Welcome one, and welcome all, to the game-show that--

How rude of me.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a wonderful and superb 2023! Here is to another year of reviewing, writing advice, wonderful literature, and exhaustion!

Anyways. Commercial break over.

Though, we are on Wattpad. There are commercials everywhere. Especially on mobile. And since, earlier this month, I volunteered to judge the paranormal section of an award series...

Werewolves with six-packs. Werewolves with six-packs everywhere.

Anyways!

Welcome to the game-show, I am your host, and this is how the game will work:

- I will ask a series of questions.

- You answer the series of questions.

- You get money depending on your answer. Imaginary money, of course. If I had actual money, I would own like six thousand trampolines and spend the rest of my life teaching eels how to tap dance.

Before we launch into the game, I should explain what a plot point is!

A plot point is something in your story that either impacts the direction of your story, or even your character. It can be a turning point, or it can be a random troll blocking the bridge that makes it harder for your protagonist to reach the other side. These points in your plot give your story tension, momentum, and keep the story moving.

Imagine a story with no plot points. It would just be some human going about their day, with nothing significant happening to them at all. Wake up. Drink tea. Go to work. Complete their work normally. Get home. Make dinner. Sleep. Repeat. Over and over and over again.

Boring!

Even though we are not book characters, all of us have plot points in our lives! I had a pretty big one yesterday--my neighbour's house was on fire, and that was every shade of dramatic. But some of us have blooming love stories, or exciting auditions, or high school drama, or accidents, or you were nominated for the Wattys! Anything that gives you some sort of different feeling and impacts your life is your own plot point!

Difference between a plot and a plot point? Your plot is the series of plot points connected together to make your story. Your plot point is each individual moment that contributes to it.

With that in mind, let's launch right into it.

Pick a plot point. And proceed with the questions:

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $100. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is !

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $200. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $100.

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $300. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $200.

Because, trust me, there is something just so odd about seeing a character do something that has nothing to do with them. Like, why, Brenda, would you buy coffee, when you hate coffee? If you did it because you wanted to try something different, then we have an emotional reason. If you did it to impress someone, then we have an emotional reason. If you just did it with no explanation behind it... then you're going to have confused, disengaged readers.

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $500. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $300.

Because, let's face it, if there is a troll on the bridge, but the protagonist does not need to get anything from the other side... then why would they bother? Just back out and get out. But if they need to face the troll because they have something to obtain from the other side, or they have a point to prove to someone -- now that is effective!

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $1,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $500.

I'll say it once. I'll say it again.

I am happy to read about Brenda buying a cup of coffee if it somehow creates tension. Like, maybe she is crushing on the barista. Maybe she wants to burn the place down because they misspelt her name on the cup. Maybe everyone in the store is pretending they don't know her. Maybe her coffee ends up tasting like burnt liver.

But if there is no tension, then there is no reason to see Brenda buy a cup of coffee.

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $2,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $1,000.

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $4,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $2,000.

If the answer is 'A', then you have just earned yourself $8,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'B', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $4,000.

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $16,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $8,000.

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $32,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $16,000.

If the answer is 'no', then you have just earned yourself $64,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'yes', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $32,000.

This one is a tricky one to answer, so you may need to tag an honest friend/reader. Sometimes, in our own head, it is easy to think our plots are not too confusing or complicated because we have had it in our heads for months or years! Some of my plot points have been in my head from when I was making sandcastles in preschool.

So think very carefully. Think about each plot point and how they connect. Think about your world-building and how much your readers really have to know to understand and enjoy your plot points. Is it a bit too much?

If the answer is 'no', then you have just earned yourself $125,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'yes', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $64,000.

If the answer is 'no', then you have just earned yourself $250,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'yes',

If the answer is 'yes', but you swear you are not a Wattpad advertisement, then you have just earned yourself $250,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $500,000. You may proceed to the next question.

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $250,000.

If the answer is 'yes', then you have just earned yourself $1,000,000. Congratulations -- you have a strong plot point!

If the answer is 'no', then your plot point is ! You have left the game with $500,000. Still. Pretty damn impressive.

Now, before we wrap up the question, let me show you the importance of the plot point being necessary. I will do this with Brenda. And her coffee.

Let's say that the story is about Brenda, who hates the taste of coffee.

The climax of my story will be Brenda saving the world from evil coffee beans.

Imagine the answer was no, and there is no change after Brenda buys the coffee. She just lives her life as normal. What would be the point of that?

