Writers in the Storm

By Janice Hardy

Not every writer plots the same way, so if one path trips you up, try another.

I adore plotting. Give me a blank page and a character in trouble, and I’m all in. Figuring out goals and tough choices is one of my favorite parts of writing, especially when I drop my characters into impossible situations just to see how they’ll get out. My motto: What doesn’t kill them makes them way more interesting (bwahahaha).

Not every writer feels that way, though. If you find plotting more painful than pleasurable, you’re not alone—and you’re not stuck on a path going nowhere. You just need to find a path that follows how you think about your plot, and how you like to tell a story.

Here are five options that let you blaze a plotting trail your way:

1. Follow the Problem

When a story revolves around a major problem—save the world, solve the murder, break the curse—that core conflict creates the path of your plot. Every scene becomes a stepping stone to solving it, with obstacles and complications along the way.

Start with your core conflict. What caused it? Who’s affected? What happens if it doesn’t get resolved? Let each smaller problem lead naturally to the next. It’s like assembling IKEA furniture, but with higher stakes and fewer missing screws.

Great for: Writers who like to focus on what happens in the story, and those who find it easier to create the situations of the story first. It’s also good for plot-focused stories where the events are more important than the character journey, such as thrillers or mysteries.

2. Follow the Character

Character choices drive the plot, and in character-driven stories, those choices are shaped by a deeper emotional journey. The story unfolds not just through what the protagonist does, but through who they’ll become. It’s all about that internal transformation, moving from who they are at the start to who they’ll become by the end.

Start by identifying what your protagonist needs on an emotional level. Maybe it’s something rooted in a personal wound, a false belief, or long-held fear. What’s keeping them from facing or trying to achieve that internal need? What lines won’t they cross to get it, and why? What fears are they avoiding? Create turning points that force them to act against their flaws, confront painful truths, and make choices that reveal who they truly are.

Great for: Character-driven writers and stories where the focus is on the characters and how they grow. It’s also good for stories with strong character arcs that illustrate themes or explore human nature.

3. Follow the Individual Arcs

If plotting an entire novel feels overwhelming, try writing it piece by piece, exploring one arc at a time. Arcs are modular, so every scene follows the same beginning-middle-ending structure, which helps keep your story moving, even if you don’t know where it’s going yet.

Start with your opening scene (or favorite moment. No one says you have to plot in order). Figure out where that leads and how that problem is solved. Once your protagonist finishes that arc, take the next problem and do the same thing. Look at your various arcs and determine how they link together to tell your larger tale.

Great for: Pantsers and discovery writers who don’t want to know how everything works out ahead of time. It’s also good for writers who imagine their stories in vignettes and prefer to write the scenes that excite them the most first.

4. Follow the Mystery

Some plots exist purely to answer a question, such as, Who killed the baker? What happened to the missing heir? Why is the AI targeting only one family? These stories are driven by curiosity and secrets, and the narrative tension stems from the protagonist uncovering the truth bit by bit.

Start with that core mystery. What must the protagonist figure out to resolve the story? Then break that answer into pieces. Who knows part of the truth? Who’s lying, and why? What’s being misinterpreted? What clue gets dismissed until later? Every red herring, half-truth, and false assumption becomes a beat in your plot. The protagonist learns, revises their theory, makes a decision, and all that drives the plot.

Great for: Writers who enjoy the puzzle side of plotting, and who want to keep readers in the dark as long as possible. It’s also good for genres such as mysteries or suspense, where the focus in on the mystery more than the characters.

5. Follow the Emotion

Romances, character dramas, and literary fiction aren’t always about solving a problem or uncovering a truth, but the emotional journey the protagonist needs to take to make their life better. The major plot beats come from what the characters feel, not just what they do.

Start with your characters’ emotional arcs. What are they afraid to feel? What feelings do they chase or avoid? Use relationships—romantic, familial, friendly, adversarial—to push and pull those emotions forward and explore what’s really going on under the surface.

Great for: Writers who want to explore relationships and how people interact. It’s also good for romances or any story that seeks to explore an emotional truth.

No matter which path you choose, the right plot for your novel is the one that keeps you excited to write and your reader eager to turn the page.

Whether you’re unraveling a mystery, chasing an emotional arc, or building a story one small arc at a time, the key is to work with your natural storytelling instincts, not against them. Plotting doesn’t have to be a rigid roadmap. It can be a flexible framework that supports your creativity, so if one method isn’t for you, try another.

The more tools you have in your plotting toolbox, the easier it is to shape the story you want to tell, in the way only you can tell it.

EXERCISE FOR YOU: Take five minutes and think about which plotting path feels the most natural to you. Don’t choose the one you think you’re supposed to use, pick the one that excites you. Then, jot down five things you know (or suspect) about the story from that perspective. If you get stuck, try a different method and see what new ideas emerge.

What’s your favorite path to plotting? Or do you prefer something not on this list? Love to hear your path!

