Plotting a Novel is Like Playing a Game of Rummy

by Andrea Lundgren

I’ve been thinking a lot about plotting lately (as my works-in-progress have been at that stage), and it occurred to me that it’s kind of like a game, played between reader and writer. In some ways, it reminds me of the game of rummy, where the goal is to collect a certain group of cards–so many duplicates and so many in a run (2-3-4, 5-6-7, etc.).

Of course, it’s a cooperative game, where the writer is trying to feed the reader certain cards in a certain order so the game will last a certain length. Too many right “cards” too fast, and the story will be over and resolved in the first few chapters. Too few, and the pacing will drag.