: Re: Do you need to have your major plot point established in the first few chapters? Background I've now reached 10,000 words on the second book in my trilogy. Wow, goals. I have just got to

@Samaraweera193

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Look ... I'm going to second most of what smoss321 said. Write the book. Don't worry about this stuff until revisions. That's what's most important.

That being said, it sounds (since you're asking about plot points) you could use some macro perspective. You mentioned you are writing a trilogy. Trilogies are, by definition, a single story broken into three episodes ... but it is a single story. So, you're in the process of writing the "middle" of the story (and, as we all know, the middles are often the most difficult).

There are a few things from your post which would concern me, if the book was finished. Loads of characters appearing at the beginning of book two sends up a red flag (of course, without knowing more about why, it's difficult to speculate). Mostly (from what little information we have), loads of characters makes me think you aren't beginning book two where book one left off (unless, of course, you killed off all the characters in book one). This is doubly true when combined with a ton of blather and faffing about. This makes me believe even you are seeing there is too much "fluff" in the beginning of your story.

Now, if, by plot point, you are referring to those pesky moments in an outline story structure advocates discuss (I'm one of those, by the way) ... assuming the wordcount goal for your novel is the standard 100,000 words, then by 10,000 words you should have the plot's Hook firmly established. ("You're a wizard, Harry." or "I volunteer as tribute!").

But these things ... these plot points ... they're locations in your story are just guidelines. 10% for your hook doesn't mean it needs to be precisely at the 10,000 work mark.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: Don't worry about this stuff right now. Unless you are an in-depth and intense outliner (which I am), write the draft and take care of these kinds of revisions later (which I also do). It will cost you nothing but time to allow your character to do what they want during this first drafting experience, so long as you go back through when its finished and cull the unnecessary during revisions.

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