Although fall doesn't officially start until September 22nd this year, the month of August always feels like summer's end to me. I think it's partly all the back to school sales; seeing those inevitable yellow cartoon bus signs plastered on a bin of file folders or hanging over an endcap of highlighters signals the finality of fun for the year (for me, anyway -- summer is my favorite season.)
This week I've been plotting a new work project that will keep me writing until the holidays arrive, and like any fresh story I'm completely in love with it. I want to start it so much I've been scribbling bits of dialogue and sketching characters and printing out research notes all week. Tomorrow I'm heading to the office supply place to acquire a new binder -- and I'm thinking of colors and how I want to make this huge, rich palette for the whole cast of characters, because they're all so different, and yet -- look, I can do this all day. My point is that I'm excited and thrilled and so enthusiastic about this story that I feel as if I could write the first book start to finish this weekend.
But: I'm not ready to write it.
Why? Not like I haven't written a book before, right? Plus I know what I want to do. I can even see some of it in my head. When I'm this worked up about all the sparkling beautiful parts of a story, it can be almost painful not to write it. But: I'm not a pantser, or a particularly organic writer. I'm a plotter who wants everything nailed down before I write a single word. I need the whole story, figured out, run through, mapped out and precisely detailed, and that I don't have down or done yet.
It doesn't sound like fun, and I know a lot of writers can't do the kind of prep work I do because it kills their mojo. I'd love to be a more organic, artistic writer, but I know me. When I do this I have to be very methodical, very focused, or I won't finish the project. I don't want to waffle or wonder when I'm writing because that derails me. I don't want the story to be a surprise. Fun for me is getting it done minus train wrecks or surprise parties on the page.
Knowing the kind of writer you are is half the battle, I think. Our blog pal LJ Cohen, who is probably my polar opposite as a writer, talked about how she works in this post. One thing she wrote should be tattooed on all our bods somewhere: "Don't let anyone get away with saying there's only one way to write a novel."
I know tons of ways to write a novel; I've probably tried at least half of them. I also know what works best for me -- the way that hurts a little in this glitzy in-love stage I'm in, but that will enable me to deliver. So I'll spend the next day or two finishing up my very detailed outlines of the plots and characters, and discuss them with my client while I do a bit more research and let everything percolate. Once I have all that done, I'll set up my novel notebook, sit down at the computer and write those two words that still send a little shiver through me, even after typing them sixty-seven times: Chapter One.
What have you got planned for your fall writing? Anyone thinking about doing NaNoWriMo? Tell me in comments.
Showing posts with label plotting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plotting. Show all posts
Friday, August 04, 2017
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Plot as You Go List
I have tried pantsing as a writer -- once -- and while I did write and finish a fairly decent short story that way, I had to fight anxiety entire time. Knowing what the story will be before I write a single word of it doesn't diminish or ruining the writing experience for me; it makes me more relaxed and focused.
This year with my 1000 cards project I've been coloring outside the lines by courting creative spontaneity. A few months into the project I stopped trying to plan so much and instead allowed my materials inspire me as I work (which usually involves heaping a bunch of stuff on my work table, sorting through them and letting the idea gradually come together as I paint, sew, ink or whatever.) As a pantser artist I can't claim 100% success, but as I've progressed I started getting more of a feel for spontaneous design. Every mistake and failure teaches me something. What does work also helps, because once I'm finished I can analyze what went right and apply that to the next effort.
I've always imagined that pantser writers do in their heads as they write what I do in advance of writing with my outlines and novel notebooks, but the art project has taught me differently. Pantsers probably have a lot of loose, nebulous story ideas that they keep in a pile on their mental work table in no particular order or arrangement. When they're ready to write, they select from that pile whatever appeals to or inspires them to continue the story. The plotting then has to happen spontaneously, as the actual writing is hitting the page. It does create a kind of magical quality when it works, but it must be frustrating as hell when it doesn't.
A lot of what I'm going to post in the next couple of weeks before NaNoWriMo will be for the plotters and advance planners; that's the method I know best and it does work for me. But I think I can help the pantsers a little this year, too. I'm going to try, anyway.
One thing I've been doing with the art project is keeping a running list/index of what types of cards I've been making. I wanted to make a variety of cards while not depending too heavily on any one technique. The same can be done with a story if you keep a running list of scenes or chapters you've already written to help you decide where you want to take the plot from there. This should also not ruin the creative experience for you because the list only details what you've already written, not what you're going to write.
For this plot as you go list you want to cover just the basics: one line with the most important events, where they take place, and from whose POV you've written, like so:
11/1 -- Scene One, Half-Angel Marcia accidentally acquires a mystic diamond, goes to Halloween party. Locations: Marcia's home, Halloween party. POV: Marcia
11/2 -- Scene Two, Half-Demon John meets Marcia at Halloween party; they have passionate encounter while locked in closet. Location: Halloween party. POV: John
11/3 -- Scene Three, Demon thief tries unsuccessfully to steal diamond, John protects Marcia, Marcia's house explodes. Locations: Halloween party, John's car, Marcia's house. POV: Marcia
11/4 -- Scene Four: John places Marcia in protective custody, they discover their parents are immortal enemies, demon thief casts spell over police department. Locations: John's car, safe house, police station. POV: John/Demon Thief.
You can also tag certain scenes with keyword markers (I usually put them in brackets) so you can track the story details you've already addressed:
11/2 -- Scene Two, Half-Demon John meets Marcia at Halloween party; they have passionate encounter while locked in closet. Location: Halloween party. POV: John. [first love scene.]
11/4 -- Scene Four: John places Marcia in protective custody, they discover their parents are immortal enemies, demon thief casts spell over police department. Locations: John's car, safe house, police station. POV: John/Demon Thief. [First appearance of demon thief.]
If you keep this list updated, and glance at it before you start your new writing session, you can use it like a cheat sheet to tell you where you left off with the action, whose POV you wrote from last, where you are in reference to your settings, etc. That could help you eliminate a lot of back-tracking and avoid the temptation of re-reading and fiddling and possibly becoming trapped in a rewriting loop.
One final plus to keeping a plot as you go list -- when you're finished your story you'll have all the details of the story in order as they occur. This can be very helpful, not only to review for editing purposes, but also for reference when putting together a novel synopsis for submission.
Related Links:
PBW's Ten Point Plot Template -- my one-page minimalist plotting worksheet.
Planning, Scheming, and Plotting by Stephannie Beman -- Stephannie talks about her method of sketching out a nice, brief checklist to loosely organize her stories in advance of the writing.
Moody Writing's Plotting in Your Pants -- Mooderino explains how thinking out a scene first can help with pantsing your way through t
Photo credit: David Hugheshe writing.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Novel Series Outlining
My newest editor gave me an interesting task last week that I thought I'd share. First, the backstory: In January the editor I'd worked with for the last seven years decided to quit the business. When something like this happens, most writers quietly have a cow (and I admit, for a day or two I had a small calf) but it can also be a good thing. Shortly after the bomb dropped I recognized the sterling opportunity peeking out from under the rubble, and moved quickly to request reassignment to an editor I've wanted to work with for some time -- and got it.
The only pickle still floating in the party punch was what the new editor inherited along with me: the new Darkyn trilogy. Since my new editor hadn't worked on the original series, she doesn't have first-hand knowledge of all the characters, plot lines and world-building in those books. And while I always try to include enough history in every book to keep new-to-me readers from getting lost, an editor needs to know a lot more. When she asked me to write up an overview of the characters and stories from the original series, I jumped right on it.
Outlining an entire series after you've written it might sound easy, but for me it meant condensing over 1700 pages of notes, plots, synopses, character outlines, research etc. into a reference document that someone with no knowledge of my novels could understand and use. Basically I put aside all my notes, wrote up what I would say if we were talking about my books in person, and then edited that first draft down to the simplest details.
A series outline can include, but is not limited to:
A series premise -- the tag or hook line for the entire series.
Titles in reading order
World-building outline -- this is often difficult to summarize, especially if you've built your world(s) from scratch. My advice is to map it out as briefly as you can using broad points to illustrate only the most important elements.
Plot summaries for each book -- to avoid writing full synopses, try to limit your summaries to one paragraph.
Character outlines -- major facts only. You may want to add appearance references (i.e. which book(s) does this character appear.)
There are also some genre-specific details you may want to include, such as a timeline of story and historic events, an explanation of a magic system, family or relationship trees, planetary or technological features, or any element of your invention that contributes significantly in some way to the series. Just remember to avoid getting caught up in TME (too much explanation.)
Depending on what information is needed there are a couple of ways to do a series outline, so it's also a good idea to ask for specifics as to what the editor wants to see. I did, and my editor requested just the major players and their story lines, so I focused my overviews accordingly, and distilled the series down to eleven pages, which I think is pretty decent given the mountain of information involved.
If you're considering writing a series, this is also a good way to figure out your ideas in advance. This comes in very handy when you sell the first novel and the editor asks, "Are you planning to write a sequel or a series?" Having your series outline prepared can even result in an offer for multiple books versus one.
To show you how I wrote my outline, I've uploaded some samples from it, which you can read here (warning, this includes spoilers for If Angels Burn.)
The only pickle still floating in the party punch was what the new editor inherited along with me: the new Darkyn trilogy. Since my new editor hadn't worked on the original series, she doesn't have first-hand knowledge of all the characters, plot lines and world-building in those books. And while I always try to include enough history in every book to keep new-to-me readers from getting lost, an editor needs to know a lot more. When she asked me to write up an overview of the characters and stories from the original series, I jumped right on it.
