Everything you wanted to know about your plot but were afraid to ask (yourself.)

Whether you're starting to consider your story, or reconsidering it's merits for a second draft, you'll want to check a few things are in place.

Some of you will be familiar with the Five F's Kritikme Structure for a novel which is a re-working of Aristotle's Poetics and seen again and again in most  great novels. If not, it is summarised here as Flaw, False Hope, Flight, Fury and Facing it.

Your novel will begin by establishing the common understanding between the writer and reader that the the main character's Flaw - their way of coping with the burden of their particular life -  is a problem to be resolved, as yet unresolved ("For a man of his age, 52, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well" - the opening sentence of Coetzee's Disgrace is perfect in this regard opening up the opportunity of the novel, to show that his solution is imperfect.)

You will proceed to mire the character in the problem offering False Hope, a false solution, but then, dear writers either in first draft or second, you may encounter a big gulp of a problem. A bottle neck or as I call it the belt that's too slack or too tight.

You have multiple options next to offer your character per most mythological tales and fairy tales - teachers and trials  - to drive your character deeper into the woods of their existential woes, until they have no option but to turn and face themselves.

Now, at 'the belt' you need to double check these elements of your story so that you can write it with passion:

the location - is it far enough away from you to see it with electric 'holiday' eyes and partially create it to be true to your vision for the novel 
the season - are you telling the parts of the novel or the whole of it in a season that works with your story to enhance it's magic for you and the reader
the cast - have you got the right people in place now you're at the 'belt' to accompany your hero or heroine through trials, perhaps one or two of them will be a teacher (remembering that 'my enemy' is also 'my teacher.) Have you got a stoic, lamp-like, warm presence perhaps? A few 'fighters'. A comedic clown element perhaps. And of course your antagonist, though he or she may come and go.
 the identity of your main character - we do a lot of work on this element - but have you noted and written down in what ways your main character is different from you?

If you're stuck, double check these elements, remember per our old friend Nabokov to keep throwing rocks at the main character such that the options for 'what happens next' at the belt (some of which I have shown in the drawing above) can coincide to become so overwhelming that after 'Flight' and 'Fury' your hero or heroine has to turn and Face things, and encounter the particular and universal self.

All of this is patiently paced throughout the Novel in 90 plan but I thought it might help you to have a handy quick summary for checking against.

I'd love to know your thoughts, so please do comment below and of course share this post. When we collaborate as writers, we get stronger, better, harder, faster. Thank you.