Perils and Pitfalls of Plot

It's been a long time, but I'm back with a topic that I'm excited about. Plot.

Plot is essential for any book, even literary ones. But my novel (yes, I'm still working on it) isn't literary, so it's supposed to have a great plot. I think i started with a great concept and a plot that worked ok in my mind before I finished writing it, but somewhere between the middle and the end it died. And I was having a hard time figuring out how to fix it.


Enter a writing book. I've read lots of writing books, but not so many about plot. So, I bought Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell and it was great. It stimulated my imagination and I've worked through some issues in my book using the concepts that he laid out, and I think it's much better. He has examples from both commercial and literary fiction, but the commercial side is heavy on the thriller/suspense/horror novel. That was the only fault I had with the book, I would have liked to see examples from a wider range of genres.

Bell's book helped me figure out that I had two main problems. First, there was nothing really compelling my protagonist to the climax, she was just going because I needed her to to finish the book. There were reasons, but nothing so essential that her choices felt like there was no other choice. Second, the conflict between my protagonist and my antagonist was not direct enough, not central enough to the story. It was there, but not at the forefront. So I redid my plot, scene by scene on notecards, changing things and hopefully making them better.

The core of Song of the Prophecy is still the same, but I was able to solidify and tighten everything--well that's what I think will have happened when I finished my rewrite. I'm hoping to be able to send it out to agents in the fall and I now don't think that's an unrealistic goal!

Wish me luck!

QUESTION: James Scott Bell, says there are three types of plotters: outline people, no outline people and people who are somewhere in the middle. In the past I've been in the middle, but I think I may become a more pure outliner in the future. Which type are you?