Outlining an entire series after you've written it might sound easy, but for me it meant condensing over 1700 pages of notes, plots, synopses, character outlines, research etc. into a reference document that someone with no knowledge of my novels could understand and use. Basically I put aside all my notes, wrote up what I would say if we were talking about my books in person, and then edited that first draft down to the simplest details.
A series outline can include, but is not limited to:
A series premise -- the tag or hook line for the entire series.
Titles in reading order
World-building outline -- this is often difficult to summarize, especially if you've built your world(s) from scratch. My advice is to map it out as briefly as you can using broad points to illustrate only the most important elements.
Plot summaries for each book -- to avoid writing full synopses, try to limit your summaries to one paragraph.
Character outlines -- major facts only. You may want to add appearance references (i.e. which book(s) does this character appear.)
There are also some genre-specific details you may want to include, such as a timeline of story and historic events, an explanation of a magic system, family or relationship trees, planetary or technological features, or any element of your invention that contributes significantly in some way to the series. Just remember to avoid getting caught up in TME (too much explanation.)
Depending on what information is needed there are a couple of ways to do a series outline, so it's also a good idea to ask for specifics as to what the editor wants to see. I did, and my editor requested just the major players and their story lines, so I focused my overviews accordingly, and distilled the series down to eleven pages, which I think is pretty decent given the mountain of information involved.
If you're considering writing a series, this is also a good way to figure out your ideas in advance. This comes in very handy when you sell the first novel and the editor asks, "Are you planning to write a sequel or a series?" Having your series outline prepared can even result in an offer for multiple books versus one.
To show you how I wrote my outline, I've uploaded some samples from it, which you can read here (warning, this includes spoilers for If Angels Burn.)
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
NaNoWriMo Wednesday
Every Wednesday from now until November 1st I'll be posting some ideas, resources and other info that may be of help to those of you planning to join in NaNoWriMo 2010.
Last week I talked to my agent about an idea I had for a new trilogy of novels. Two phone calls later, she asked me to put together a proposal and send it to her. That meant choosing titles, character casts, themes, standalone plots and subplots, interconnecting threads and a concept that would tie three stories together -- and all I had to work with was an idea. Four days, twenty-one pages and 5,454 words later, I sent my agent the trilogy proposal, which is now in the hands of an interested editor.
Don't start calling me a novel ATM. The first reason this proposal came together as fast and well as it did was because the idea I started with was pure story fuel: potent, clear, and powerful enough to keep the engines of my imagination revved. The second reason is because I did the work required to develop it from an idea into stories for three books.
When you think about what you want to write for your November novel, you're likely sorting through a lot of ideas. Some seem good, others great, but the best ones will be like finding diamonds in a gravel pit; they can dazzle and even blind you to everything else in your head. You become so excited you can't wait to start up your writing engines and hit the story road.
This period of excitement is also as it should be. Who wants to write a book based on an idea that bores you to tears? Not me.
At some point you'll realize you have some decisions to make, because ideas are not novels (if they were, I'd surely be writing my millionth by now.) Your idea needs some things, say like a title to name it, and characters to explore it, and a setting to occupy it, and suddenly your idea may begin losing some its glitter as all these undecided things start piling up around it and smothering it. You may decide not to worry about this stuff until you start writing the book, because the story details are a lot of work, and this, this is supposed to be fun.
A few of you will sit down in November and write a novel based solely on your idea, simply making it up as you go along. It will also work out for you because you are organic writers and that's your natural storytelling process. On behalf of all non-organic writers, let me say: we really hate you.
Those of you who are not organic writers but still choose to run with just an idea may get lucky and end up with diamond-quality story. More than likely, though, you will find yourselves backtracking and rewriting a lot as you try to stretch out that idea. You may become frustrated with how long it takes to work out the things that your idea didn't cover. You may even give up when your idea sputters out and leaves you stranded in the middle of Chapter Three without a clue as how to continue on.
Bottom line for non-organic writers: no matter how dazzling or fun it is, don't rely on just an idea. Take the time now to think about it, make some decisions and develop it into what you need to write a novel.
Related links:
Ten Point Novel Concept Outline Template -- this is a very simple plotting template (followed by a filled-out example) to help you painlessly outline your idea.
Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes by Alicia Rasley
Outlining: Clarifying & Accelerating Understanding & Organization by Dr. Robert S. Houghton (link corrected)
PBW's Novel Outlining 101
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Scene On-Call List
I've been trying a couple different things with writing the Kyndred books, and one of them is creating an on-call list of characters for each scene. This is like a crib sheet that breaks down every chapter by scene and POV, along with a list of the characters who should make an appearance (this doesn't always work out; while I'm writing I may add or subtract characters as needed.)
My on-call list looks something like this (note: POV characters' names are underlined):
Intro A: Palace War Room -- Soko imprisoned, accepts fate, kills ambassador, taken to goldworks [Tend, Scribe, Captain, guards, goldsmiths]
Intro B: Malibu Beach House -- Brent's confession to Randa, Emily gets out of bed, Nanny takes Emily upstairs, Randa argues with Brent about selling Emily/threatens to leave, Brent kills Randa [Randa, Brent, Emily, Nanny, hskpr?]
Chap 1A: Deployed Unit Doyle Drive SF -- Charlie and Vince finishing shift, receive 11-81, respond, find victims in road and CHP dead, Limo Guy shouts warning, Vince is shot, Sniper shows himself, jumps from bridge [Charlie, Vince, CHP, 3 GSW vics, Limo Driver, Limo Guy, Sniper/Jumper]
Using an on-call sheet like this is faster than reading the synopsis or even breaking up the synopsis into chapter or scene summaries (which is what I've always done in the past.) Each scene breakdown gives me a brief summary of where I am in the setting, what action needs to take place, and who is on stage or waiting in the wings. This also creates a great checklist for after I finish writing and go back to edit it (i.e. How far is Doyle from the bridge on the map to verify response time? Did I show all the vics? Where did I stage the jumper in relation to the fender bender to check line of fire?)
I've been preparing my on-call sheet for the entire novel in advance mainly so I can think about whose head I need to be in for what. Some scenes have to be told from the POV of a particular character to give them the maximum impact and effectiveness. Also, when you're writing in third person with multiple POVs, you can get caught up in one character's POV and forget that there are other characters who need to take the lead, and end up with eighteen chapters in one character's POV and two chapters in another.
For those who would like a blank worksheet to use for this approach, I've posted one over onScribd.com here (I could only fit 2 scenes on the one page so you'll have to condense or print extra copies as needed.) Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed this document and temporarily transferred it to Google Docs here. See my post about this scam here.
My on-call list looks something like this (note: POV characters' names are underlined):
Intro A: Palace War Room -- Soko imprisoned, accepts fate, kills ambassador, taken to goldworks [Tend, Scribe, Captain, guards, goldsmiths]
Intro B: Malibu Beach House -- Brent's confession to Randa, Emily gets out of bed, Nanny takes Emily upstairs, Randa argues with Brent about selling Emily/threatens to leave, Brent kills Randa [Randa, Brent, Emily, Nanny, hskpr?]
Chap 1A: Deployed Unit Doyle Drive SF -- Charlie and Vince finishing shift, receive 11-81, respond, find victims in road and CHP dead, Limo Guy shouts warning, Vince is shot, Sniper shows himself, jumps from bridge [Charlie, Vince, CHP, 3 GSW vics, Limo Driver, Limo Guy, Sniper/Jumper]
Using an on-call sheet like this is faster than reading the synopsis or even breaking up the synopsis into chapter or scene summaries (which is what I've always done in the past.) Each scene breakdown gives me a brief summary of where I am in the setting, what action needs to take place, and who is on stage or waiting in the wings. This also creates a great checklist for after I finish writing and go back to edit it (i.e. How far is Doyle from the bridge on the map to verify response time? Did I show all the vics? Where did I stage the jumper in relation to the fender bender to check line of fire?)
I've been preparing my on-call sheet for the entire novel in advance mainly so I can think about whose head I need to be in for what. Some scenes have to be told from the POV of a particular character to give them the maximum impact and effectiveness. Also, when you're writing in third person with multiple POVs, you can get caught up in one character's POV and forget that there are other characters who need to take the lead, and end up with eighteen chapters in one character's POV and two chapters in another.
For those who would like a blank worksheet to use for this approach, I've posted one over on
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Speed the Outline
I've had a couple of folks who are going to be participating in NaNoWriMo ask me to put together the shortest/least time-consuming method of outlining a novel concept.
Honestly, it's just about impossible to come up with a one-size-fits-all-genres template. I know, I've tried. Every genre is different, and you need to be aware of the general expectations for stories in that genre (even if you plan to ignore them, at least know what they are.)
Every writer's process varies, too. Some, like me, usually start with a vivid character. Others have a strong plot idea. Then there are begin-with-setting writers who fall in love with a location; the go-with-way-cool technology writers, and even writers who come up with a brilliant ending and work backward from there. Nor should I leave out the writers who simply feel something nameless in the back of their head, open a blank document page and start writing.
So that's the upfront disclaimer -- this is surely not going to work for everyone. Try it out as is or rework it to suit your particular writing and/or story needs (not everyone will have three suplots, for example, you may need more or less.) Also, this is just for the writer's personal use; I don't recommend sending this to an editor or using it for anything but writing the story or maybe as notes for the writer to consult during a verbal/phone pitch.
