"Why am I learning this?" How I Use the Plot Structures I Learned About in High School to Get Through Writer's Block

We've all been there, right? You're writing with vigor, and the story is coming along pretty well, and then all of a sudden, you're out of ideas. Possibly even after you've outlined what will happen next. Maybe you're stuck on a transition. Maybe you're going back and reworking your opening scenes, or rewriting your ending. Before you know it, you've hit an invisible wall, and on that wall is a sign that says: "You cannot write another word, and if you do, it's going to suck."

As I've been doing the final edit for my upcoming release and writing its sequel, I've become aware of something that I do every time I hit this wall. I think back to sitting in the classroom in high school, listening to the teacher tell the class about the five act plot structure. I think about breaking this plot structure down for my own students when I taught middle school and high school English, and something simple but wonderful happens. I feel inspired again.

No matter where I feel stuck in my story, I know I can come back and use this simple plot structure as a road map.

My beginnings always need to be reworked, because I get too excited in my first draft to get to the action that I always need to come back and slow things down. If I'm reworking my beginning, then I think about the exposition. Now, you can have exposition anywhere throughout your story, and this is done really well through dialogue as characters get to know one another. But what I'm talking about here is the exposition portion of the story's plot. Here, the main character goes around, usually minding their own business, living life as usual (great opportunity for some nice descriptive world building), and then BAM! Something happens that draws them away from their comforts. When I'm rewriting my beginnings, I think about that. Do I describe the world as the main character has always known it? Do I introduce important characters? Do I provide enough of a look into what's normal that it makes sense when that call to action comes up?

If I'm working through my rising action, I always remind myself that the rising action is exactly that. The heat is rising. The tension is building. Things continually come up that make the character's quest all the more difficult to achieve. This is also a wonderful time to build relationships between characters and to have your main character grow attached to someone or something. When I'm working on my rising action, like to ask myself, "Is this building tension for my character? What is this scene doing for the main character's quest, motivations, or attachments? How will this piece ultimately affect the climax?"

Ah, the climax. The turning point. This part of the story is always my favorite to write and to think about, because the climax occurs in the main character's darkest hour. Things are harder now than they've ever been, and something happens that makes the character wonder if they can go on, if they can ever recover from whatever they're facing. When I'm working on the climax of a story, I like to ask myself, "What emotions my character might be feeling? What's their setting like? Will their world be the same after this moment? If their world isn't rocked at the moment, what can I do to make them question if they'll ever be the same?"

The falling action is an area where I always need to come back to and slow down, as well. For the falling action, the characters are trying to figure out life after the event of the climax. They're reaching the end of their journey. Sure, there are still obstacles they face and troubles they experience, but things are winding down. When I come back to edit or rewrite my falling action, I often have to slow things down and really try to show what my character is thinking and feeling. I need to show if their motivations have changed and why. As I work through the falling action, I keep the ending I want in my mind, and do what I can to connect the details. 

When I work on writing or editing my resolution, or the end of my story, I really like to think back to how I taught resolution to my kiddos in the classroom. I would always tell them, "Think about the word. Resolution. How is the problem your characters have faced throughout the story solved? Tie them together." And I take my own advice. I use my resolution to solve the problem my character has faced all along; I write the end to their mission. If I'm writing a book that will stand alone, I solve the problem and have my main character reflect on the journey they've had. If I'm writing a book that will have a sequel, this is when I like to leave things off on a bit of a cliffhanger. I like to write endings that will have my readers saying, "What?! When's the next book coming out?!"

I hope this week's post was a helpful reminder for some of you that it can be incredibly powerful to go back to the basics when you're feeling stuck. And for all the students out there who ask, "Why am I learning this? I'm never going to use this..." (you know who you are), I'm here to remind you - you never know. Have a wonderful week!