2 Essential Keys to Building a Captivating Plot in Any Genre

Did I really mean that? There are only 2 essential keys to building a captivating plot in any genre? Yes. If you understand these 2 elements and can implement them, you can write any kind of plot effectively.

Key #1: Understand your genre thoroughly

Every genre has its own rules that authors have to meet in order to satisfy readers. I grew up on mysteries, starting with Saturday mornings in front of the tv enjoying Scooby Doo. (Actually, if you’d like to write a traditional mystery and want to understand the basic rules to it, watching a Scooby Doo episode from the original series, “Scooby Doo, Where Are You?”, or the updated series, “What’s New, Scooby Doo?” is a great introduction to mystery writing.)

The rules of an effective mystery are so much a part of my thought patterns that when I watch any crime show now, I immediately begin to analyze the story structure: okay, they’ve introduced three viable suspects so far. Was that conversation a red herring? The detective is using one of his quirks to deduce a clue.

You probably want to write a novel in the genre that’s your favorite. So you probably already have a good understanding of how that genre works. Keep reading novels in the genre you want to write in with a thoughtful eye so that you become steeped in the rules of what you can and can’t do in the genre.

One of the helpful things about writing genre fiction is that if you understand the rules, you’re on your way to achieving the second key to writing a captivating plot.

#2: Write with tension

Most genres have tension built in. How does the couple end up together in a romcom? How will the detective solve the mystery? How will the hero end his quest?

Why is this important? Because, like I said in my post on writing about uncomfortable settings, tension is the engine that keeps readers turning the page. Understanding how the rules of your particular genre deliver tension will provide the framework for you to add more tension in your specific story.

When I write a mystery, I know the detective has to solve it. But I get to choose the kind of detective, the crime, suspects, clues, and red herrings. So how do I add tension? Well, one of the major suspects could be the detective’s brother. He could believe a witness and then find out he swallowed a whole pack of lies. He could find a clue and then lose it. Anything that happens in a story which makes readers want to read further to find out what happens next is good tension.

What books have you read that use tension to create a memorable plot?

Here are more tips on writing plot.

April 2, 2026 0

Writing Fun with Plots

How do you have writing fun with plots? Check out my suggestions below.

Fun Ideas for Plots

Play with the rules of a genre. What if the couple doesn’t end up together at the end of the romcom? What if the mystery isn’t solved?
Place your characters in a different genre. For example, if you’ve written fantasy stories, take the same characters and write about them in a contemporary, realistic story.
Underdog story. I love underdog stories. Create the under-est dog story you can think of, stacking the odds against your MC as high as you can.
Ridiculous quest. Create a quest with a ridiculous objective and then see how many absurd obstacles you can place in the characters’ path.

Fun Ideas for Plots within Your WIP

These ideas are to inspire you when you are working on a story that you can’t take a break from but would still like to have some fun while working on it.

Your MC loses something critically important.
The least likely character helps your MC somehow.
Your main character’s (MC) closest friend betrays him or her (I know that’s not fun for your MC, but betrayal is a powerful plot twist and can be fun for the writer)
Make your MC more vulnerable.
Your MC sees another character in a new light.
A hidden piece of family history is revealed. I’ve had fun with this one because my mysteries are built around my MC’s immediate and extended family.
Turn a plot point upside down. For example, my amateur sleuth gets a critical clue from cranky Old Man Whitaker. What if I have him lie to her? Or she gets the clue from her friend instead. What if her friend lies to her? Another example is your MC’s goal in the story. What if he or she achieves it in the middle of the story and it doesn’t accomplish what the MC thought it would?

For more ideas for writing plots, click here.

January 23, 2025 1

Why is the Middle of Our Stories A Muddle?

It’s something of a cliche when writers talk about the troubles they encounter in the middle of a story. But, like most cliches, there’s a kernel of truth to it. So why is the middle of our stories a muddle? As we kick off this month’s theme of dealing with the middle of our stories, I want to uncover reasons for the muddle, which can be different for each writer.

