How to fix a meandering plot?

Are you already finished your first draft? How much of your story did you have planned out when you started?

It's kind of a big question but the short answer is that you'll need to add conflict. You could try making sure that there is conflict in every scene that needs to be resolved, for better or worse. In many cases, it should end badly for the protagonist, causing repercussions that will drive the plot forward and ultimately steer them towards the climax of the story. You don't want it to be easy for them.

There are some proven story structures that you can use to build your story around, like 'the hero's journey' (or Dan Harmon's plot circle which is based on it and which I prefer). If you're having a hard time coming up with ideas for your second act, something like this might at least give you a start.

kearoh said:

The beginning and the end are great (IMO), but about midway, the characters just sort of meander from one scene to another until the end.
How does one go about fixing this problem?

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That's not a problem. It's literary fiction Or Agatha Christie. "The Hobbit" felt like a lot of meandering, too. What do you mean "meander from one scene to another" ? If the middle is not as great as the beginning and the end, then maybe you need to come up with more exciting stuff for the characters to do there. And of course do explore about acts, beats and stuff like that. Have you heard about those popular ways to structure a novel? They kinda help the character meander in an orderly fashion

kearoh said:

I really like the concept of my novel. The beginning and the end are great (IMO), but about midway, the characters just sort of meander from one scene to another until the end.

How does one go about fixing this problem? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

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Take a closer look at what's driving your characters and what you're doing to thwart them. The beginning is for the introduction of the main story problem. The ending is for resolving it. But the middle is for complicating it, and that means adding new sets of problems that must be dealt with along the way, as well as moments of failure and depair and then finding a second wind to continue.

Check out the plot embryo thread, and in particular follow the link that the OP posted.

kearoh said:

Hi Nate,

Thanks for replying. My first draft was a novella. I'm not sure if that counts since I'm making it novel length now. I had a 12 page outline before I started writing the manuscript. I will check out the recommended structures, thank you!

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I consider a novella to be the same format as a novel, just shorter (unlike short stories which are distinctly different in my eyes). To flesh out a novella and make it longer, subplots can help. You can branch out into two or more parallel stories that can all come together in the climax, which can add variety and also some length to your novel. Again, there should be conflict on a number of levels (in the immediate sense, or your characters longer term goals). That's what typically makes a good story.

You don't have to follow any of the common narrative structures, but it might help to at least familiarize yourself with them. If nothing else, it might give you some tools to start looking at your own plot in a broader way.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something to make the middle as awesome as the beginning and the end.

1) What does each character want?

2) How far are they willing to go to get it?

#1 gives each character their "driver" for the story. Whatever it is needs to be something important. It can't be something minor. My driver for the first half of my life was to write and sell a book. That was always behind all my major decisions. I did not share that with everyone, either. Expect your characters to be equally shy.

If you don't know the driver for every character, your story will meander because no one is willing to take the lead in the action. It winds up with characters who are reactive, not active.

Young Skywalker wants to be a pilot and fight the Empire. Two escaped droids -- one on a rescue mission -- make that happen.

Rick just wants to run his nightclub and doesn't stick his neck out for anyone -- until the love of his life who broke his heart turns up out of the blue.

Agent Clarice Starling is willing to talk to the sickest, most dangerous, most intelligent serial killer if it helps her to stop another serial killer.

Lucifer Morningstar, fed up with his job in hell and teaming with daddy-issues, runs off to Los Angeles for a vacation. He keeps getting sidetracked by an attractive detective who doesn't fall for his BS.

Now--write something like the above for your major characters. It may clarify things for your story.

As far as scenes are concerned: each one needs a beginning, middle, and end -- and pushes the plot forward in some way.

If each chapter covers two plot points, your pacing will perk up.

You may want to print this and stick it up over your desk. I doubt you'll want to repeat it 200 times for a single book, but it might help!

https://johnaugust.com/2013/writing-a-scene-in-11-steps

kearoh said:

Hi Beth,

Thanks for replying. I can't seem to find the embryo thread. Can you provide a link? Thanks!

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Oops, sorry! It's two threads down from yours, here in this section. And the link to Dan Harmon's blog is here. I think you'll find some helpful information there.

Just a suggestion but,i s there conflict? Can you create plausible conflict ?