Since most of you are familiar with my novel crash test dummies, John and Marcia, I'm going to use their story as an example to fill in this template.
Ten Point Novel Concept Outline
Who: Marcia (half-angel librarian); John (half-demon cop); Demon thief (unnamed)
What: must work together to defeat demon diamond thief, avert Armageddon
When/Where: Modern time, Metro San Francisco
Why: Thief intends to use mystic diamond to open the gates of Hell, bring the inhabitants to the mortal world and destroy mankind.
Primary plot line: John and Marcia team up to protect diamond, defeat demon thief.
Subplot #1: John and Marcia were created to battle each other but fall in love.
Subplot #2: Demon thief falls in love with Marcia, wants to kill John
Subplot #3: John's demon father and Marcia's angel mother try to separate them.
Major Twist: The thief is the demon side of John's personality (they're the same person.) Neither are aware they share the same body.
Resolution: John and Marcia each must choose to sacrifice their inhuman powers to save the world.
Once you have these ten points outlined, you have a very general overview of your story. I think these are the basic decisions you have to make before you write (as long as that doesn't throw a monkey wrench at your muse's head.)
If you'd like to print out the blank template, I've posted it, the completed example and the links listed below over on Scribd here. *Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed my free library from their site, and no longer use or recommend using their service. My free reads may be read online or downloaded for free from Google Docs; go to my freebies and free reads page for the links. See my post about this scam here.
Related Links:
Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes by Alicia Rasley
Outlining: Clarifying & Accelerating Understanding & Organization by Dr. Robert S. Houghton.
PBW's Novel Outlining 101
Honestly, it's just about impossible to come up with a one-size-fits-all-genres template. I know, I've tried. Every genre is different, and you need to be aware of the general expectations for stories in that genre (even if you plan to ignore them, at least know what they are.)
Every writer's process varies, too. Some, like me, usually start with a vivid character. Others have a strong plot idea. Then there are begin-with-setting writers who fall in love with a location; the go-with-way-cool technology writers, and even writers who come up with a brilliant ending and work backward from there. Nor should I leave out the writers who simply feel something nameless in the back of their head, open a blank document page and start writing.
So that's the upfront disclaimer -- this is surely not going to work for everyone. Try it out as is or rework it to suit your particular writing and/or story needs (not everyone will have three suplots, for example, you may need more or less.) Also, this is just for the writer's personal use; I don't recommend sending this to an editor or using it for anything but writing the story or maybe as notes for the writer to consult during a verbal/phone pitch.
Since most of you are familiar with my novel crash test dummies, John and Marcia, I'm going to use their story as an example to fill in this template.
Ten Point Novel Concept Outline
Who: Marcia (half-angel librarian); John (half-demon cop); Demon thief (unnamed)
What: must work together to defeat demon diamond thief, avert Armageddon
When/Where: Modern time, Metro San Francisco
Why: Thief intends to use mystic diamond to open the gates of Hell, bring the inhabitants to the mortal world and destroy mankind.
Primary plot line: John and Marcia team up to protect diamond, defeat demon thief.
Subplot #1: John and Marcia were created to battle each other but fall in love.
Subplot #2: Demon thief falls in love with Marcia, wants to kill John
Subplot #3: John's demon father and Marcia's angel mother try to separate them.
Major Twist: The thief is the demon side of John's personality (they're the same person.) Neither are aware they share the same body.
Resolution: John and Marcia each must choose to sacrifice their inhuman powers to save the world.
Once you have these ten points outlined, you have a very general overview of your story. I think these are the basic decisions you have to make before you write (as long as that doesn't throw a monkey wrench at your muse's head.)
Related Links:
Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes by Alicia Rasley
Outlining: Clarifying & Accelerating Understanding & Organization by Dr. Robert S. Houghton.
PBW's Novel Outlining 101
Monday, July 28, 2008
VW#1: Power Plotting
I. Power to the Story
I've seen story plot defined by writers in a dozen different ways. Some consider plot to be an orderly plan for writing a novel; others see it as an intricate and sometimes confusing tangle of characters, settings, conflicts, running threads, revelations and resolutions. There are pro-plotters out there who won't write a story without first plotting it, anti-plotters who see plotting as beneath them and sniff over anyone who does it, and plot-phobics who avoid plotting like it's got eight legs, poison-dripping fangs and wants to eat their muse alive.
Today I'd like you all to think about plot a little differently. Imagine it working for your story as electrical service does for your home.
II. Why Wire a Story?
If I were to show you how your house is wired for power with individual circuits, it would probably look something like this:
Confused? Don't worry, so am I. Even color-coded and simplified, all those individual circuits bouncing around the rooms make it look like someone just blew up a bubblegum machine in there. Writers face the same sort of dilemma when they try to write a story without having a plan of some sort -- during the creative process, they have so many scenes, characters, storylines and ideas bouncing around inside them that confusion is inevitable.
What we need to do is go back and begin where everything starts; at the source: the main electrical panel for the house. This is where it all begins:
The same is true with plotting a novel. We're going to plot out a story as if it were an electrical panel that provides main power, channels it to the appropriate places, diverts and uses it in various outlets in order to make the entire story system work.
III. The Main
In an electrical panel, the main is where it all begins; the primary source of power for an electrical service. It's why the power company bills you each month, and what they shut off if you don't pay the bill.
In your story, the main is your main conflict. It's the Why? of the story, the reason all of the characters in all of the places do and say all of the things that occur in the story. It's the source on which everything else depends, and it has to be powerful enough to run everything else depending on it.
Choosing your main conflict may be the most important decision you make for a story. A weak main won't carry the entire story; inevitably it collapses under the strain. An unfocused or unstable main will result in story lag and confusion. The main may not be the first decision you make when writing, but it demands you make it a strong, focused statement when you do:
A Russian captain defects with a prototype silent-running missile submarine.
A secret about Jesus Christ is hidden in a Da Vinci painting.
A misfit girl falls in love with a vampire boy at her new high school.
Remember the main in main conflict. If you don't supply enough power to a characterization, or a setting, or an exchange of dialogue, you may lose that part of your story. If your main conflict doesn't have enough power, no matter how great you've wired everything else, you lose the entire story.
IV. Setting -- the Bus Bars
In an electrical panel, the bus bars channel the main power to the breakers. They are the foundation to which everything that needs the main power is attached.
The bus bars of your story are your settings. The Where? of the story may not seem as important as the main, but think of that Russian sub captain trying to defect in the middle of South Dakota, or trying to find the secret of the famous Da Vinci painting in Antarctica, or the misfit and the vampire trying to fall in love in the Sahara desert. Choosing where your story happens channels the power from the main to the appropriate place.
In this part of your diagram, you don't have to get too detailed. Pick the general locations where your story happens according to the scope of the story -- if you're going continent-hopping, select the cities and countries. If you plan to stick in one city or town, use general locations within the city limits. Once you have your locations picked, you know where your story plays out and can do your research accordingly.
Again, this might not be the first decision you make for the story, but it's also one you need to think out carefully. You may love the idea of writing a story set in the middle of Antarctica, but if you've never been there you're looking at extensive research (unless you like penguins, can make the voyage and find a scientific expedition willing to let you tag along so you can get the authenticity via personal experience.)
V. Characters: The Breakers
Breakers are the places in the electrical panel where the power supplied by the main and channeled by the bus bars start to go in different directions. Breakers split the power up to different circuits (all those bouncy lines up there in the household wiring diagram) and provide power to the different outlets.
In your story, your characters take the power from the main conflict through the settings and basically run with it through the story. How many characters you put in your story can affect how well the power of your main conflict is distributed; too few and you don't use your power effectively; too many can cause an overload situation.
Just as a breaker should divert a portion of power to where it's needed, a character needs to do something with the main conflict that serves the story. Look at each of your characters and what purpose they serve in the story. If you've got a lot of characters feeding off your main but they're not doing anything but creating a drain on the system, put them to work or get rid of them.
VI. Main Events: The Circuits
Circuits are the wires that run from the breakers to the outlets; the true "wiring" in "wiring diagram." They run through every part of your house, in the walls, under the floors and through the ceilings. There isn't a room under your roof that doesn't have a circuit in it.
Your story circuits are the main events that happen. You've heard me refer to using timelines for plotting, the main events are what constitute a timeline. Generally the main events follow a logical chronological order: this happens, and then this, and then this, and so on. Or, if you prefer the traditional story construct, beginning, middle, end.
Figuring out your main event circuits can put you into a snarl unless you remember a simple rule that applies to basic wiring as well: deal with one circuit at a time until you've traced it out and resolved it, then move on to the next.
VII. Scenes: Outlets
We've come to the end of the household electrical service system: the outlets. From the main, through the bus bars, divided up among the breakers and running through the circuits, the bulk of the power ends up waiting to be used at these little receptacles called outlets.
In your story, each scene is an outlet. It depends on one of your main event circuits, which was diverted to it by your character breakers, that was channeled to them by your setting bus bars, and empowered to all by your main conflict. The scene is the end of the line for your story elements, because here they all come into play to make the story work.
Scenes are where the magic does or doesn't happen. If you've wired your system properly, at this point they should write themselves. If there's a problem up the line, the scene won't work.