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Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy. When she's not writing fiction, she runs the popular writing site Fiction University, and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series. Sign up for her newsletter and receive 25 ways to Strengthen Your Writing Right Now free.

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Header photo - Unseen studio via Unsplash

by Madeline Nixon

Somehow, over an extremely busy weekend, I had three separate conversations with three different people that all ended the same way. I wish I could do what you do. At first, I was kind of baffled that these three people from different friend groups and obligations all felt the same way. How weird that I had a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of this. And then I stopped and thought and got a little upset that life and other people’s opinions got in the way. I hate that this is such a common experience for creatives that I had to have this conversation three times.

I know I don’t have all the answers. I’m an author who strongly believes that no one has the exact same process and there is no advice that’s one size fits all. You have to figure that out for yourself. But I do know one thing: You can do this. It’s never too late to start.

Write for yourself: “My family always judged me for it. I wrote in secret and then figured there was no point.”

I’m lucky enough that I grew up in a family where everyone was writing. I didn’t have this familial pressure to stop. But I have gotten judgy comments from other sources. When you hear them enough, it does take a toll. It makes you question why you’re doing this and if it’s worth pursuing, especially without support.

I think sometimes we have to go back to square one.

If you want to write, if you enjoyed writing at some point in your life, then do it for you. It doesn’t matter what mom or dad or old aunt Bessie thinks. There doesn’t have to be a point or an end goal. Your happiness is up to you and if writing is a source of happiness, screw all the other opinions. Treat yourself. Do this one thing for you again.

Write for fun: “I haven’t written since high school. Maybe I just liked it because we had to.”

I went to school for writing. I had an English teacher in grade nine who encouraged me to keep going and I never looked back. But for a lot of people, once the English projects end, the writing also ends. And I get that. Life gets in the way.

I think there’s an association between writing and education that sometimes makes the writing part undesirable. We take language arts, which then turns into English for approximately twelve years. Then, we graduate, move onto post-secondary pursuits, and wonder whether we did something because we had to or because we liked it. There was structure in the writing we were assigned. That can be great for some and terrible for others.

Instead of viewing writing like an assignment that needs to be graded, just write for fun. Easier said than done, but a switching of the viewpoint allows us to open up.

If it’s been years since you’ve gotten anything on paper, get back into it by challenging yourself to write the weirdest thing you can possibly think of. Have fun. There’s no way to fail here.

Write without rules: “I can never get past the planning stage, so I just stopped.”

Writing for fun leans well here, as well. There’s a lot of writing advice that gets thrown around. Show don’t tell, write everyday, use this specific software to plan, don’t use the passive voice, write what you know . . . Sometimes it all seems like a lot. While some advice is useful, other pieces just adds more pressure. We put a lot of emphasis on planning out a story, but no one writes the same way. If something isn’t working for you and is keeping you from writing, you’re allowed to find another way.

Don’t limit yourself. Don’t listen to all the advice and just write the way that works for you.

One of the best courses I took in university was called Writing Without Rules. We wrote in second person, had to turn in a story we created in the two-hour class period, created pieces entirely made up of texts and letters. It challenged us to stop overthinking all the rules we’d been taught for years and years and get the words down. And after writing professionally for seven years, I can tell you that some words are better than no words.

You can work with no-rules words. You can’t work with a blank page. Write without rules until you find what works for you, then write within your rules.

Write when you can: “I don’t know how you have so many books out. I just don’t have time.”

I hate to break it to you, but no one has the time. Most authors have full time jobs or kids or family obligations and write on the side. I wrote this blog post from my phone on a Sunday evening, while sitting in the dark in front of a fan after melting in the heat outside all day. I squeezed that in because I was asked to do it. If you want to do this, you need to find the time. And a lot of that is just writing when you can.

I’ve found that writing before bed when the house and world is quiet is my most productive time. But I’ve also written in lines, waiting rooms, cars, and airports (I literally uploaded files at the airport for my book Not Actually), at family events and weddings. Some of that is just inspiration struck at an inopportune moment, but some of it is also me recognizing I had some downtime and writing instead of staring off into space.

I don’t always have time. I don’t always write. But I always write when I can. That’s all you have to do.

Five minutes is better than zero. At least it’s the tiniest speck of writing if you want to write. It’s something. And eventually little somethings build up into big somethings. Give yourself grace to take the time you need.

Just write

Write because you can. No one can write like you. No one take that away from you.

What tip would you give someone just getting back into writing?

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About Maddie

Madeline Nixon has been a dog walker, a nanny, a baker, a shoe saleswoman, a chocolatier, and an editor, but the title she’s most fond of is author. She’s published one nonfiction short story collection about her paranormal experiences entitled Feathers, the Like A Love Song romance series, and a magical Christmas novella, Last Christmas I Love-Spelled Us Apart. She also has stories in several romance anthologies. When she’s not writing, you can find her hunting ghosts, planning elaborate theme parties, and baking new recipes. She lives in a suburb outside of Toronto.