However, let's say that the second she goes into the coffee shop to buy the coffee, she notices that everyone else around her is acting a bit weird. It's completely unusual -- they are chewing on their own hair, crying every time they hear an aeroplane, and shooting lasers from their eyes.

And that's when she learns there is something really wrong about the coffee in that coffee place. Instant change -- she's learnt something.

Okay, in my defence, I made this plot point in two minutes with no real thought. So... the answer could be no. If the answer was no, that would be a problem -- because then I would have no engaged readers!

So, why does Brenda even buy the coffee anyways? If she just walked in for no reason, then it's a pretty weak plot point. However, maybe the story starts with everyone gushing about the new coffee place and how amazing it is, and all her friends want to go. But Brenda doesn't see the hype -- she hates coffee, so why would she be hyped? But she is still, of course, curious. So, reluctantly, she decides to go to the coffee place to see the fuss, and to try to prove to her friends that there really is nothing special about coffee. It's all just the same burnt beans in hot water.

Now we have a goal/motivation as to why Brenda enters the coffee place. And it is, hopefully, relatable. I'm sure some of us have been in situations where we don't want to try something, but we are just so curious about what the hype is that... well, we eventually cave in.

I'm not saying it's a perfect plot point. I really am just trying my best. Send help.

I think, for the sake of this example, the second Brenda realises the world is erupting into chaos and people are shooting lasers at her, there really is a point of no return. Especially because she knows her friends will be coming there this afternoon -- she can't let them turn into demons! She probably could back out, but that would be at the expense of her new goal/motivation to keep her friends safe. So now, she has to stop her friends, or uncover the mystery of the demonic coffee beans.

If Brenda could just leave with no stakes then... well, what's the point of the story then? Why would she not just turn away and not give a damn?

Yes.

If she takes a wrong step, pew pew! Her arm will be lasered off.

Because of demonic coffee beans.

And that's a good thing -- it instantly should keep readers engaged and intrigued.

For the sake of this example, let's say that after Brenda blows up this coffee store, she is then targeted by the Big Bad Satanic Coffee Bean Werewolf With A Six Pack. The climax will be her fighting it. With a water gun.

So, yes. It will link together.

If it didn't, there would be that sense of purposelessness. Your reader will finish the story and think, "What was the point of that?"

I SURE HOPE SO!Like, come on, guys. She walks in. Lasers. Pew pew. You can't just hear a 'pew pew' and not think it is a plot point.

But if it wasn't clear, there would be quite a few confused readers wondering, "What was the point of that?"

Which, to be honest, you are probably all actually wondering that considering this example.

Brenda became curious after a conversation with friends about the amazing coffee shop, and consequently, went to the coffee shop. But then, people in the coffee shop started firing lasers at her. Therefore, Brenda blew up the whole damned place and caught the attention of Big Bad Satanic Coffee Bean Werewolf With A Six Pack.

It is cohesive, it links, and it shows that there is a build-up in the story.

Start of the story, so we are instantly into the thick of things. Hopefully, the premise of getting a cup of coffee isn't too overwhelming for readers.

Weak pacing can lead to readers disengaging with the story. For more information on that, there is a whole chapter titled 'Pacing' in this book!

Big Bad Satanic Coffee Bean Werewolf With A Six Pack vs Brenda. With a water gun.

Okay, I have not fleshed out this idea enough to know the answer to this one.

But you do want everything to tie together neatly -- it gives your reader satisfaction, and stops that awful question of, "Well, what was the point of that, then?"

I actually think Brenda vs Coffee might be a bit confusing, so in this case, I would either make sure this is a genre or book for younger children with very wild imaginations (so that it is up their alley) or tone it down a few notches.

Imagine my target audience is a historical fiction audience who wants to read about WW2, and wants it to be an emotional, historically accurate adventure. And I give them Coffee Bean wars. They would be alarmed, and would probably not enjoy the experience!

Imagine I have written this for the correct target audience, but start the story with the fight of Brenda vs Big Bad Satanic Coffee Bean Werewolf With A Six Pack. With no context, the reader might be too confused to want to read on.

Oh no.

Again, the idea has not been fleshed out enough to know the answer to this.

But imagine the answer was no, and that some of the characters at the coffee shop just exist and don't contribute to any of the fear or conversation or world-building. It's just like:

Laura stood by the corner. She waved.

And then nothing else happens with Laura. It would create the, "What was the point of that?" However, consider:

Laura stood by the corner. She waved. Just as I was about to wave back, her eyes glowed red.

Now, immediately, something is up. We are about to learn something. We are discovering something is wrong. And it's all because Laura now has purpose.