VIII. Hey, We're not Electricians!
I had planned to provide you all with a template for the wiring diagram, but I don't have a photoshop program working on the new monster computer yet (it refuses to take my Photo-It software and I think it ate part of my backup freeware.) Also, as everyone will have different amounts of characters, settings, events, scenes, etc. it would be hard to come up with a one-size-fits-all-stories template. But to at least give you a visual, here's a very simplified example that I made with Word.
(Added: Things are running a bit better this morning, and I was able to upload a better example over on Scribd*; I filled out this one with the plot for John & Marcia's book to demonstrate how it works. Here's a blank version you can use as a template.) *Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed my free library from their site, and no longer use or recommend using their service. My free reads may be read online or downloaded for free from Google Docs; go to my freebies and free reads page for the links. See my post about this scam here.
I remember the first time I looked inside an electrical panel. I was raised to believe that females were not supposed to touch anything with wires. Plus just seeing all those mysterious switches and lugs and knowing high voltage came through this thing -- who in their right mind would mess with that?
I also remember not being able to afford an electrician, and desperately phoning my dad, who talked me through changing out a fuse (this was back in the days before all these nice neat breakers they have now.) After the lights came back on, I felt like running around my neighborhood shouting Look! Look! I fixed the electric! And I'm a girl!
For those of you who want to try wiring your novel, I hope you'll give my diagram idea a test drive. And please feel free to adapt it to your particular writing style and needs.
As for whether a writer needs to plot or not, I've learned to respect writers who say they can write without plotting, because I've seen them do it and produce amazing work. But for most of us who don't have that incredible gift of spontaneous genius, plotting is useful and helpful.
Today's LB&LI giveaways are:
1) a BookWish (any book of the winner's choice which is available to order online, up to a max cost of $30.00 U.S.; I'll throw in the shipping)
2) a goodie bag which will include an unsigned hardcover copy of The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippi, and unsigned paperback copies of The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs, Wild Hunt by Lori Devoti, Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione, At Risk by Alison Kent, Through the Veil by Shiloh Walker, signed paperback copies of Evermore and Twilight Fall by Lynn Viehl as well as some other surprises.
If you'd like to win one of these two giveaways, comment on this workshop before midnight EST today, July 28, 2008. I will draw two names from everyone who participates and send one winner the goodie bag and grant the other a BookWish. Everyone who participates in the giveaways this week will also be automatically entered in my grand prize drawing on August 5, 2008 for a brand new AlphaSmart Neo. All LB&LI giveaways are open to anyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.
Other LB&LI Workshop Links (due to different time zones, some of these will go live later in the day)
Creating Great Beginnings - the Why and How by Sherryl Clark -- If your beginning works, the rest will follow. We're going to look at why it's crucial, what is the contract with the reader, Dos and Don'ts (and why/why not), story questions vs hooks, situating the reader, and writing backwards. I'll also invite readers to send in their first 200 words for feedback.
Verbs Rule, Adjectives Drool by LJ Cohen -- a week of workshops using poetry and poetic techniques useful for novelists (tune in each day this week as LJ presents different poetic tools with examples of how to use them in your own writing.)
Gender Differences for Writers by Cheryl Corbin -- Male and female body language, speech and thinking differences.
Marketing on a Budget by Moondancer Drake -- How to make the most of marketing your book on a limited budget.
Writing Effective Description by Karen Duvall -- a week of workshops on how to write vivid description using all the senses, covering one for each day of the week.
WRITING PROCESS: Conceive, Develop, Write by Jamal W. Hankins -- An overview of my writing progress from story concept to actually writing a story.
The Voices in Your Head by Alison Kent -- When discussing "voice," where and how do character voices fit in?
Everyone has to Edit by Belinda Kroll -- Five steps to edit: putting the first draft away, being brutally honest, showing not telling, telling not showing, and focusing on those nitty gritty details.
Balancing Motherhood and Writing by Dawn Montgomery, Kim Knox, and Michelle Hasker -- How to write a 1000 words in the zen of toddler meltdowns. Motherhood is a full time job and holding a family together is only half the battle. How do you find *your* time to write without losing your mind?
Self-Editing by Emma Wayne Porter -- The things your editor secretly wishes you'd do before submitting, and how to survive Track Changes afterward. Checklists and Stupid Word Tricks included.
Not Going to Frisco Workshop by Joan Reeves aka Sling Words -- Writing Biz Reality
Astronomy for Writers: Look to the Sky
by Suelder -- What do you see when you look up? The Sun, The Stars, The Moon, Effects of the Moon (the first in a five-part workshop series on basic astronomy and how to think about it from a writer's perspective.)
Begin with a business plan by Charlene Teglia -- the first in Charlene's workshops this week on the business of the business.
I've seen story plot defined by writers in a dozen different ways. Some consider plot to be an orderly plan for writing a novel; others see it as an intricate and sometimes confusing tangle of characters, settings, conflicts, running threads, revelations and resolutions. There are pro-plotters out there who won't write a story without first plotting it, anti-plotters who see plotting as beneath them and sniff over anyone who does it, and plot-phobics who avoid plotting like it's got eight legs, poison-dripping fangs and wants to eat their muse alive.
Today I'd like you all to think about plot a little differently. Imagine it working for your story as electrical service does for your home.
II. Why Wire a Story?
If I were to show you how your house is wired for power with individual circuits, it would probably look something like this:
Confused? Don't worry, so am I. Even color-coded and simplified, all those individual circuits bouncing around the rooms make it look like someone just blew up a bubblegum machine in there. Writers face the same sort of dilemma when they try to write a story without having a plan of some sort -- during the creative process, they have so many scenes, characters, storylines and ideas bouncing around inside them that confusion is inevitable.
What we need to do is go back and begin where everything starts; at the source: the main electrical panel for the house. This is where it all begins:
The same is true with plotting a novel. We're going to plot out a story as if it were an electrical panel that provides main power, channels it to the appropriate places, diverts and uses it in various outlets in order to make the entire story system work.
III. The Main
In an electrical panel, the main is where it all begins; the primary source of power for an electrical service. It's why the power company bills you each month, and what they shut off if you don't pay the bill.
In your story, the main is your main conflict. It's the Why? of the story, the reason all of the characters in all of the places do and say all of the things that occur in the story. It's the source on which everything else depends, and it has to be powerful enough to run everything else depending on it.
Choosing your main conflict may be the most important decision you make for a story. A weak main won't carry the entire story; inevitably it collapses under the strain. An unfocused or unstable main will result in story lag and confusion. The main may not be the first decision you make when writing, but it demands you make it a strong, focused statement when you do:
A Russian captain defects with a prototype silent-running missile submarine.
A secret about Jesus Christ is hidden in a Da Vinci painting.
A misfit girl falls in love with a vampire boy at her new high school.
Remember the main in main conflict. If you don't supply enough power to a characterization, or a setting, or an exchange of dialogue, you may lose that part of your story. If your main conflict doesn't have enough power, no matter how great you've wired everything else, you lose the entire story.
IV. Setting -- the Bus Bars
In an electrical panel, the bus bars channel the main power to the breakers. They are the foundation to which everything that needs the main power is attached.
The bus bars of your story are your settings. The Where? of the story may not seem as important as the main, but think of that Russian sub captain trying to defect in the middle of South Dakota, or trying to find the secret of the famous Da Vinci painting in Antarctica, or the misfit and the vampire trying to fall in love in the Sahara desert. Choosing where your story happens channels the power from the main to the appropriate place.
In this part of your diagram, you don't have to get too detailed. Pick the general locations where your story happens according to the scope of the story -- if you're going continent-hopping, select the cities and countries. If you plan to stick in one city or town, use general locations within the city limits. Once you have your locations picked, you know where your story plays out and can do your research accordingly.
Again, this might not be the first decision you make for the story, but it's also one you need to think out carefully. You may love the idea of writing a story set in the middle of Antarctica, but if you've never been there you're looking at extensive research (unless you like penguins, can make the voyage and find a scientific expedition willing to let you tag along so you can get the authenticity via personal experience.)
V. Characters: The Breakers
Breakers are the places in the electrical panel where the power supplied by the main and channeled by the bus bars start to go in different directions. Breakers split the power up to different circuits (all those bouncy lines up there in the household wiring diagram) and provide power to the different outlets.
In your story, your characters take the power from the main conflict through the settings and basically run with it through the story. How many characters you put in your story can affect how well the power of your main conflict is distributed; too few and you don't use your power effectively; too many can cause an overload situation.
Just as a breaker should divert a portion of power to where it's needed, a character needs to do something with the main conflict that serves the story. Look at each of your characters and what purpose they serve in the story. If you've got a lot of characters feeding off your main but they're not doing anything but creating a drain on the system, put them to work or get rid of them.
VI. Main Events: The Circuits
Circuits are the wires that run from the breakers to the outlets; the true "wiring" in "wiring diagram." They run through every part of your house, in the walls, under the floors and through the ceilings. There isn't a room under your roof that doesn't have a circuit in it.
Your story circuits are the main events that happen. You've heard me refer to using timelines for plotting, the main events are what constitute a timeline. Generally the main events follow a logical chronological order: this happens, and then this, and then this, and so on. Or, if you prefer the traditional story construct, beginning, middle, end.
Figuring out your main event circuits can put you into a snarl unless you remember a simple rule that applies to basic wiring as well: deal with one circuit at a time until you've traced it out and resolved it, then move on to the next.
