Get in. Get out. Get going.

Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, both by Ken Follett, are desert-island books. The kind of books that you could subsist on for years (if necessary, God forbid).

They are in a naive, "He felt scared"/"She went home," style. They are set during the Middle Ages. They are about a cathedral being built and repaired (respectively). And they're riveting.

The plotting is magnificent. Each scene starts out with a feeling of dread (Ex. The little boys flocked to the hanging). The scene's beginning becomes its middle when the central problem is introduced (Ex. A pregnant girl has also come to watch the hanging-- of her noble lover).

The middle of each scene is a series of twists and turns as various schemes play out. Finally, a scheme is either beneficial for each of the scene's parties, or the POV character has run out of options-- that's the climax.

And at the end of each scene the POV character has:
1. a defeat or triumph
2. a new resolution for what to do
3. an emotional change

Once the scene has climaxed, it ends IMMEDIATELY. There are a couple lines of white space, and POP we're in another scene (once again, filled with dread).

The books have momentum out of this world; they're *never* dull, I *always* want to read on. The masterful plotting is part of it (and imagine: these are books in which not much actually happens. The characters are peasants or children or monks, who generally lead quiet lives). Plotting like that takes a lot of skill and a lot of talent.

But ending after a climax doesn't. I resolve to work at Follett-style plot structure, and use Follett-style white space.