Too Much Freedom

You’ve written a stunning hook and your beginning has set up the main character, the major characters, and the main problem. Now what?

If you haven’t thought beyond the beginning, your story could be suffering from too much freedom. Since you have no direction at this point, you have too many ways you can develop the story.

There are several ways you can fix that.

Develop Your Ending

This may sound like putting the cart before the horse, but knowing how your story ends gives purpose to your middle. If you’re going on vacation, you have an ultimate destination and that limits the routes you can take. That doesn’t mean you can’t explore side routes or take the longer, scenic route, but since you know your final goal, you know how far off the direct route you can go.

Develop Your Characters

Perhaps you’re stuck because you haven’t developed or don’t understand your characters well enough. Go back and review your notes and what you’ve written in your beginning. When I can’t move on in a scene, I ask myself what is the logical next step for a particular character to take. Often that means more complicated writing for me, but the logic for the character makes the story better.

But may your muddle in the middle is the opposite problem.

Too Little Freedom

If you’re a plotter and have your book outlined, you may reach your notes on the middle and find it isn’t working. Many times, once I begin writing, I throw out my notes because what seemed so good in the outline turns out lousy in the writing. Give yourself permission to make a new outline, based off what you’ve actually written in the beginning. Make several outlines, testing different approaches.

Writers, why do you think the middle of stories is a muddle?

June 5, 2024 2

How to Write Effective Quiet Scenes

When writers talk of plot, we often talk of action–characters doing things with dialogue and thoughts from at least one character. But every book benefits from a few quiet scenes. Even in a thriller, the characters need some less frantic moments to digest what’s happening to them. I define a quiet scene as one in which dialogue or thoughts are the elements that drive the scene. But how to write effective quiet scenes without boring readers?

Understand the Point of the Scene

In my YA mystery, A Shadow on the Snow, I have several scenes in which Rae thinks about the clues she’s uncovered in the mystery of who is stalking her. She is trying to solve the mystery on her own, so she can’t discuss her clues with anyone. Each time I approached a thinking scene like this, I had to first understand what the goal of the scene was.

Here’s a short scene from Rae’s solo investigation:

The next morning, yawning, I lifted my camera from the card table and wrapped it in its towel. Between staying up late to do research and trouble falling asleep, the yawns kept on coming.

Stepping onto the tiny landing, I looked for another note, but I didn’t really expect one. My truck parked on the street sent an unmistakable message that I was home. Was there a way to hide my phone so I could get a video of the creep if he left a note at my door again? The landing wasn’t big enough for me to set anything on it to camouflage it.

I descended the stairs. My garbage can and Mrs. Blaney’s sat under them. Could I hide my phone here? I might get a glimpse of a face through the steps, but I might not. The bare trees and bushes near the stairs wouldn’t hide a sparrow. Even if I did hide my phone, my battery wouldn’t last all night with the video function running.

I kicked the bottom step, then limped over to my truck. There had to be a way.

Point of the scene: Rae trying to figure out if she can set up a camera to take a photo of who is leaving the notes.
Problem: How do I show Rae thinking about this?
Solution: Have her examine the area where she might set up the camera.

When I have a character thinking, I need to show how her train of thought arises naturally. In this scene, the progression of thoughts comes from Rae studying the area surrounding the door to her apartment. Her analysis also allows me to keep the reader grounded in the scene. I don’t want my character to think so long that the reader forgets where the character is. Our surroundings still affect us when we’re deep in thought.

Keep It Short

Because readers expect action, especially in genre fiction, keep the quiet scenes short. I shouldn’t let Rae’s thoughts wander away from the point of the scene. Since I write mysteries, I have to let my amateur detective reflect. But I can break up that reflection over several quiet scenes, interspersed with more active ones.

Do you think every novel needs a few quiet scenes? Why or why not?

For more tips on writing plots, click here.

