At this point, your protagonist should be shaking in their boots a little from the mid-point. Going on this quest is a lot harder than it looked, and they’d really like to go home now.
But we’re past the halfway point, so it’s full steam ahead. No going home for you, Dorothy.
How This Works in Practice
Sequence 5 should show your protagonist adjusting and making new plans. Your detective is pushing harder and digging deeper in their investigation. Your spy is pushing to the limit to stop the Horrible Thing from happening. In your fantasy novel, the new world becomes more hostile.
Your supporting cast may not be as nice as they seemed. Your antagonist is definitely fighting back.
This is a good place to have a supporting character converse with your protagonist and ask all the hard questions and hold up a mirror.
Do you have what it takes to complete this quest? Remember all those reasons you didn’t want to go?
You’ll want to solidify your protagonist’s commitment to make it to the end.
For Example:
In the Barbie movie, Barbie comes back to her world with her human friends, only to find it has been taken over by Kens. Now what?
In Double Vision: Code Name 711, our kid spy Linc just found out there’s a double agent at work. BTW, this book has more twists and turns than a mountain pass. I loved writing it, but I definitely had to keep my notes…
Sequence 6: Crescendo
As you may have guessed, sequence 6 builds on sequence 5. All subplots come to a head and should resolve or be close to resolving by the end of this sequence. Your protagonist and antagonist are in a dance to lead them to the climax (sequence 7 and 8), but we’re not there yet.
How This Works in Practice
This is a good place to thin your suspect list in a murder mystery, and maybe have a red herring or two to challenge your protagonist. Your antagonist fights back. Friends may be bailing because this quest is just too hard. Maybe someone dies…? (Can you tell I’m a mystery writer or what?
This sequence has a beginning, middle and end, leading to…
The End of Act II
Sometimes writers call this the darkness before dawn, but it doesn’t have to be a dark night of the soul perse. That won’t work for every novel.
Think of this point as the calm right before the storm. Your protagonist realizes that the thing that made them not want to go on the quest in the first place is the thing they need to address. Maybe they’re no longer afraid of the dark (or just found a metaphorical flashlight). Maybe they finally remember (this is a cheap but effective trick) the thing that’s the key to the whole quest.
This is also a good spot to have a plot twist, for your fellow devious writers. You know, like the kind I have in Midnight at the Barclay Hotel…
In Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead, Safer’s (and Georges’s) imaginary world comes tumbling down.
What’s your favorite novel? Try reading it with an analytical eye. How is the author handling each of these sequences?
The end of act II can be a few scenes or a whole sequence. Just take a moment here, just like you did at the midpoint, to have your protagonist take a look at the world around them. Because in Act III, we’re gonna slay the dragon. Maybe have your protagonist eat a snack and take a nap…
For Example:
For my WWII historical MG, my protagonist Maartje loses the girl she was hiding from the Nazis. Her sister is slated to be deported, and the Nazis are shutting down the deportation center, resulting in a scheduled mass exodus of Jews. This is based on a real historic event, so I’m also going down the research rabbit hole…
How about you? Do you recognize any of the plot points or sequences in books or movies?