How to Write a Good Story

Fixing Common Plot Problems (III)

6. I'VE GOT A COMPLEX PLOT, AND ALL MY FINAL UNRAVELING FEELS FORCED.

You're proud of your plot, and you want to show the reader that you've thought of everything. This one's as tight as a drum! But now it feels as if you're ticking off boxes on a checklist, and the effect is artificial.

10-MINUTE SOLUTION: Choose some loose ends to leave loose.

Readers will know they're in good hands if you pay off your suspense. This is key, and it bears repeating: Suspense is the most important aspect of a book to build and bring to a satisfying climax and conclusion. This holds true in any genre; even the most sedate literary novels are built on a foundation of suspense. In this way, Mrs. Dalloway and her flowers have everything in common with Hannibal Lecter and his fava beans.

It follows, then, that not every loose end needs to be tied up. Granted, some bestselling authors commonly knot theirs meticulously—Harlan Coben comes to mind—but others, like Elizabeth George, make a point of not doing so. Leaving your readers with a little bit of hmmm can be a good thing (especially if you're writing a series).

Even if you don't want to keep readers wondering, it's still true that some ends just don't need to be wrapped up. For example, if you have a minor character who served a function early on, but who dropped out halfway through the book, by the end the reader will either have forgotten about her, or will understand that particular loose end

is irrelevant.

Challenge your impulse to wrap up everything with a bow, and you might achieve a more natural result.

7. I NEED A BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO SCENES, BUT I'M AT A LOSS.

Transitions can be the bane of fiction writers. I think this goes back to composition teachers in high school, who insist that there "be a link" between every idea. Oh, the contortions we used to go through to satisfy that requirement!

Forget it.

10-MINUTE SOLUTION: Insert a chapter break, or use the magic word.

An excellent way to bridge two scenes is to actually separate them. A chapter break can eliminate the need for a bridge altogether. Pick a novel you like and study the last and subsequent first pages of chapters. You'll find that most modern novels freely jump forward (even backward) in time, or sideways in space (from one character's viewpoint to another's, for example), and the overall effect is smooth. Give it a try.

Now, what about this magic word? In olden times, radio westerns provided masterful entertainment, packed with action, sound effects, dialogue and big story. Narrators would routinely say, "Meanwhile, back at the ranch ..."

The magic word is meanwhile. Rather than a big-deal transition, meanwhile might be all you need.