The destiny novel—a type of novel wherein characters are brought together by fate. There are two possible structures in plotting the destiny novel. The story is the same, but the situations differ.

Story: Eight pilgrims aboard a boat are in search of a new homeland. They must find a new land before their food supplies run out.

One structure for this situation could present the characters being forced into one another’s lives during the trip. When they discover a new land, the story ends. In the second structure, they discover a new land, and the story begins when they start to settle in their new home. The rest of the novel shows how fate brought them together.

Characters: A young mother and her child, a minister, a gold prospector, a young carpenter, an aging hunter, a middle-aged spinster, and a runaway thief. They are bound to encounter Native Americans in their new settlement.

In this first structure, all conflicts and episodes happen during their journey. Tension, suspense, hostility, mystery, and intrigue are created by what happens in the boat while they search for new land. The writer writes about each character’s background—his past, preoccupations, and attitude. Aggravating situations test each character, and this reveals more about their motivation.

First plot structure: The young carpenter shows interest in the young mother, showering her and her child with attention, and the young woman reciprocates. The spinster is jealous and does everything she can to seduce the young carpenter. In one of her attempts, she discovers that the young carpenter is her nephew. He wears a necklace she recognizes as her family heirloom that her eldest sister used to wear. The gold prospector is overly protective of his belongings, as he brought pieces of gold as his commodity for exchange. The runaway thief plans to steal from the prospector, but the prospector shoots and kills him. The minister befriends everyone while making a pass at the spinster and threatening her with eternal damnation if she does not yield to his advances. The middle-aged hunter plans to kill the minister, who raped and murdered his teenage daughter. The hunter strangles the minister in his sleep. The spinster and the hunter decide to form a relationship. They found a new settlement. A group of Native Americans meets them at the shore. The natives are friendly but calculating.

In the second structure, conflict and relationships are established when they reach a new settlement. In doing this, the writer writes about the journey and merely introduces the character. It will be an uneventful journey, with little tension brewing. The narrative of the journey ends in the first chapter. As they reach their new settlement, the story and the intertwining of characters’ destiny begins.

Second plot structure: Upon reaching the new land, they are greeted by Native Americans, who are friendly but cautious. The young mother and the carpenter decide to live together. The spinster requests the carpenter to help build her cabin, using it as an opportunity to seduce him. She discovers that the carpenter is her nephew from the necklace that he wore that she recognized as a family heirloom her eldest sister used to wear. The minister converts the natives into his Christian faith, but a few natives found the concept of religion repugnant. The prospector discovers that the natives are settling in a land rich with gold deposits and plots to poison the natives. He solicits the help of the thief. They poison the natives, but a few of their warriors survive. Wanting all the gold for himself, the thief blows the whistle to the native warriors about the prospector. Learning about this, the prospector shoots the thief and flees. The surviving natives go after the other pilgrims. The minister stops the surviving natives and pleads, but they scalp him alive. The rest of the pilgrims, along with the thief, managed to escape. However, they know that the natives are excellent trackers. One night, the thief attempts to rape the young woman at knifepoint. Her child wakes up and runs to the carpenter, who was busy setting up booby traps with the hunter in preparation for the Indian attack. The carpenter kills the thief. The natives succumbed to their booby traps while the hunter and carpenter snipe the remaining attackers. The spinster and the hunter decide to marry.