VII. Scenes: Outlets
We've come to the end of the household electrical service system: the outlets. From the main, through the bus bars, divided up among the breakers and running through the circuits, the bulk of the power ends up waiting to be used at these little receptacles called outlets.
In your story, each scene is an outlet. It depends on one of your main event circuits, which was diverted to it by your character breakers, that was channeled to them by your setting bus bars, and empowered to all by your main conflict. The scene is the end of the line for your story elements, because here they all come into play to make the story work.
Scenes are where the magic does or doesn't happen. If you've wired your system properly, at this point they should write themselves. If there's a problem up the line, the scene won't work.
VIII. Hey, We're not Electricians!
I had planned to provide you all with a template for the wiring diagram, but I don't have a photoshop program working on the new monster computer yet (it refuses to take my Photo-It software and I think it ate part of my backup freeware.) Also, as everyone will have different amounts of characters, settings, events, scenes, etc. it would be hard to come up with a one-size-fits-all-stories template. But to at least give you a visual, here's a very simplified example that I made with Word.
(Added: Things are running a bit better this morning, and I was able to upload a better example over on Scribd*; I filled out this one with the plot for John & Marcia's book to demonstrate how it works. Here's a blank version you can use as a template.) *Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed my free library from their site, and no longer use or recommend using their service. My free reads may be read online or downloaded for free from Google Docs; go to my freebies and free reads page for the links. See my post about this scam here.
I remember the first time I looked inside an electrical panel. I was raised to believe that females were not supposed to touch anything with wires. Plus just seeing all those mysterious switches and lugs and knowing high voltage came through this thing -- who in their right mind would mess with that?
I also remember not being able to afford an electrician, and desperately phoning my dad, who talked me through changing out a fuse (this was back in the days before all these nice neat breakers they have now.) After the lights came back on, I felt like running around my neighborhood shouting Look! Look! I fixed the electric! And I'm a girl!
For those of you who want to try wiring your novel, I hope you'll give my diagram idea a test drive. And please feel free to adapt it to your particular writing style and needs.
As for whether a writer needs to plot or not, I've learned to respect writers who say they can write without plotting, because I've seen them do it and produce amazing work. But for most of us who don't have that incredible gift of spontaneous genius, plotting is useful and helpful.
Today's LB&LI giveaways are:
1) a BookWish (any book of the winner's choice which is available to order online, up to a max cost of $30.00 U.S.; I'll throw in the shipping)
2) a goodie bag which will include an unsigned hardcover copy of The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippi, and unsigned paperback copies of The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs, Wild Hunt by Lori Devoti, Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione, At Risk by Alison Kent, Through the Veil by Shiloh Walker, signed paperback copies of Evermore and Twilight Fall by Lynn Viehl as well as some other surprises.
If you'd like to win one of these two giveaways, comment on this workshop before midnight EST today, July 28, 2008. I will draw two names from everyone who participates and send one winner the goodie bag and grant the other a BookWish. Everyone who participates in the giveaways this week will also be automatically entered in my grand prize drawing on August 5, 2008 for a brand new AlphaSmart Neo. All LB&LI giveaways are open to anyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.
Other LB&LI Workshop Links (due to different time zones, some of these will go live later in the day)
Creating Great Beginnings - the Why and How by Sherryl Clark -- If your beginning works, the rest will follow. We're going to look at why it's crucial, what is the contract with the reader, Dos and Don'ts (and why/why not), story questions vs hooks, situating the reader, and writing backwards. I'll also invite readers to send in their first 200 words for feedback.
Verbs Rule, Adjectives Drool by LJ Cohen -- a week of workshops using poetry and poetic techniques useful for novelists (tune in each day this week as LJ presents different poetic tools with examples of how to use them in your own writing.)
Gender Differences for Writers by Cheryl Corbin -- Male and female body language, speech and thinking differences.
Marketing on a Budget by Moondancer Drake -- How to make the most of marketing your book on a limited budget.
Writing Effective Description by Karen Duvall -- a week of workshops on how to write vivid description using all the senses, covering one for each day of the week.
WRITING PROCESS: Conceive, Develop, Write by Jamal W. Hankins -- An overview of my writing progress from story concept to actually writing a story.
The Voices in Your Head by Alison Kent -- When discussing "voice," where and how do character voices fit in?
Everyone has to Edit by Belinda Kroll -- Five steps to edit: putting the first draft away, being brutally honest, showing not telling, telling not showing, and focusing on those nitty gritty details.
Balancing Motherhood and Writing by Dawn Montgomery, Kim Knox, and Michelle Hasker -- How to write a 1000 words in the zen of toddler meltdowns. Motherhood is a full time job and holding a family together is only half the battle. How do you find *your* time to write without losing your mind?
Self-Editing by Emma Wayne Porter -- The things your editor secretly wishes you'd do before submitting, and how to survive Track Changes afterward. Checklists and Stupid Word Tricks included.
Not Going to Frisco Workshop by Joan Reeves aka Sling Words -- Writing Biz Reality
Astronomy for Writers: Look to the Sky
by Suelder -- What do you see when you look up? The Sun, The Stars, The Moon, Effects of the Moon (the first in a five-part workshop series on basic astronomy and how to think about it from a writer's perspective.)
Begin with a business plan by Charlene Teglia -- the first in Charlene's workshops this week on the business of the business.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
One-Page Plotting
One of my writer friends (you know who you are) dared me to simplify a plot worksheet down to one page that would work for all story lengths and genres. Of course I couldn't resist the challenge, so here it is (I plotted John & Marcia's story to demonstrate how to use it):
Plot Worksheet
Title: Angel’s Darkness
Main Conflict: John, a half-demon cop, and Marcia, a half-angel librarian, must stop a demon from using a mystical diamond that has the power to open the gates of Hell.
Subplots:
John must accept or reject his demonic side. John has always denied and hidden his non-human powers, but is now forced to use them to protect Marcia and defeat the demon.
Marcia must accept or reject her human side. Marcia has always tried to live up to her angelic nature, but her love for John and hatred for the demon makes her face her human nature.
The demon falls in love with Marcia, and must choose to destroy the world or rule over it with Marcia at his side.
Main Story Events:
John and Marcia meet on the night the demon steals the diamond; the demon uses Marcia to smuggle the diamond away from its guardian.
The demon forces John and Marcia to go on the run in order to protect the diamond and evade his attacks.
John and Marcia discover the diamond’s true purpose when they open Hell’s gateway for a moment and see what the demon intends to unleash on Earth.
The demon disables John, abducts Marcia and tries to seduce her into giving him the diamond.
Marcia must sacrifice her angelic powers in order to free John, vanquish the demon and keep the world safe.
Main Plot Twist: John is unaware that he has another persona, and that he is also the demon thief.
Resolution: Marcia’s love for John ends her hope of becoming an angel, but also destroys the evil side of his personality. Together they become a loving human couple, and the new guardians of the diamond.
This worksheet can be adapted to your particular writing needs, so feel free to add and subtract -- you may want more/less subplots, main events, plot twists, other elements, etc -- but I think these are the basic points any storyteller* should know before they dive into writing a story. For novelists, it may also serve as a basic outline sheet for writing a synopsis.
*Unless you're an organic writer or you dislike plotting, in which case, you don't need the worksheet.
Plot Worksheet
Title: Angel’s Darkness
Main Conflict: John, a half-demon cop, and Marcia, a half-angel librarian, must stop a demon from using a mystical diamond that has the power to open the gates of Hell.
Subplots:
John must accept or reject his demonic side. John has always denied and hidden his non-human powers, but is now forced to use them to protect Marcia and defeat the demon.
Marcia must accept or reject her human side. Marcia has always tried to live up to her angelic nature, but her love for John and hatred for the demon makes her face her human nature.
The demon falls in love with Marcia, and must choose to destroy the world or rule over it with Marcia at his side.
Main Story Events:
John and Marcia meet on the night the demon steals the diamond; the demon uses Marcia to smuggle the diamond away from its guardian.
The demon forces John and Marcia to go on the run in order to protect the diamond and evade his attacks.
John and Marcia discover the diamond’s true purpose when they open Hell’s gateway for a moment and see what the demon intends to unleash on Earth.
The demon disables John, abducts Marcia and tries to seduce her into giving him the diamond.
Marcia must sacrifice her angelic powers in order to free John, vanquish the demon and keep the world safe.
Main Plot Twist: John is unaware that he has another persona, and that he is also the demon thief.
Resolution: Marcia’s love for John ends her hope of becoming an angel, but also destroys the evil side of his personality. Together they become a loving human couple, and the new guardians of the diamond.
This worksheet can be adapted to your particular writing needs, so feel free to add and subtract -- you may want more/less subplots, main events, plot twists, other elements, etc -- but I think these are the basic points any storyteller* should know before they dive into writing a story. For novelists, it may also serve as a basic outline sheet for writing a synopsis.
*Unless you're an organic writer or you dislike plotting, in which case, you don't need the worksheet.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Plot Fix Inc.
Welcome to Plot Fix Inc.com, your one-stop story repair emporium. We pride ourselves on solving those inconvenient plot problems with quick and easy, practical solutions.
Please select from the following stock plot fixes:
I. Destruction, Power Item
Problem: Indestructible item of unimaginable power corrupts characters, creates chaos and starts wars; cannot be disposed of.
A. Glub, Glub: Protagonist takes item on ship to deepest part of ocean and drops it overboard. Item sinks to bottom and cannot be recovered because no one has yet developed deep-sea exploration technology.
