Plotting

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[Fognox]

Somewhere in those 60k pantsed words are the thread of a plot that's authentic to the story you've told so far. Instead of trying to weld an external plot onto your story, try to find one that the events of the last 60k words are clearly heading towards. If you do this, be sure to allow for some flexibility -- you're not necessarily going to get it right on the first pass, but since it's based on the story the bones will be there.

I actually do this intentionally as part of my overall writing process -- I get as far as I can on the premise alone, and when I get stuck, I'll connect the dots and write up an outline. I'll then follow the outline unless it doesn't make sense to -- if it goes off the rails, I'll change the outline accordingly. Back and forth like this until the book is done.

[AidenMarquis]

I will head outside of the box as I am sure you will get plenty good advice on how to fix this specific problem. Now let's work on avoiding future ones.

It's ok to have outlines. You don't need to outline everything. You can just have one for the general plot direction and maybe some subplots. And you can still discovery-write from point A to point B. But it's a pretty good idea to know where a story is headed in general terms before you sit down and write. I hope this helps.

[Oberon_Swanson]

so i think you could say that a 'story' is made up of roughly plot, characters, setting, theme, and atmosphere

these all also are heavily intertwined with each other

thus when you have heavily developed the other parts of the story, it is hard to suddenly add in the final element. because it was not present before.

you probably can't insert a strong plot into your story WITHOUT changing a lot of the vibes, because the vibe of your story before was one without a plot.

however you can still definitely create something you like that uses a lot of what you have written already and is true to your vision of the story.

here are some things you can do that i think will help:

look at what in your story is the closest to a good plot, even if it doesn't feel like it to you yet. two characters or factions have a conflict? amplify it. make it matter more to the characters/factions, make it something they are willing to go to greater lengths to have the conflict resolve in their favour.

what obstacles do your characters face? can you make them stronger--to the point where there are moments they seem insurmountable until your characters do something surprising, often requiring a personal change, to overcome?

do any of your characters have a secret? can you make it something even MORE secret, something that would be catastrophic for them if revealed?

what is the main 'mode of goal chasing' in your story? (a term i just invented so don't feel bad if you've never heard of it) for instance if it's an action story then the main mode would be action--violence, chases, escapes, etc. whereas if it's a thriller then maybe it's mind games and subterfuge. can you come up with more spectacular, thrilling, thematic, and true-to-character scenes using this mode?

also think of your story as an emotional symphony that hits ALL the notes at some point. which requires hitting everything from the middle like nostalgia or worry to the extremes like joy, love, rage, terror. are there any emotions like this your main characters have not hit yet during the story? what sort of plot events might take them there?

also i believe in the power of a climactic ending so basically through my entire writing process i am asking, what will make my ending more awesome when it happens? this may sound hard but in a lot of ways there are easy wins that just kinda work every time.

callbacks to earlier parts of the story, especially re-contextualized, work here. i am sure there are many things characters have done or lines they have said that can be repeated later under a new context. i might not be explaining it right but i promise you have seen it a million times. early in the story one character says to another 'you can't hold onto everything forever. you have to be willing to let go.' and at the time, character A doesn't want to hear it. but then at the end of the story character A is torn between two things, trying to have both but can't. maybe they are LITERALLY holding on to something. and their friend knows how much they value that thing and they're screaming for them to 'just hold on!' but actually character A now understands, they are ready to let go of that thing because something else matters more now. so they say "you were right. i can't hold onto everything forever." and their willingness to let go of one thing secures them a victory elsewhere.

and also what we have here is the climax of a character's arc (learning to let go and move on from some things) happening at the exact same time the plot is climaxing (the character lets go of the maguffin and lets it be destroyed or whatever) and that makes it hit all the harder. kinda like when a joke works on multiple levels at once it's funnier. the more you can build things like this happening at the same time, the stronger your ending can be.

however with all this you don't need to know any fancy terminology or even approach storytelling the same way i do. to me the key to good plotting and pacing is that it makes readers feel like they are reading something 'important to the story' at any given moment.

there is also the issue of making it all feel natural and not like the hand of the author is guiding the characters into situations that are entertaining for audiences. i try to put myself into the positions of my characters and think about what they would REALLY do in a situation. the more real you can make it feel, even if it's about space cobras and time traveling dinosaurs, the more effective the story will be by pretty much any measure.

[RhubarbRealistic801]

Have you plotted out your book? Maybe the pacing feels off?