by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan

Both must be built from the foundation up. Neither is a total DIY project. Each take some help.

Contractor

With a house, you hire a general contractor. With a novel, we already have our General Contractor … God. Take your blueprints or simply that “what-if” to Him in prayer. Ask Him to join you in the project.

Blueprints

In a house, you give the architect your basic desires and then wait to see the blueprints. In a novel, you lay down some plot points if you write by the seat of your pants. If you’re a plotter, this is the next step. Plot your chapters.

I fall somewhere in between Plotter and Pantster. I call myself a Planster. I write down the plot points I know and plan to allow my characters to tell me the rest.

Foundation

The foundation comes next. In a novel, the foundation is research. There’s a mountain of difference between … say 1930 and 2024. Your research will also add some possible plot points to your story.

While writing my Georgia Magnolias series, I learned in North Georgia, where I live, some towns didn’t have electricity until the 1950s. Yes, I said 1950s. I was gobsmacked! They had to depend on kerosene lamps for their light. Armed with that knowledge, I was able to add some interesting twists to By the Sweet Gum.

Framing

With our research done, it’s time to start building the support structure that keeps the roof from falling: the framing.

In a novel, there are two types of framing. For a plot driven novel, the plot points are the frame of your story. If your story is character driven, then building the characters is the framing. Did you know you can plot a novel through character motivation? It drives every decision they make.

Within the framing on a house, you will find the plumbing and electrical systems. In a novel, the characters’ Goals, Motivation, and Conflict are like the plumbing and electrical. How? They are shown through the character’s decisions and actions.

When you plug a cord into an outlet, you can use that appliance because the outlet attached to the electrical system hidden inside the wall. In a novel, a character is faced with a decision and their goals and motivation drive the decision (or in oher words supply the power for them to make a decision). Seamless weaving the GMCs into the structure of the story is paramount.

Framing a novel is where a Plotter or Planster will spend time interviewing and getting to know the people who will live in this novel. I spend a minimum of a week on each of my main characters.

Once the framing is done, you have a strong support system for your novel. Then you can write a good story, adding all the details to make it a rich experience.

Now is the time for critique partners to come alongside you. They will tell you if your “house” will stand or you need more work.

Ane Mulligan lives life from a director’s chair, both in theatre and at her desk, creating novels. Entranced with story by age three, at five, she saw PETER PAN onstage and was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. One day, her passions collided, and an award-winning, bestselling novelist emerged. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Conference Blog.