B. Houston, We Don't Have a Problem: Protagonist puts item on Titan-IV rocket and sends it to Mars, where it crashes somewhere near a polar ice cap and cannot be recovered because someone at NASA forgot to properly convert the metrics involved.
C. The Virgin Suicide: Protagonist consumes item of power and jumps into a volcano that is not located within the boundary's of the Evil Overlord's territory.
D. Total Tax Write-Off: Protagonist donates the item of power to the Smithsonian, where it is displayed next to the Hope Diamond.
II. Future Boom-Boom
Problem: The Really Cool TechnoThingie in your science fiction story is activated/discovered/lands on Earth and will wipe out the entire human race within 24 hours; nothing can stop it.
A. Galactic Visa: The finest minds on Earth are evacuated in a prototype intergalactic ship which does not crash into Mars but whisks them off to colonize the first inhabitable planet known to man. Several tentative romantic relationships and one murder plot are formed on the trip. The planet turns out to be identical to Earth and populated by small, fuzzy creatures of limited intelligence who just love humans.
B. Heavy Metal: All of humanity transfers their consciousness into indestructible robotic bodies which they use to kick the Really Cool TechnoThingie's ass. Humanity then becomes obsessed with pistons and lube jobs.
C. Penicillin, Stat: After the Really Cool TechnoThingie destroys most of the cities on the planet, it falls victim to a common bacteria and melts into a puddle of inert goo. A brave band of survivors set fire to the puddles before rebuilding civilization to be better than it was before.
D. We Have to Save the World, Guys: The President of the United States sends an adorable band of social misfits to combat the Really Cool TechnoThingie. After they screw up everything but mend their own strained personal relationships, their leader saves most of them then sacrifices his own life with ten seconds left on the End of the World clock.
III. Happily Ever After, They Lived
Problem: Romantically-involved hero and heroine have great sex together but wrestle with incompatible personalities, occupations and life goals; their love cannot be saved.
A. Do You Like Pina Coladas?: Hero and heroine stay together while they secretly post phony profiles and pics on an internet match-making site, are matched, arrange to meet each other, laugh over their lies and decide that their relationship was obviously meant to be anyway.
B. Marry Your Babies Daddy: Heroine takes fertility drugs that cause her to become pregnant with hero's identical quints, appears on Good Morning America in her last trimester to sign a multi-million-dollar contract with Pampers for the babies to model diapers. Hero quits job to be babies' business manager.
C. Mutual Sacrifice: Both hero and heroine quit jobs to become life coaches, eBay power sellers, real estate agents, reality show stars and/or pet psychics. Success solves all their other problems.
D. SEALed with a Kiss: The hero's military reserve unit is indefinitely posted to a dangerous spot in the Middle East for 11-1/2 months of each year; the heroine bravely writes to him every day, helps other military wives to send out touching care packages, and develops a close, personal relationship with an industrial duty-size vibrator.
This week only: NaNoWriMo'ers can take an additional 50% discount on any plot fix in stock, enter coupon code HELPMEENDTHISPLEASE.
We appreciate you shopping at Plot Fix Inc.com, where every story can find an ending. Have a nice day.
Please select from the following stock plot fixes:
I. Destruction, Power Item
Problem: Indestructible item of unimaginable power corrupts characters, creates chaos and starts wars; cannot be disposed of.
A. Glub, Glub: Protagonist takes item on ship to deepest part of ocean and drops it overboard. Item sinks to bottom and cannot be recovered because no one has yet developed deep-sea exploration technology.
B. Houston, We Don't Have a Problem: Protagonist puts item on Titan-IV rocket and sends it to Mars, where it crashes somewhere near a polar ice cap and cannot be recovered because someone at NASA forgot to properly convert the metrics involved.
C. The Virgin Suicide: Protagonist consumes item of power and jumps into a volcano that is not located within the boundary's of the Evil Overlord's territory.
D. Total Tax Write-Off: Protagonist donates the item of power to the Smithsonian, where it is displayed next to the Hope Diamond.
II. Future Boom-Boom
Problem: The Really Cool TechnoThingie in your science fiction story is activated/discovered/lands on Earth and will wipe out the entire human race within 24 hours; nothing can stop it.
A. Galactic Visa: The finest minds on Earth are evacuated in a prototype intergalactic ship which does not crash into Mars but whisks them off to colonize the first inhabitable planet known to man. Several tentative romantic relationships and one murder plot are formed on the trip. The planet turns out to be identical to Earth and populated by small, fuzzy creatures of limited intelligence who just love humans.
B. Heavy Metal: All of humanity transfers their consciousness into indestructible robotic bodies which they use to kick the Really Cool TechnoThingie's ass. Humanity then becomes obsessed with pistons and lube jobs.
C. Penicillin, Stat: After the Really Cool TechnoThingie destroys most of the cities on the planet, it falls victim to a common bacteria and melts into a puddle of inert goo. A brave band of survivors set fire to the puddles before rebuilding civilization to be better than it was before.
D. We Have to Save the World, Guys: The President of the United States sends an adorable band of social misfits to combat the Really Cool TechnoThingie. After they screw up everything but mend their own strained personal relationships, their leader saves most of them then sacrifices his own life with ten seconds left on the End of the World clock.
III. Happily Ever After, They Lived
Problem: Romantically-involved hero and heroine have great sex together but wrestle with incompatible personalities, occupations and life goals; their love cannot be saved.
A. Do You Like Pina Coladas?: Hero and heroine stay together while they secretly post phony profiles and pics on an internet match-making site, are matched, arrange to meet each other, laugh over their lies and decide that their relationship was obviously meant to be anyway.
B. Marry Your Babies Daddy: Heroine takes fertility drugs that cause her to become pregnant with hero's identical quints, appears on Good Morning America in her last trimester to sign a multi-million-dollar contract with Pampers for the babies to model diapers. Hero quits job to be babies' business manager.
C. Mutual Sacrifice: Both hero and heroine quit jobs to become life coaches, eBay power sellers, real estate agents, reality show stars and/or pet psychics. Success solves all their other problems.
D. SEALed with a Kiss: The hero's military reserve unit is indefinitely posted to a dangerous spot in the Middle East for 11-1/2 months of each year; the heroine bravely writes to him every day, helps other military wives to send out touching care packages, and develops a close, personal relationship with an industrial duty-size vibrator.
This week only: NaNoWriMo'ers can take an additional 50% discount on any plot fix in stock, enter coupon code HELPMEENDTHISPLEASE.
We appreciate you shopping at Plot Fix Inc.com, where every story can find an ending. Have a nice day.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Revised Novel Notebook
I'm in the process of updating my old novel notebook examples, forms, and worksheets. I tried to get it done before the virtual workshops, but that didn't happen. I would like to finish this project sometime before civilization falls into ruins and we devolve back into lemurs.
For those who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, I make novel notebooks for every book I write, and they've been very helpful to me when I'm in the planning and outlining stage of the game. It also gives me one place to put everything: notes, sketches, changes, plot diagrams, plans, promotional ideas, etc.
Ideally I'd like to create a novel notebook template for other writers to use that would be universal for all genres, but that's not working out. There are so many genre-specific writing issues, like charting relationship arcs in romance, creating magic systems in fantasy, inventing new tech for SF and so on. All genres share some of the same characteristics, but none of them are interchangeable.
At the moment I'm wrestling with the idea of dividing it into sections by genre or putting together different versions of the notebook for each genre. I also want to add some new ideas, like the character color wheel I've been working on and some other stuff.
In the meantime, I've put together a rough draft in .pdf form of what I've already done(click here to download)*, for those of you who are interested in having a look.
*This link no longer works, but you can find my Novel Notebookon Scribd here, and it's free for anyone to read online, download, print out and pass along. *Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed my free library from their site, and no longer use or recommend using their service. My free reads may be read online or downloaded for free from Google Docs; go to my freebies and free reads page for the links. See my post about this scam here.
For those who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, I make novel notebooks for every book I write, and they've been very helpful to me when I'm in the planning and outlining stage of the game. It also gives me one place to put everything: notes, sketches, changes, plot diagrams, plans, promotional ideas, etc.
Ideally I'd like to create a novel notebook template for other writers to use that would be universal for all genres, but that's not working out. There are so many genre-specific writing issues, like charting relationship arcs in romance, creating magic systems in fantasy, inventing new tech for SF and so on. All genres share some of the same characteristics, but none of them are interchangeable.
At the moment I'm wrestling with the idea of dividing it into sections by genre or putting together different versions of the notebook for each genre. I also want to add some new ideas, like the character color wheel I've been working on and some other stuff.
In the meantime, I've put together a rough draft in .pdf form of what I've already done
*This link no longer works, but you can find my Novel Notebook
Friday, July 13, 2007
VW#4: Plotting With Purpose
Running behind today, folks, sorry -- the winners of VW#2 giveaway are:
Kasey Mackenzie
fionaphoenix
Winners, please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com, and I'll get these goodies out to you. On to the workshop:
I. Reasoning Plot
I never plot without a purpose in mind, even when I'm just writing something for the blog. You may remember that back when I first introduced John and Marcia, my novel crash test dummies, I told everyone up front that John, our hero, was half-demon. Considering how honest I was from the very beginning, the fact that John also turned out to be the diamond-thieving demon shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was.
