Plot Holes, Panic and Problem Solving

Behind the scenes of outlining Rescue Quest book 3

I thought I had it all figured out. With two books already published in my middle grade adventure trilogy set in Minecraft, I sat down to start planning book three, feeling confident—excited, even—to bring the series to a satisfying close. But somewhere between the neatly organised character arcs and the big emotional finale I’d imagined… I got stuck. Properly stuck.

The dual-world problem (or: why can’t everyone just stay in one place?)

One of the biggest challenges in outlining book three came from a decision I made at the end of Book Two: Harrizor escaping through a portal into the real world. At the time, it felt like the perfect twist—a villain on the loose in London! But as I started outlining Book Three, I realised I’d just created a huge logistical nightmare.

Now, our heroes needed to chase Harrizor across London and stop more mobs (Minecraft monsters) from following him through the portal.

They couldn’t be in two places at once, and for a while, I had no idea how to make it work without stretching the story’s logic—or worse, short-changing one part of the plot.

Embracing the split

Instead of trying to simplify the problem, I leaned into it. What if the team did split up? What if Tom and Lev returned to Minecraft, while Aarna stayed in London with Serena and (a newly-redeemed) Hunter?

This ended up being a gift in disguise. By embracing the split, I could:

• Create tension with parallel storylines, each with high stakes.

• Explore Aarna’s growth outside her usual support system.

• Let each character face unique challenges suited to their strengths.

• Build towards a powerful reunion when both worlds collide in the finale.

What started as a head-scratching plot hole has become one of the book’s structural elements. The dual-world approach allows me to to deepen character arcs, raise the stakes, and offer more variety in the adventure. Looking back, I’m actually grateful for the problem—it forced me to think bigger and bolder than I might have otherwise.

Dragon battle at the end of book two

The communication problem (a plot hole that nearly broke the story)

Another moment that stopped me in my tracks for a while was figuring out how our two teams of heroes—now separated between Minecraft and the real world—could coordinate their efforts, especially when it came to closing the portal between them. The timing had to be perfect. Without coordination, I risked either trapping 50% of the good guys in Minecraft forever or, worse, letting even more mobs escape into London.

For a while, I was stuck. The outline had both teams tackling massive tasks at the same time:

• Tom and Lev needed to complete a mob trap and gather portal-sealing materials inside Minecraft.

• Aarna and Serena had to locate and corner Harrizor the potions master in the real world.

• Both missions had to succeed at exactly the same time for the final plan to work.

But I hadn’t established any way for the two teams to communicate. No magical device. No cross-world signals. Nothing.

I walked away for a while (aka creative panic).

Hunter as the unexpected solution

Then, in one of those moments where everything clicks, Hunter became the solution. By positioning him back at Tom’s house, in front of the Minecraft screen, Hunter could:

• Watch Tom and Lev’s progress in-game and communicate with them.

• Stay connected with Aarna’s team in London.

• Act as the go-between to coordinate the exact timing for the portal closure.

This idea not only patched the plot hole—it gave Hunter the chance to complete his redemption arc. Once the bully, now an essential team member (oops spoiler alert). His role added tension too—can he keep both teams in sync as the clock ticks down?

Solving this hole felt like a win on a number of levels: it fixed the logistics, built suspense, and gave a meaningful payoff to Hunter’s journey.

The bridge to the fortress holding Tom’s sister in book one

Reflection: outlining vs. writing (and embracing the chaos)

I’ll be honest—I’m a bit too impatient for outlining. I’ve never outlined this many chapters in advance before! Sometimes, I just wanted to dive straight in and figure it out as I went along. Outlining can feel restrictive, less like creating a scaffold, more like donning a straight jacket. But this final book in the series is more complex than the previous two and working through these plot holes reminded me just how valuable this part of the process can be.

Catching these problems early has hopefully saved me from some serious headaches later. It gave me space to untangle tricky threads, strengthen character arcs, and build a tighter story before I’d written thousands of words I might have had to throw away.

That’s not to say the characters won’t cause more chaos during the writing process—because they definitely will. Things will change along the way (and that’s part of the fun of it). But for now, I’m glad I worked through these challenges and I do feel more confident heading into the next stage of the journey.

For my writer friends…

• Have you ever written yourself into a corner while plotting or drafting? How did you find your way out?

• Do you outline your stories or prefer to discover them as you write?

• What’s one creative “problem” you faced that ended up making your story stronger?

I’d love to hear your thoughts—or your own behind-the-scenes problem-solving stories in the comments.

Michelle 💙

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