What I learned about plots at Swanwick Writers Summer School in Derbyshire

Writing Tips For Story Plots
Start a story with drama. Avoid sagging middles by piling on the agony for your hero or heroine. Contrast your hero with a foul villain. Your character seems more courageous if he starts out as a coward.

For plots and characters, place a series of names of characters, places and objects in a large yoghurt pot and pull them out at random. This works for creating a children's story, running a primary school class, doing charades at Xmas, finding subjects for speakers.

http://www.swanwickwritersschool.org.uk

Angela Lansbury