Nothing happens in a story without a reason, even if that reason is known only by the writer. This is why purpose plays such a huge part in plotting a novel.
II. The Purpose Driven Plot
You want to tell a love story, but you're not sure why. Maybe because romance pays so well, or you don't feel like writing a mystery. You pick an ex-Navy Seal as your protagonist because, well, it worked for Linda Howard and Suzanne Brockman, didn't it? Ex-Navy dude shall rescue a virginal librarian from a Fate Worse than an IRS audit -- not sure what that is, exactly, or why, but those are bridges you'll cross when you get to them. So these two will wander around the story and a lot of stuff you'll think up later will happen, until they fall in love, get married and live happily ever after, because . . . that's what happens.
This is typical plotting without purpose. You have a plot, sort of, and an idea of what to write, kinda. Essentially you're going to make it up as you go along. And while a few pansters out there are fabulous spontaneous plotters, and don't have to worry about planning anything in advance, most of you are likely going to stall at some point and/or have to rewrite significant portions of this story.
Let's try this again, shall we?
You choose to tell a love story because you have something to say about men, women, love and relationships. How love redeems us is the theme you choose to bring to the story. You select an ex-Navy Seal not only because he's single, physically fit, trained to take out terrorists and a hunk, but because he's emotionally damaged by his experiences and finds life after the military empty and lonely. His quest, whether he realizes it or not, is to redeem himself.
Redemption comes in the form of a timid librarian who has buried her life in her books. She is in her own way as damaged by her solitary life experiences as the ex-Seal is by his. They bump into each other repeatedly as the ex-Seal hides out in the library to avoid his well-meaning aunt, who wants to marry him off to any cute single woman she can get him to blind date.
Meanwhile, a rare book collector, who has become obsessed with obtaining a book he needs to complete a set he's been slowly acquiring all his life, discovers that the librarian owns the only known copy of it in the world. At first he approaches her about purchasing the book. As the book is the only thing the librarian has left that belonged to her anti-war protester father, who wrote odd numeric codes in the margins, she refuses to sell it. This refusal unbalances the collector, who proceeds to stalk, harass, burglarize and finally attempts to murder the librarian.
I could outline the rest of the novel, but by now I'm sure you get the idea. This is a plot with purpose: one that clearly maps out the story so you know not only what you're writing, but why.
III. Purpose Points
Every choice I made in outlining the example novel had some point of purpose, as follows:
A. Main conflict: whatever you choose to make your main conflict, it has to have a purpose and a catalyst, or something to set events into motion that will eventually resolve the conflict.
In the case of my example story, the main conflict centers on the romantic relationship between the ex-Seal and the librarian. Both are going to have to work together and face their past in order to move on with their lives and have a chance at a happier future (which in my book may or may not involve marriage.) This conflict is symbolized by the rare book the librarian owns -- the book in some way symbolically embodies all of the characters' pasts. The conflict catalyst is the attempt by the book collector to purchase it: As the book is the only thing the librarian has left that belonged to her anti-war protester father, who wrote odd numeric codes in the margins, she refuses to sell it.
B. Characters: Character choices shouldn't be accidental. I prefer main characters who oppose each other in a definitive way while still sharing some common underlying principal; your mileage may vary.
My obvious choice of heroine for an ex-Seal was the daughter of an anti-war protester. If the main conflict revolves around a book, the story needs someone who wants that book, hence the rare book collector. The ex-Seal's aunt can provide a little comic relief as she tries to fix up her nephew with the ladies in town, and she is also the reason the ex-Seal and the librarian initially come together.
C. Subplots: The ex-Seal's past comes into play as he becomes the librarian's voluntary bodyguard; I'd definitely work a subplot where at some time during his military career he failed to save an innocent. This subplot can tie in with the main conflict, or merely provide a little extra motivation for the ex-Seal.
The same goes for the librarian's relationship with her anti-war protester father -- secretly she resented the time her father spent protesting the war rather than being a better parent to her. Her father's beliefs resulted in her being made into the town outcast, too.
The aunt could have once been in love with the librarian's father, and only ended the relationship because he began protesting the war -- justifying her resentment of the librarian.
As for the rare book collector who snaps when the librarian refuses to sell him her book, I'd probably go for a backstory subplot of what sets him on this greedy, self-destructive path. Obsessional collectors are usually loners who try to make up for childhood deprivations and enforce a sense of superiority to others by collecting rarities. Perhaps our collector grew up poor in wretched circumstances, and had to do terrible things to fight his way out. Despite his wealth, the collector has never felt adequate as a person. His rare book collection makes him important in the way nothing else can. To fail to complete that collection makes it worthless in his eyes, therefore he must have that book.
D. Setting Small town U.S.A. would be the setting I'd pick for this novel, as you have more shared history in that sort of setting versus a big anonymous city, but an old ethnic neighborhood in a city would work as well. The setting you choose should be purposeful and logical, not only to your characters, but to the other elements of the plot. Small towns have smaller police forces, which would not have the manpower to guard the librarian (compelling the ex-Seal to watch over her himself.) A rare book collector might be a long-time resident, or an outsider who has come to town not to become a resident, but to pretend to while he stalks the librarian.
IV. A Readable Feast
Let's move out of the writing space and into the kitchen for a minute.
When I put together a meal, I consider my family's likes and dislikes with food. I read recipes to find one I think they'll enjoy most, prepare and measure my ingredients, set out what tools I need and take the time to figure out when to start cooking every component of the meal, so that it will all be ready at the same time to serve. I also look at my food choices to see that they complement each other. I may taste what I cook as I'm preparing it, to see if it needs a little more spice or something. But I know that if I follow the recipe, use the ingredients it calls for, and time it correctly, I'll end up serving an enjoyable meal.
I could go into the kitchen and just throw whatever appeals to me into a pot and see what happens. The family may or may not like it, but this is all about being a creative cook, not what they like or will eat. I'm not a naturally gifted spontaneous cook, though, and I'll probably end up throwing out two or three batches of glop before I find the right combination of stuff to make an edible dish. Certainly it's more creative and fun to mess around in the kitchen like that, but I'd rather not waste my time or supplies, or risk making something that will make my family go euwwww.
I know that plotting is a lot of work, and for some people it sucks all the fun out of writing. The main difference between a plotter and the pantser, however, is that expectation of fun.
From the way it's been described to me, the pantser is all about the joy of spontaneity and puttering around the novel kitchen. Writing is art, and you can't plan great art -- you have to be free to create and explore and toss out five or six different batches of novel glop before you hit on the right story. Personally I may not be able to do that, but I do get it.
I know some of you pantsers out there are marvelous spontaneous plotters, too, so don't consider this workshop a criticism of your methods or reasoning. You do get the job done; I just can't figure out how.
I have fun when I write, but I don't write to have fun. I think the main reason to cook is to feed people, and I apply the same philosophy to writing. I write books for people to read them. For me this means turning out a quality product on schedule, without wasting time or resources. Because I know that the hungry family in the next room wants to be fed, and if a satisfying meal doesn't hit the table on a regular basis. they're going to order out for pizza.
For a chance to win one of today's two Left Behind and Loving It goodie bags, in comments to this post ask a question or share your view on plotting, or just throw your name into the hat by midnight EST on Saturday, July 14, 2007. I will draw two names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners a tote filled with a signed copy of my novel Bio Rescue (paperback), as well as unsigned copies of The Spooky Art ~ Some Thoughts on Writing by Norman Mailer (hardcover), Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (paperback), After Dark by Donna Hill (paperback), Emperor ~ The Gods of War by Conn Iggulden (paperback), When I Fall in Love by Lynn Kurland (paperback), Tied to the Tracks by Rosina Lippi (trade paperback), Wabi Sabi for Writers by Richard R. Powell (trade paperback), the August 2007 issue of Psychology Today magazine (this one has a great article on rebounding from rejection)and some surprises. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.
Other sources on plotting:
Plotting the Novel: Otherwise Known as The Real Reason Writers are Neurotic by Lisa Gardner (.pdf file format)
Randy Ingermanson's How to Write a Novel using the Snowflake Method
Holly Lisle's two workshops on plot: Beyond the Basics: Creating the Professional Plot Outline and Notecarding: Plotting Under Pressure
Writing a Novel - Plotting by Joanne Reid
Other virtual workshops now in progress:
Joely Sue Burkhart's Do You Know the Secret?
Gabriele Campbell's How to Make a Battle Come Alive on the Page, Part 1 and Part 2
LJ Cohen's Organize your Novel with a WIKI
Rosina Lippi's Workshop Day 1: The Story Machine, Workshop Day 2: Ask Your Characters, and Workshop Day 3: Rev Your Engines
Jordan Summers talks about writing outside the traditional boundaries of romance, and her own trials and triumphs as an example of what roads are available and how to avoid some of the potholes
Shiloh Walker's Heat with Heart Day 1, finding that missing emotion, Exploring that Backstory (where she briefly grills me)
Kasey Mackenzie
fionaphoenix
Winners, please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com, and I'll get these goodies out to you. On to the workshop:
I. Reasoning Plot
I never plot without a purpose in mind, even when I'm just writing something for the blog. You may remember that back when I first introduced John and Marcia, my novel crash test dummies, I told everyone up front that John, our hero, was half-demon. Considering how honest I was from the very beginning, the fact that John also turned out to be the diamond-thieving demon shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was.
Nothing happens in a story without a reason, even if that reason is known only by the writer. This is why purpose plays such a huge part in plotting a novel.
