Your story feels off, but you can’t pinpoint why. Characters wander aimlessly. Events happen without consequence. Readers give up halfway through. Sound familiar?

Before you scrap everything and start over, try this: your plot might not be broken—it might just be missing one crucial element. Stories need six essential beats to feel complete, and when one goes missing, the whole structure wobbles.

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Think of these as diagnostic questions. Run your story through each one, and you’ll quickly identify what’s keeping readers from turning pages.

Question 1: What’s Normal? (The Ordinary World)

The Diagnostic: Can you clearly describe your character’s life before everything goes sideways?

Most writers rush past this, eager to get to the “good stuff.” Big mistake. Readers need to understand what your character stands to lose. Without a clear ordinary world, your story has no stakes.

The Fix: Establish three things quickly—your character’s routine, their main relationship, and what they value most. You don’t need pages of backstory. A few specific details work better than lengthy exposition.

Question 2: What Breaks the Pattern? (New Direction)

The Diagnostic: Is there a clear moment when everything changes?

This isn’t just “something happens.” It’s the moment your character’s ordinary world becomes impossible to maintain. The job offer that requires moving across the country. The phone call that changes everything. The discovery that turns their worldview upside down.

The Fix: Make this moment specific and personal. Generic disasters don’t stick. Personal upheavals do.

Try This: Exercise #1 – The Three-List Reality Check For your current story, create three lists: Normal Life: Five specific details about your character’s ordinary world The Break: What exactly forces them out of that world What’s at Stake: Three concrete things they could lose if they fail If you struggle with any list, you’ve found your plot problem.

Question 3: When Does the Plan Fall Apart? (Change of Plans)

The Diagnostic: About halfway through your story, does your character realize their original approach won’t work?

This is where good stories separate from great ones. Your character thought they knew how to handle the new direction. They were wrong. Now what?

The Fix: Force your character to abandon their comfort zone completely. The shy person must become bold. The loner must ask for help. The controller must let go.

Question 4: What’s the Worst-Case Scenario? (Darkest Moment)

The Diagnostic: Is there a moment when your character faces their biggest fear?

This isn’t just “things go wrong.” It’s when your character confronts the one thing they’ve been avoiding the entire story. The conversation they’ve been dreading. The truth they’ve been denying. The choice they never wanted to make.

The Fix: Make this moment about character, not just plot. External disasters are forgettable. Internal reckonings stick.

Try This: Exercise #2: The Fear Map Draw a simple diagram: Center: Your character’s biggest fear Arrows pointing in: Three ways your story has been pushing them toward this fear Arrows pointing out: Three ways they’ve been avoiding or deflecting Your darkest moment should be when avoidance becomes impossible. For your current story, create three lists: Normal Life: Five specific details about your character’s ordinary world The Break: What exactly forces them out of that world What’s at Stake: Three concrete things they could lose if they fail If you struggle with any list, you’ve found your plot problem.

Question 5: How Do They Fight Back? (Climax)

The Diagnostic: Does your character make a choice that only they could make?

Climaxes aren’t about explosions or sword fights. They’re about character revelation. Your protagonist must make a decision that proves they’ve grown, learned, or changed. If any other character could make the same choice, you haven’t found your real climax yet.

The Fix: Connect this choice directly to their character arc. The coward finds courage. The cynic chooses to trust. The perfectionist embraces failure.

Question 6: What’s Different Now? (Resolution)

The Diagnostic: Has your character’s ordinary world fundamentally changed?

You can’t just hit “reset” and pretend nothing happened. Your character should be different, their relationships should be different, or their world should be different. Preferably all three.

The Fix: Show the new normal. Give readers a glimpse of how your character navigates life with their new knowledge, skills, or perspective.

ersonal upheavals do.

Try This: Exercise #3 – The Before and After Snapshot Write two 50-word descriptions: Before: Your character’s mindset at the beginning After: Their mindset at the end If they sound too similar, your character hasn’t traveled far enough. For your current story, create three lists: Normal Life: Five specific details about your character’s ordinary world The Break: What exactly forces them out of that world What’s at Stake: Three concrete things they could lose if they fail If you struggle with any list, you’ve found your plot problem.

The Diagnostic in Action

Let’s run a familiar story through these questions. Take The Devil Wears Prada:

1. Normal: Andy’s ordinary world is journalism school idealism
2. New Direction: She takes a job at Runway to survive in New York
3. Change of Plans: She realizes being good at this job requires compromising her values
4. Darkest Moment: She becomes Miranda—ruthless, isolated, successful but empty
5. Climax: She chooses her integrity over career advancement
6. Resolution: She finds work that aligns with her values, wiser but still idealistic

See how each beat connects to character growth, not just plot events?

The Bottom Line

Plot isn’t about what happens—it’s about why it matters to your specific character. These six questions ensure that every major story beat serves both plot advancement and character development.

When your story feels broken, it’s usually because you’re missing one of these elements. Fix the missing piece, and watch your plot snap into focus.

After all, readers don’t remember what happened in your story. They remember how it changed your character—and how it changed them.