THe Rule of Three

THE RULE OF THREE: Using the magic number to plot by Julie Miller

(This is an abridged version of a workshop I presented at the Romantic Times convention in Kansas City, Missouri, and again as a guest presenter on eHarlequin.com. While the focus of the original workshop was on plotting romantic suspense, I’ve altered it a bit to apply to all genres of mystery and suspense.)

In my experience as the author of 28 books--including award winners and bestsellers--I’m often asked: How do you know you have everything you need in your novels to tell a complete, satisfying story? The key is in plotting. While books will differ in terms of voice, storyline, level of descriptive detail, etc.--there are some elements that every mystery or suspense novel should contain. A crime. Clues. A character or characters who work to solve the mystery. Suspects. Red herrings. A good villain. Danger. Rising tension. Climactic black moment. Satisfying resolution. Etc. That’s a lot to work into one story, and to have all those elements intertwine smoothly. Putting such a story together can be overwhelming, especially for a less-experienced writer or one who is new to the genre. While my system isn’t the only way to plot a novel, the Rule of 3 is a tangible way to plot a story before getting started, or to help during the editing process. It’s also a checklist that can prove useful to writers who’ve hit a road block in a work in progress. If you understand the magic of the number 3 in stories, then you understand the basics of plotting--including introducing and escalating the conflict, developing characters, and delivering a satisfying resolution to the conflict.

Think of stories you know where the number 3 figures prominently--you know, Bears, Pigs, Wishes, and so on. For this article, I’ll concentrate on the children’s classic, “The Three Little Pigs.” If you analyze the story, you can see the theme of the number 3 is repeated in several ways. 3 protagonists (pigs). 3 settings (houses). 3 dangerous encounters (with the Big Bad Wolf).

Note the variety of the characters, even in this simple story--3 enterprising pigs, with different ideas, different work ethics, and varying degrees of intelligence. The pigs have an internal conflict--they each need a home, they each want to be safe. They have an external conflict (someone furry wants them for dinner). They each respond to danger in a different way
(1. run, 2. run, 3. build a fire, boil some water, and trick the wolf into coming down the chimney). You can apply the Rule of 3 characters to plotting any mystery story. How about 3 meetings between the main character and the suspected villain? The first encounter, they can walk away from (and may not even suspect the danger at hand). The second encounter is a little more intense, but the third time is the ultimate showdown. Following that basic structure, you’ve already plotted 3 scenes that build suspicions, increase the danger, and show the growth of characters within the story. Now look at the 3 settings in the children’s story--straw, twigs, and bricks. Obviously, you don’t have to be that literal in your story, but picking out 3 different settings for a scene to occur in your story automatically gives you 3 scenes of your plot. It can be 3 different countries, 3 locations within the same city, 3 rooms within the same house. And remember how each setting in the Pigs’ story intensifies. That can apply to building the conflict in your story, too.

How about a first meet in an open place, like a park or battlefield or on the open road? The second setting becomes more intimate--inside the house, inside the castle, inside the car--forcing your characters together. The third meeting can be where a turning point of your story takes place--the confrontation in the kitchen, overhearing that secret from behind the hidden panel near the throne, the police barrier the hero crashes that car through to rescue the woman he loves. Again, thinking in 3’s gives you not just ideas for scenes in your book, but a logical way to organize them so that the conflict intensifies and the suspense builds.

Finally, let’s look at 3 encounters. A full-length mystery will have more scenes than a children’s story like “The Three Little Pigs”, but I think you’ll follow the basic plotting idea. That first encounter is where the hero and supporting characters or maybe the villain and his thugs meet. The reader, like the characters on the page, gets to know who those important characters are. You might reveal tangible details, like name, looks, job; but you’ll also give the reader the first glimpse inside one or both characters--a secret, a fear, personality traits, etc. At the second meeting--farther along in your story--the reader has some idea of what the external conflict is that’s facing your characters--the pigs face the Big Bad Wolf and faulty architecture; they have nowhere to run except to each other. In a mystery, at that second encounter, you should reveal something more to the reader, just as the characters reveal something more to each other. It can be literal, as in a detective discussing clues with his partner. It can be a confession of a secret. It can be the discovery of a pivotal clue or narrow escape from the villain. By this second encounter, too, the reader needs to see those main characters starting to piece together clues and/or planning how they will trap or expose the villain. The third encounter needs to be the turning point of your story. In “The Three Little Pigs”, the third pig steps up and shows his mettle, protecting his home and his family, and conquering the threat that pursues them. In the denouement of the story, lessons are learned about building something solid, knowing who to count on, working hard and being smart. In a mystery, that third encounter needs to be where the main character discovers the truth, and puts something on the line (his/her life, reputation, friend or parent’s trust, etc.). After this last major encounter comes the resolution of the story--explaining how s/he solved the mystery, reunion with friends/family, what will happen to the villain, etc.. The resolution should also show how the main character has grown over the course of the story. As I stated earlier, the length of this article doesn’t allow me to share handouts or go into more detail, but I hope you get the picture. The Rule of 3 is magic.

When you’re plotting your own tales of mystery and danger, remember “The Three Little Pigs” and other tales with 3 repeating elements. By brainstorming before you write, you can come up with 3 scenes for the main characters to interact, 3 places for that interaction to occur, and 3 gradually escalating events that will build your story to a dramatic turning point. Obviously, 3 scenes aren’t enough to make a complete novel, but by plotting those 3 scenes, and remembering to build the danger/ risk/ threat/ action/ emotion/ intensity in each scene, you will see the overall structure of your story. And, hopefully, it will be as easy as 1-2-3 to fill in the spaces in between and plot your mystery or suspense story.

*Julie Miller is the award-winning author of more than 25 books for Harlequin and Dorchester. Her current release is a twisty romantic suspense from Harlequin Intrigue--BABY JANE DOE. You can visit Ms. Miller at her website at www.juliemiller.org


***Current Books from Julie Miller*** BASIC TRAINING--Harlequin Blaze--March 2006 BABY JANE DOE--The Precinct--Harlequin Intrigue--Oct. 2006 BEAST IN THE TOWER--Harlequin Intrigue--Jan. 2007 THE PRECINCT: VICE SQUAD--Harlequin Intrigue--June & July 2007