Feed Your Brain Enhance Your TP's

Now, I don’t know about the rest of you but when it comes to conjuring up maniacal plots I’ve just got to have my brain food. And if I happen to be contemplating crucial TP’s in my manuscript—bring on the big bag of M&M’s. Something about those colorful, little candies makes my brain hit warp speed. (scary, I know) In fact, it’s a requirement to have M&M’s when plotting especially when it comes to TP’s.

By the way, TP’s stand for Turning Points. Pivotal plot points positioned properly. HUH?

Say you’re writing a 400 page manuscript with 20 page chapters. Go ahead, say it. I’ll go grab the M&M’s and be right back. . . . Okay, ready? I use a really large dry erase board for this part but a poster board would work too. Mark off five columns with four rows so you end up with 20 squares in your grid. 20 chapters at 20 pages each equals 400 pages. Here, have a handful of M&M’s. I promise it will help. If you’re writing a shorter novel then divide your grid appropriately.

Number each of the boxes 1-20 going left to right and top to bottom. Down the far right side of your grid you should have boxes 5, 10, 15 and 20. (20 won’t be a TP, but the last time we told him we didn’t need him, he got his feelings hurt) When you start plotting your manuscript, those boxes will be your TP’s—except for you know who. He gets to be the happily-ever-after so I don’t know what he’s upset about.

Box 5 is approximately ¼ of the way through manuscript and will be your first TP. This scene should impact your novel in a big way. It should build on the conflict or introduce a new one. Depending on the genre you write, it could be a first kiss, a declaration, an admission or even the first time a couple makes love. Think hook, only on a much grander scale.

Box 10 is the midway point in your book and responsible for keeping your middle from sagging, because believe me when I tell you, there is nothing worse than a middle that sags. Box 10 holds the power to make or break your manuscript so, of course, Box 10 should include a cliffhanger that packs a powerful punch. Again, depending on the genre and your story, this cliffhanger should be something big enough to alter a character’s perception of someone or something.

Box 15 is the beginning of the end and also another major cliffhanger. It’s here that we, as the responsible party, have to build the intensity and sustain the romance/action/drama for the remainder of the book. From here on out you are building toward the black moment. Which, of course, is the TP of all TP’s.

If you think about it, Turning Points are like the moments right before a commercial in your favorite TV show. It’s what brings you back to your Lazy-Boy for the next segment. You just have to know what is going to happen to the characters you have fallen in love with. Turning Points in books should have the same draw. When filling out the remainder of the grid boxes, remember to add a hook ending to each chapter and build toward those Turning Points. It will maintain the level of intensity and keep your readers begging for more. Now grab some brain food, you’ve earned it.