TFB – Plot | Hachette UK

A twist can turn a plot – and a story – on its head. This month we’d like you to insert a twist in a popular fable or fairy tale and tell us what happens next. Perhaps Goldilocks was in league with Little Baby Bear all along, or Hansel and Gretel abandon their parents, not the other way around?

Show us how the simplest twist can change everything by mapping out your story’s unexpected conclusion – and share the details with us on Twitter. Tell your story to @FutureBookshelf

Lisa Highton, Publisher, Two Roads

June 18 2017

‘Faithful storytelling, competent narrative, even perfect grammar are no use unless we want to know what happens and keep turning the page’

The importance of plot – it’s how you tell it There’s a lot written about story v. plot v. narrative – you’re all bright people, you can disappear down the Google rabbit hole and read it for yourself (if you haven’t already). But basically if story is what happens, then plot is how…

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‘Faithful storytelling, competent narrative, even perfect grammar are no use unless we want to know what happens and keep turning the page’

Vaseem Khan, author of The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra

June 18 2017

‘For me the best way to plot a novel is to begin with the grand idea: the oh-my-god twist, the incredible finale, the amazing concept’

Should writers know their ending from the beginning? What is the best way to plot a novel? Some authors famously claim never to plot (which I’ve always believed to be ludicrous!); others don’t begin writing until they have a meticulous plan in place. For me the best way to plot a novel is to…

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‘For me the best way to plot a novel is to begin with the grand idea: the oh-my-god twist, the incredible finale, the amazing concept’

Charles Harris, author of Complete Screenwriting Course

June 18 2017

‘When the main planks of your structure are in place, it’s time to look at the smaller timbers’

Subplots and adding texture to your story from Complete Screenwriting Course by Charles Harris With the main planks of the structure in place, it’s time to look at the smaller timbers. Without any subplots, a story can feel very restricted. Subplots add variety and give you the opportunity to show the audience different sides…

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‘When the main planks of your structure are in place, it’s time to look at the smaller timbers’

Juliet Pickering, literary agent

June 17 2017

‘Plot is all about discovery’

Plot is all about discovery. What am I reading a novel to discover? What is promised in the first chapters that will keep me reading through the next 250-odd pages, and how is the plot compelling enough to keep the reader invested in what happens? Even in a novel with the lightest of plots,…

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Jurgen Wolff, author of Your Writing Coach

June 18 2017

‘Plot is the story of someone who wants or needs something’

The role of needs in plot construction from Your Writing Coach by Jurgen Wolff A common observation about plot is that it’s the story of someone who wants or needs something and his or her quest to get it. That’s a useful oversimplification that probably applies to the majority of plots. We humans are…

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‘Plot is the story of someone who wants or needs something’

Louise Welsh, author of novels including The Cutting Room and A Lovely Way to Burn

June 18 2017

‘Respect your reader’s intelligence and whatever you do, don’t be boring'

What makes a good plot twist? And how do you build up to it? How many clues should you give the reader? There is no perfect plot formula. I cannot tell you the number of clues you should include before revealing the murderer or the right chapter to introduce a sex scene. But do…

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‘Respect your reader’s intelligence and whatever you do, don’t be boring'

Katharine Grubb, author of Write A Novel in Ten Minutes a Day

June 18 2017

‘There are plots which you’ve been reading or watching unfold for your whole life’

Since the beginning of the Western storytelling tradition, stories have had plots. Your job is to invite your reader on an emotional ride. By choosing a plot, you are giving them clues about what to expect. from Write A Novel in Ten Minutes a Day by Katharine Grubb According to E.M. Forster, ‘The…

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‘There are plots which you’ve been reading or watching unfold for your whole life’

Sergio de la Pava, author of A Naked Singularity

June 18 2017

‘A novel will end up asserting or exemplifying whatever it damn well pleases’

Should writers know their ending from the beginning? There are thankfully so very few shoulds in novel writing. And this just doesn’t feel like one of them. A novel will end up asserting or exemplifying whatever it damn well pleases, but the act of writing one will always have an evolutionary element for the unfortunate…

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‘A novel will end up asserting or exemplifying whatever it damn well pleases’