I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary fashion. Before I launch into that, I have to make a quick plug. The first installment in my kids' chapter book series, Doomimals, is now available on Amazon. This is just the beginning of a major saga we have planned. I have the first ten books drafted and many beyond that planned. It's about three kids and their animal protectors saving the world from the minions of the evil Bird and the Dog of War. If you're interested, you can pick up a copy here. Today's topic is planning and is not specific about literary writing but about writing in general. There are conventions are a character in a story making plans. They're simple but must be remembered as a way to build tension in the reader.
Most people have read a book or seen a show in which a character gives very specific details of a plan for something they're about to do. Now, predict what happens. Of course, the plan goes wrong. I've read books in which the plan goes RIGHT. When that's the case, the reader is bored because they see the plan, they see the plan executed, then they see characters chat over what just happened. With teaching, with real life, this is the idea. But in storytelling, it's a great way to bore (read: lose) the reader. SOMETHING in the plan has to go wrong, or your reader will be unimpressed. I'm sure you can think of several examples of plans falling apart right now. The plan sets the template of how it's supposed to work and foreshadows that something will go wrong. The reader is on the watch for that something. It actually amps up tension anticipating this.
If, however, your characters are actually going to complete their plan, the narration should get vague about what's about to happen. "Joan and Simon made a quick plan about how to break their father out of jail." Something like that works fine. When I read that in a narration, I know it will likely work. However, you can twist the reader's sense of what's coming by getting vague and then have things fall apart anyway. It may be a bit frustrating because the reader doesn't know how things should work in the first place, but if the plan isn't central, it can still work. Not sharing the plan builds tension because the reader will follow along with the characters and see them execute the plan as it happens.
Either way, a plan is a useful technique for building tension. Think of shows like "Mission Impossible" or "Oceans 11." The parts of the plan that will go wrong are laid out in detail, so the reader can view them as a template for what should happen vs what does happen. Particularly in the Oceans series, the audience is not party to the plan until it's executed. There are parts of it we don't learn until after it's executed to provide plot twists and unexpected events. We, the audience, find out what the full plan was along with the antagonist, who only finds out how badly he lost after he did so. This step beyond creates both tension and excitement.
Read or watch shows in which the plan is discussed and doesn't work or glossed over when it does. Is there a point in your story in which you can use this pattern? Is there a place where it's useful to only show parts of the plan after the fact? Can you amp up your reader's tension by showing how it should work? Give me examples of either in the comments.
