Wattpad Creators Weekly Writing Challenges

From One Sentence to Nine Sequences

Hello, Creators!

 If you've been following along so far, you're off to an amazing start! You should have some intimate knowledge about your protagonist and their goals, motivations, and stakes, as well as a rough outline of your story. These are the crucial building blocks that every writer needs in order to build a solid foundation for their story.

Today we're going to dig a little deeper into the plot of your story and look at the relationship between plot and character. Remember, plot is the series of events that make up a story, but it's the characters that drive the plot forward and give it meaning. Without characters, there would be no one to take action, make decisions, or experience the events of the story. On the other hand, characters need a plot to give them something to do and obstacles to overcome. Without a plot, characters can become stagnant and uninteresting, as they have no external conflict or challenges to overcome.

With the relationship between plot and character in mind, you're going to create a longer, more comprehensive outline. Feel free to use your events from the week 3 exercise, but first let's start small:

Step 1: Write a one-sentence summary of your story. Make sure you answer the 5 W's (Who, What, When, Where, and especially Why)

Step 2: Expand that one sentence into three: Beginning, Middle, and End. In the beginning, your protagonist realizes their goal, in the middle they strive to obtain/achieve their goal, and in the end they either win or lose.

Step 3: Expand those three sentences into three paragraphs for beginning, middle, and end, adding details to each section. Remember to make sure that your characters are actively making choices to get closer to achieving their goal and not passively reacting to the plot.

Step 4: Break your beginning, middle, and end paragraphs into three more paragraphs—lets call these new paragraphs sequences. Now you should have nine sequences. Your beginning should have a beginning (sequence 1), middle (2), and end (3). Your middle should also have a beginning (4), middle (5), and end (6). Lastly, your end should also have a beginning (7), middle (8), and end (9). These sequences is where you can start to see potential scenes and chapters.

Bonus Step 5: If you're finding this exercise particularly useful, try breaking up each of the middle three sequences (4-6) into two, making 12 sequences total.

Don't worry too much about making sure every detail is perfect: remember, this outline can—and will—change as you start writing. However, having a rough idea of your pivotal scenes will make it much easier for you to finish a powerful story in record time. If you get stuck anywhere, try throwing a huge obstacle in your protagonist's way so they fail, or bring in a new setting or character and give them an important side quest.

Happy writing!