“the space between opening and opened” by devi laskar

In the Book Writing World, we have learned this about story structure: “The CRISIS is when the choice is made and the CLIMAX is when the choice is acted on.”

That sounds good. Now, to the difficult question: What are your protagonist’s choices? What happens after your main character makes the first set of choices? How does that impact your climax – i.e., what you’re planning for the end of your book?

During a workshop class, Elizabeth discussed what she called “bookends:” The echoes between opening and closing of a book (whether it’s fiction or non-fiction). In the exercise we completed, we gave ourselves a choice of three opening scenes and two possible endings. Then we wrote down our top three ideas and our two possible endings and briefly plotted (and plodded) them against each other.

Giving yourself options is a great way to brainstorm your way to the solution to your plotting problems. In my case, with my novel in progress Shadow Gardens, I went with idea #3 (a prologue where my protagonist is driving away from the hospital) and ending #2 (there’s a fire next-door).

Here’s another thing that we’ve been discussing in the Book Writing World: the idea of having these “echoes” throughout the book, from the end of one scene or chapter to the beginning of another — what you are building is infrastructure that allows your book to stand on its own weight.

What are the possible openings and endings of your book? And what the choices your character faces that best demonstrate what you are trying to say with your book?