August 31, 2023 2

4 Ways to Fix Troublesome Plot Points

This post is a blast from the past. I posted the original over 3 years ago. When I came across it, I thought it would be helpful to repost it. If you are running into plotting problems, below are 4 ways to fix troublesome plot points.

As you work through a story, you may be tempted to tell a plot point rather than show it. It’s so much easier and quicker. Sometimes, a plot point needs to be told so as not to bog down the narrative. This is especially true in mysteries. Often characters are relaying information to each other. It’s perfectly fine to tell it, so I don’t repeat myself. For example, if I have written in detail the conversation Bob has with Ann, I do not have to repeat all the details when Bob tells Tom about it. I can write, “Bob told Tom what he learned from Ann over lunch.” Or “Bob reported his conversation with Ann, leaving out the part about her poodle.” But wanting to tell a plot point instead of showing can be a sign of a bigger problem.

The plot is too complicated.

I started “A Rose from the Ashes” in Christmas fiction off the beaten path from the point of view of a female character who wants to figure out who is leaving two roses in the fireplace at the abandoned children’s home. This woman drags her nineteen-year-old friend into her amateur sleuthing. At the end of the story, I planned to reveal the teen was behind the roses, then have her explain she was trying to find her father, then have her explain she was also investigating a murderous attack on her mother. It hit me that, while the plot was good, I was presenting it in a needlessly complicated way.The story belonged to the nineteen-year-old girl. I should let her tell it. Once I changed my main character, the plot complications smoothed out beautifully.

The plot point is unnecessary.

If I can’t think of an interesting way to show a plot point, I’m tempted to tell it. That’s when I should examine it and see if I really need it. Maybe it’s an unnecessary complication. Or I may realize …

The plot point needs a change.

Let’s say my amateur sleuth must find out that Old Man Thompson had an illegitimate child in high school. I was planning to have the gossipy hair stylist tell him. But I can’t get a good handle on the stylist character, so I want to rush through the scene, telling it, instead of showing it. So I change how my sleuth learns the information. Maybe his grandmother tells him because she graduated with Old Man Thompson. Now that provides my main character with a personal connection to his investigation. Or maybe he finds an old diary with the information. Where does he find the diary? Whose diary is it? Those questions and others can inspire me to show and not tell my plot point.

The plot point is unconvincing.

If you’ve watched mystery shows and movies very often, you know what I mean. The detective discovers the true meaning behind a clue and spends minutes convincing a skeptical colleague. But the detective isn’t really trying convince his friend that an unlikely suspect did it. Actually, the screenwriter knows he’s thrown in an outrageous twist and is hoping to get the audience to believe it by having his detective explain the clue to his friend, who is standing in the place of the audience. For example:

Detective: “Yes, those mysterious yellow and green feathers were deliberately left at the murder scene to make us suspect that Miss Prim had trained her parrot to drop the tablet of poison into Mayor Abernathy’s tea cup. But in reality, Mrs. Abernathy mixed the poison in the sugar bowl because she knew her husband always ate cereal on Tuesdays and always put sugar on it.”

Skeptical Friend: “That’s hard to believe.”

Detective: “How about this: Miss Prim really did train her parrot to drop the tablet of poison into Mayor Abernathy’s tea cup?”

Skeptical Friend, edging toward door: “Not really.”

I ran into this problem when I had to create a reason for why Rae’s father hadn’t looked for her when he thought her mother was pregnant with his child. I came up with a long-winded explanation but realized I was trying to convince myself. So I simplified it. The entire county thought Rae’s mother had died in a fire. For years, her father did, too. When he thought Rae’s mom might have escaped the fire, he figured she had aborted the baby, which she had threatened to do. Simple and convincing. If I couldn’t convince myself of this plot point, I needed either to get rid of it or change it.

For more tips on plotting, click here.

How have you used troubleshooting to improve your plots? Or what plot points have you read that you think needed troubleshooting?

August 17, 2023 0

Tag: Advice on writing plots