Save

Save

Paula Wynne's picture
Paula Wynne

Pinned 5 years 2 months ago onto Writing Advice

8 Point Story Arc

Source: https://writinggoals.com/pimp-my-fiction-free-book

This all sounds extremely formulaic, but it doesn’t have to be. Yes, having some kind of basic structure woven around your novel and plot threads is important, but they are meant to be flexible.

The ‘Blueprints’ chapter of Pimp My Fiction provides templates for writing your novel, which are certain to show you a light at the end of the writing tunnel.

This 8 point arc was created by Nigel Watts, and it’s a perfect tool for keeping your story on track. When you start a new novel, this template is a good exercise to guide you into writing up a very loose and basic idea of how your story is going to pan out.

You may find that your plot hits on all these points, and you’ll feel great knowing that you’re on the right track.

Nigel’s eight points:

1.    Stasis
2.    Trigger
3.    The quest
4.    Surprise
5.    Critical choice
6.    Climax
7.    Reversal
8.    Resolution

If you make notes straight into a document which describes each stage, it is pretty easy to plot out your storyline. It acts almost like a synopsis of how your story progresses with character growth points. Once you have established the basic plan, you can continue to add sub plots and any other notes into the eight stages as they come to you. This bare outline slowly builds into the skeleton of your novel.

Find more on Story Structures.

Grab your copy free copy of Pimp My Fiction here.

Upvote this Pin: 
0

Log in to vote
Pinned onto the category

Writing Advice

Story Structure HumourA Comparison of Seven Story Structure ModelsOnline Etymology Dictionary For Historical Fiction WritersPsychological Thriller Checklist For WritersHow To Create A LoglineUniting Story Structure and Character ArcWhen Is The Inciting Incident In A Story PlotWrite Villains Readers Love to HateStructure Your Novel3 Acts to Your Story Structure
5 Rules Every First-Time Author Needs To Know About Planning A Novel
Originally pinned by

Paula Wynne

Paperbacks For UK Readers To Win
The Grotto's Secret - Gripping Suspense
The Invisible Cipher Thriller Suspense Crime Giveaway
A Historical Conspiracy Thriller
Heartstone (The Shardlake series)
Love Historical Mystery?
Pinned onto the board

Writing Advice

What Is Story Theme?
How Women Lived In Harems
Psychological Thriller Checklist For Writers
Structure Your Novel
When Is The Inciting Incident In A Story Plot
Ways To Say Dad In Different Languages
Scroll to top