I worked out a plot structure while I was analyzing some novels. My analysis was partly done to understand how the book was put together and partly to work out a template for writing the book.
I started my analysis on Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys
From this I developed a rough plot structure and then I overlayed this with the structure of a symphony. Why? I have no idea, that is just how my mind works.
Next I double checked the plot structure according to the hero’s journey described by Christopher Vogler in The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition
This resulted in a plot structure which I call the 34 Events which functions as a fill in the blank structure for a novel. Though I cannot claim any original invention here, I merely combined ideas, I think I have ended up with a very elegant and simple structure.
You can use this plot structure to write a novel merely taking the descriptions under each Event and changing it into a scene. Writing scenes of approximately 3000 words will give you a novel of 102 000 words. Some scenes will tend to be longer and others shorter so this is an average. Except for the prologue and epilogue you can repeat the whole structure for a secondary character. If you are for instance writing a romance you can work out two parallel plot structures and weave them into each other.
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[...] Read my description of a plot structure for a novel. [...]
[...] The sequence of events in a novel is called a plot. And there are a number of of the shelf plots that can be used. The basis starts of with what is called the three act structure but other versions such as the hero’s journey also exists. I have written about my own fill in the blanks plot structure here. [...]
[...] I just did that with LOCOMOTIVE ALCHEMY. For this novel the organizing structure is based on my own 34 events. [...]