You can find more about Madeline at madelinenixon.com/

Phot credit - Nick Fewings at Unsplash

By Dr. Diana Stout

Robin Blakely’s recent Writers in the Storm post, “Mid-Year Goal Checkup,” had a subtitle of “It’s Not Too Late to Redirect Yourself,” and a first heading of, “You know the write answer: Redirect. Rewrite. Recommit.”

As I started reading it, I found myself laughing because of my current project, Harbor House: Deadly Intentions. Everything she described I had been going through!

I was ready to publish three different times; but, each time realized what I was trying to do wasn’t working.

In the beginning, there were two stories connected by family and location, separated by one hundred years.

While the first story had been published on its own earlier, it was okay; but, teamed with the second, newer story, not so much. The problem: the two stories were in different but similar genres.

The books’ origins

Harbor House: Say You Will

Created in the summer of 2023, this story was for an anthology of historical novellas as a fund-raising event for a romance writer’s group I belong to, and was to be published in November. Instead, it was published April 2024 in the Unlock My Heart anthology (now out of print).

The story was an 11,000-word Gothic romance novella, set during the bootlegging 1920s in northern Lake Huron and the small Michigan coastal community of Sinclair on Drummond Island and a much smaller private island nearby: Harbor House Island. Both Sinclair and the Island had been developed by Margaret Sinclair’s lumber baron grandfather, George Sinclair.

Harbor House: Last Blood

While awaiting the Gothic’s publication, I got the idea to write a follow-up book, a psychological thriller, using the same family and the same location but 100 years later.

This story became a 56,000-word psychological thriller novel featuring thirty-year-old Detroit librarian, Hunter Marshall, who receives an ancestor website membership that includes her DNA as a birthday gift, discovering she’s adopted and has inherited the family lumber business that’s still operational, along with Harbor House, its island, and an unsolved crime associated with the house and the family.

The process is going great so far

In mid-May 2024, I began journaling the thriller’s characters, digging deep into their internal conflicts and plotting the story with Post-it notes and a storyboard. Three weeks later, I was typing up a 22-page outline.

In June, I wrote the first draft, a 42,000-word manuscript of mostly dialogue and action. I doubted I’d make my self-imposed October deadline because there were too many clues to flesh out and more emotional layering and editing to do.

By mid-November, I was ready to publish the two books, but because of the upcoming holidays, I decided to wait until January to publish.

In January, a potential agent crossed my path. I submitted and had to wait six weeks. In the sixth week, another agent crossed my path, so I began waiting another six weeks.

And then, the pain began

While waiting, I started reading both books, to proof them one more time.

An uh-oh moment arrived. It fast became an oh dear realization.

Stupidly, I hadn’t read the Gothic since its 2024 publication. It needed revising. There was too much telling in the beginning. Plus, Margaret didn’t have much of a wound that left her conflicted.

If I were honest with myself, the first book didn’t measure up to the second one. It didn’t have the same intensity. It would end up a DNF if I didn’t fix it, let alone anyone continuing to the second book, the thriller.

Additionally, they couldn’t be published separately as a duology. They’d have to be published as a collection: separate stories but together in one book. I spent a couple weeks reformatting and editing and sat down to read it again.

Another uh-oh moment. This format was a mistake because the same problem existed, plus there was still too much telling. The history of the first story was important to the second story. How could I incorporate the history without having to tell it? How could I show it without losing the reader?

The aha moment – the Redirect

Going to sleep that night, I gave my subconscious the task of solving the problem. The next morning, I had the answer: a split-in-time book.

The plan (revised) – the Rewrite

So, now, I’ve blended and melded the two stories together and removed the telling. The past is now shown at key junctures and heightened because of the thriller. I’m still in the process of polishing and proofing. A major review and beta readers will reveal if I did what I intended.

The lesson – the Recommit

The story knew better that I did on what it needed. I’ve learned that every story, every book, whether fiction or non-fiction, has its own process. I just need to listen.

As a result, I’m ecstatic about the story all over again. I’ve got another self-imposed October publishing date, though I strongly suspect I’ll miss it. Hopefully, it’ll be published before Christmas.

Wish me luck!

Is there a book or series of books you feel like could use a little redirecting? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

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About Dr. Diana

At the time Diana was getting unstuck with Harbor House: Deadly Intentions described above, she was teaching her Finding Your Writing Fire class, which centered on helping profoundly stuck students get unstuck. By the middle of the second week, they announced they were happily writing again!

An award-winning writer and former English writing professor, Diana is a screenwriter and author, writing fiction and nonfiction, including a cookbook, how-to writing resources books, and blogging about her paranormal experiences. To learn more, visit her website, especially her Recommend Reading page if you’re interested in finding great books and blogs about writing.

To learn more about the writing process she teaches and uses to keep from getting stuck, check out her Finding Your Fire series books: Finding Your Fire & Keeping It Hot, and Character, Plot, & Emotion: the Three Foundational Pillars of Storytelling and its companion workbook.