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Have you ever noticed that nature loves the number three? There are three dimensions of space: height, width, and depth. There are three main types of matter: gaseous, liquid, and solid. There are three main types of massive objects: planets, stars, and galaxies. There are also three types of natural laws: the laws of physics, the laws of chemistry, and the laws of biology.

Decorators tell us that we are delighted and attracted to the pattern of three. They say never to place two objects on a table or mantle. Instead, they instruct us to always use three non-matching objects because it pleases the eye, and soothes the spirit. Why am I telling you this? Because the natural and most pleasing plot has three parts.  It is a formula of storytelling, joke-telling, and speech giving that has existed since the ancient Greeks. No doubt cavemen  told hunting tales that patterned the number three and kept their listeners huddled around the campfire.

As a Catholic, I like to think of the occurrence of the number three in nature as a reflection of the Trinity. Our spirit is comfortable with the Trinity, so we are comfortable with the number three. You can try to change the standard formula of storytelling but it will seem unnatural and clumsy. I recommend that you stick to it. It is a framework that contains your story and keeps it understandable and strong. It does not constrain your creativity, as in oil paintings, it is the frame that compliments it. What are the three parts to a good story, joke, or speech.? Plays are usually also in three acts so why don’t we call the parts of our plot acts. Let’s talk about Act One of your novel this week.

Act One – this is the first part of your story and it  is the part that should hook your reader. Act One introduces your basic story. Is it a romance? Is it a zombie takeover?  Is it an action – packed spy thriller? As a reader I want to know! I want to understand the journey I am about to take. I want to trust the author and know that he or she is taking me to a place that is unique but comfortable. It doesn’t matter what genre it is. The basic framework of the tale is the same. I have picked the genre because it is something that I enjoy, someplace that I have journeyed before. If I want to time-travel through the galaxy, I first traveled to the Science Fiction aisle of my bookstore.  If I dream of young love and the thrill of meeting that special person, I first scanned the selections offered in  the romance section of amazon.

Don’t fool the reader. They will never forgive you. If they think they have settled down in their cozy reading chair to puzzle out a murder mystery and it turns into a  zombie apocalypse, they will be disappointed. It could be the best zombie adventure ever written but it still annoy the reader that you tricked him into buying something they didn’t want. Reading is comfortable. In today’ s world where life is unpredictable By the end of the first few pages your reader should have an idea of where you are taking him. Your audience (and I use the word ‘audience’ purposely) should feel safe after reading your first act. Why do I call your readership an audience. Because, as a writer, your first job is to tell an entertaining tale. You are no different than the story-tellers who roamed the lanes and villages of ancient Europe. Before people could read, these storytellers and bards kept history alive by sharing tales stories of battles and heroes. Imagine what would have happened if they started to tell the village about an exciting battle and then turned the story into political discussion. They would have been run out of town. And yet, I have picked up many a novel that made that switch on me. What happened? I put the book down and never picked it up again. I felt as if I had been conned.

In Act One of your novel the reader should also meet the lead character, and develop an emotional attachment to that character. That doesn’t mean that your character needs to be lovable. He can be a flawed hero or even a messed – up confused criminal. However, if you want your reader to connect.  If you want your reader to continue reading you need to make your character interesting and unique.

This is the part of the novel (the first 1/5) that lays out the conflict. Remember that a novel needs conflict. Your character is shown in his comfort zone. Then something pushes him out of his comfort zone. In this part of the novel, the character makes a choice – Does he return to his comfort zone (no novel) or does he take the challenge?( Now that’s a novel!) Your novel can be action – based or character- based. The conflict can be physical and fast-paced.  It can be spiritually-based and emotional but the conflict needs to be presented in the early part of the novel. It is good to introduce the nemesis in this part also. Set up the conflict with a sympathetic character who is challenged and you have a ‘hooked’ reader. If you can do it in the first few sentences or paragraphs you have your hook.

I looked up the word.  It is interesting to see exactly what the word means. I don’t believe in coincidence.

Two of the definitions offered by Webster-Merriam are:

1plot noun \ˈplät\

1)  a small piece of land in a cemetery.

2) a series of events that form the story in a novel, movie, etc.

The point being, your plot shouldn’t be so obscure and complex that the reader has to dig it up to understand it. And it shouldn’t be so predictable that the reader ends up dead from boredom. Next week we will discuss Act Two of your plot!

Karen Kelly Boyce lives on a farm in N.J. with her retired husband. She is a mother and grandmother. She is the author of “The Sisters of the Last Straw” series published by Tan Books. You can see her work and learn more about her on her website: www,kkboyce.com