Write a developmental synopses, and perhaps compare it to some of the story structures out there. Is anything missing, are characters exhibiting agency, or are there gaps in hte structure, and are the characters just becoming set pieces that you move around.

kearoh said:

Hi Curlz,

Thanks for replying. The story is a quest so the main character goes through different obstacles to get to their end goal, but the obstacles aren't related to each other. For example, someone is writing a book about the characters being in a room and it catches fire. A reasonable thing for the characters to do would be to try to find a way out of the room.

My manuscript's middle is like if I wrote the characters in a room that catches fire, but instead of trying to escape, they start dancing.

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That makes it sound like you're hitting a lag in the pace of the story, with a lack of connection, drive, or urgency tying it tighter to the rest of the story. If it feels like it's meandering like that, you might want to try seeing how to tie it tighter to the over-arching plot. How do you raise the stakes, so that there's more urgency to what's going on?

I've been reading a lot about three-act structure. The main take-away for me is that roughly halfway through the book, there should be a "midpoint," a major twist or reversal that complicates everything and makes the protagonist's goals harder to obtain, pushing the conflict toward its climax. If you watch movies, it's usually easy to pick out the midpoint, because this particular structure comes from screenplay writing.

In some genres, like literary fiction, the midpoint may be very low-key, but there's usually some kind of intensifying of the conflict midway through. In thrillers, which are built on escalation of conflict, you can't do without that midway twist. In romance, it might be the sudden discovery of a problem that separates the lovers.

So I would think about intensification and escalation. Even if the obstacles aren't related, can they escalate in their effects on the characters until the characters reach a crisis point? Often the midpoint is followed by a "dark night of the soul" where the protagonist is all "woe is me; I can't do this" before reaffirming their faith and jumping back in for the climactic battle.

kearoh said:

Hi everyone,

I believe I have found a solution with the help of the Hero's Journey and all your awesome advice!

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Glad to hear it. And thanks for coming back to let us know.

Hi,

I saw you said you'd fixed this, and I know this response might come a bit late - but hopefully it will be helpful in the future.

I recommend a book called Into the Woods by John Yorke. It's a book on story structure (specifically act structure - but that doesn't mean you have to be so rigid). Specifically, what I think would help you, are "midpoints". Essentially, it's a turning point. Reforge the status quo, introduce something new, something fresh, and keep the book moving. I struggle from saggy middles in my plots too, and this has been something very useful in plotting out my books.

The hero's journey is useful, but it's also transparent. I also think it's very nebulous, and not super specific, whereas introducing a midpoint gives you a better idea of what you need to do. But that's just my two cents.

I agree that conflict is key. The Hero's Journey, which you mentioned you are using now, is a great way to solve that.

Fingers crossed for success!

One of the advantages in writing Historical Fiction is that one already knows the Plot. Actually, choosing where to begin is more difficult for me than when to end or how to get there.
Many wonderful novels have plots that can best be described as 'meandering':Thomas Pynchon Against the Day; David Foster Wallace(RIP) Infinite Jest; Joyce Ulysses(naturally ) and most 'picaresque' fiction.

For 'Literary' novels, I'm in the same boat as the Poster: I just hack and hack til something clicks.
I've tried, as suggested above, making detailed outlines, synopsis' (my most detested form of writing); if I could sketch at all, I would try story-boarding.
Best of fortune on your project.

One of the best ways to deal with a meandering plot is to let it meander and see where it goes.

caw

Yeah, that's my way, all right.

As for a comment above about 'conflict': yes, indeed. List your characters;
Ascribe to each a MOTIVATION and a WEAKNESS and line the little action figures up so that they must collide.

IMO short stories and even novellas can be excessively linear - following a plot line like a brick being dropped out of a window. Novels can follow that path, but most of the ones I've enjoyed didn't. Of the best ones I've read, most start out with an instigating event; something that forces the MC(s) out of their comfort zone. Their neat and orderly world frays, often splitting into separate but related plot lines, which build character and add depth to the story. At the conclusion of the story, all those separate threads come together, the MC triumphs and I as a reader am happy.

To care about the outcome of a story I have to be invested in the characters. I recently started a book by an author I really enjoy, she had taken some time off and was finally back in the saddle, so I was excited to see what she had come up with. Long story sort... try as I might, I did not finish her book because the MC was flat and two dimensional. I couldn't relate to anything she was going through and I didn't like her at all. Her book consisted of a massive info dump at the beginning, and the rest was just a brick dropped from a window.

So, I suggest you look for other plot lines and events to add to your story that builds character and adds depth to your novel's world.