II. The Purpose Driven Plot
You want to tell a love story, but you're not sure why. Maybe because romance pays so well, or you don't feel like writing a mystery. You pick an ex-Navy Seal as your protagonist because, well, it worked for Linda Howard and Suzanne Brockman, didn't it? Ex-Navy dude shall rescue a virginal librarian from a Fate Worse than an IRS audit -- not sure what that is, exactly, or why, but those are bridges you'll cross when you get to them. So these two will wander around the story and a lot of stuff you'll think up later will happen, until they fall in love, get married and live happily ever after, because . . . that's what happens.
This is typical plotting without purpose. You have a plot, sort of, and an idea of what to write, kinda. Essentially you're going to make it up as you go along. And while a few pansters out there are fabulous spontaneous plotters, and don't have to worry about planning anything in advance, most of you are likely going to stall at some point and/or have to rewrite significant portions of this story.
Let's try this again, shall we?
You choose to tell a love story because you have something to say about men, women, love and relationships. How love redeems us is the theme you choose to bring to the story. You select an ex-Navy Seal not only because he's single, physically fit, trained to take out terrorists and a hunk, but because he's emotionally damaged by his experiences and finds life after the military empty and lonely. His quest, whether he realizes it or not, is to redeem himself.
Redemption comes in the form of a timid librarian who has buried her life in her books. She is in her own way as damaged by her solitary life experiences as the ex-Seal is by his. They bump into each other repeatedly as the ex-Seal hides out in the library to avoid his well-meaning aunt, who wants to marry him off to any cute single woman she can get him to blind date.
Meanwhile, a rare book collector, who has become obsessed with obtaining a book he needs to complete a set he's been slowly acquiring all his life, discovers that the librarian owns the only known copy of it in the world. At first he approaches her about purchasing the book. As the book is the only thing the librarian has left that belonged to her anti-war protester father, who wrote odd numeric codes in the margins, she refuses to sell it. This refusal unbalances the collector, who proceeds to stalk, harass, burglarize and finally attempts to murder the librarian.
I could outline the rest of the novel, but by now I'm sure you get the idea. This is a plot with purpose: one that clearly maps out the story so you know not only what you're writing, but why.
III. Purpose Points
Every choice I made in outlining the example novel had some point of purpose, as follows:
A. Main conflict: whatever you choose to make your main conflict, it has to have a purpose and a catalyst, or something to set events into motion that will eventually resolve the conflict.
In the case of my example story, the main conflict centers on the romantic relationship between the ex-Seal and the librarian. Both are going to have to work together and face their past in order to move on with their lives and have a chance at a happier future (which in my book may or may not involve marriage.) This conflict is symbolized by the rare book the librarian owns -- the book in some way symbolically embodies all of the characters' pasts. The conflict catalyst is the attempt by the book collector to purchase it: As the book is the only thing the librarian has left that belonged to her anti-war protester father, who wrote odd numeric codes in the margins, she refuses to sell it.
B. Characters: Character choices shouldn't be accidental. I prefer main characters who oppose each other in a definitive way while still sharing some common underlying principal; your mileage may vary.
My obvious choice of heroine for an ex-Seal was the daughter of an anti-war protester. If the main conflict revolves around a book, the story needs someone who wants that book, hence the rare book collector. The ex-Seal's aunt can provide a little comic relief as she tries to fix up her nephew with the ladies in town, and she is also the reason the ex-Seal and the librarian initially come together.
C. Subplots: The ex-Seal's past comes into play as he becomes the librarian's voluntary bodyguard; I'd definitely work a subplot where at some time during his military career he failed to save an innocent. This subplot can tie in with the main conflict, or merely provide a little extra motivation for the ex-Seal.
The same goes for the librarian's relationship with her anti-war protester father -- secretly she resented the time her father spent protesting the war rather than being a better parent to her. Her father's beliefs resulted in her being made into the town outcast, too.
The aunt could have once been in love with the librarian's father, and only ended the relationship because he began protesting the war -- justifying her resentment of the librarian.
As for the rare book collector who snaps when the librarian refuses to sell him her book, I'd probably go for a backstory subplot of what sets him on this greedy, self-destructive path. Obsessional collectors are usually loners who try to make up for childhood deprivations and enforce a sense of superiority to others by collecting rarities. Perhaps our collector grew up poor in wretched circumstances, and had to do terrible things to fight his way out. Despite his wealth, the collector has never felt adequate as a person. His rare book collection makes him important in the way nothing else can. To fail to complete that collection makes it worthless in his eyes, therefore he must have that book.
D. Setting Small town U.S.A. would be the setting I'd pick for this novel, as you have more shared history in that sort of setting versus a big anonymous city, but an old ethnic neighborhood in a city would work as well. The setting you choose should be purposeful and logical, not only to your characters, but to the other elements of the plot. Small towns have smaller police forces, which would not have the manpower to guard the librarian (compelling the ex-Seal to watch over her himself.) A rare book collector might be a long-time resident, or an outsider who has come to town not to become a resident, but to pretend to while he stalks the librarian.
IV. A Readable Feast
Let's move out of the writing space and into the kitchen for a minute.
When I put together a meal, I consider my family's likes and dislikes with food. I read recipes to find one I think they'll enjoy most, prepare and measure my ingredients, set out what tools I need and take the time to figure out when to start cooking every component of the meal, so that it will all be ready at the same time to serve. I also look at my food choices to see that they complement each other. I may taste what I cook as I'm preparing it, to see if it needs a little more spice or something. But I know that if I follow the recipe, use the ingredients it calls for, and time it correctly, I'll end up serving an enjoyable meal.
I could go into the kitchen and just throw whatever appeals to me into a pot and see what happens. The family may or may not like it, but this is all about being a creative cook, not what they like or will eat. I'm not a naturally gifted spontaneous cook, though, and I'll probably end up throwing out two or three batches of glop before I find the right combination of stuff to make an edible dish. Certainly it's more creative and fun to mess around in the kitchen like that, but I'd rather not waste my time or supplies, or risk making something that will make my family go euwwww.
I know that plotting is a lot of work, and for some people it sucks all the fun out of writing. The main difference between a plotter and the pantser, however, is that expectation of fun.
From the way it's been described to me, the pantser is all about the joy of spontaneity and puttering around the novel kitchen. Writing is art, and you can't plan great art -- you have to be free to create and explore and toss out five or six different batches of novel glop before you hit on the right story. Personally I may not be able to do that, but I do get it.
I know some of you pantsers out there are marvelous spontaneous plotters, too, so don't consider this workshop a criticism of your methods or reasoning. You do get the job done; I just can't figure out how.
I have fun when I write, but I don't write to have fun. I think the main reason to cook is to feed people, and I apply the same philosophy to writing. I write books for people to read them. For me this means turning out a quality product on schedule, without wasting time or resources. Because I know that the hungry family in the next room wants to be fed, and if a satisfying meal doesn't hit the table on a regular basis. they're going to order out for pizza.
For a chance to win one of today's two Left Behind and Loving It goodie bags, in comments to this post ask a question or share your view on plotting, or just throw your name into the hat by midnight EST on Saturday, July 14, 2007. I will draw two names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners a tote filled with a signed copy of my novel Bio Rescue (paperback), as well as unsigned copies of The Spooky Art ~ Some Thoughts on Writing by Norman Mailer (hardcover), Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (paperback), After Dark by Donna Hill (paperback), Emperor ~ The Gods of War by Conn Iggulden (paperback), When I Fall in Love by Lynn Kurland (paperback), Tied to the Tracks by Rosina Lippi (trade paperback), Wabi Sabi for Writers by Richard R. Powell (trade paperback), the August 2007 issue of Psychology Today magazine (this one has a great article on rebounding from rejection)and some surprises. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.
Other sources on plotting:
Plotting the Novel: Otherwise Known as The Real Reason Writers are Neurotic by Lisa Gardner (.pdf file format)
Randy Ingermanson's How to Write a Novel using the Snowflake Method
Holly Lisle's two workshops on plot: Beyond the Basics: Creating the Professional Plot Outline and Notecarding: Plotting Under Pressure
Writing a Novel - Plotting by Joanne Reid
Other virtual workshops now in progress:
Joely Sue Burkhart's Do You Know the Secret?
Gabriele Campbell's How to Make a Battle Come Alive on the Page, Part 1 and Part 2
LJ Cohen's Organize your Novel with a WIKI
Rosina Lippi's Workshop Day 1: The Story Machine, Workshop Day 2: Ask Your Characters, and Workshop Day 3: Rev Your Engines
Jordan Summers talks about writing outside the traditional boundaries of romance, and her own trials and triumphs as an example of what roads are available and how to avoid some of the potholes
Shiloh Walker's Heat with Heart Day 1, finding that missing emotion, Exploring that Backstory (where she briefly grills me)
Monday, July 09, 2007
Plotfreaks Ten
Ten Things for the Plot Lovers
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. Not sure how to outline your plot? Get some advice from plot kahuna Lee Masterson.
2. Footsteps to a Novel by Margaret Fisk includes a link to her excellent Excel worksheet on plotting scenes by POV ala Holly Lisle.
3. Floating Notes allows you to use virtual stickies on your desktop (beats misplacing all those handwritten Post-Its.)
4. Squirrel Technologies offers a couple of freewares that may appeal to the freestyle plotfreaks out there, such as Notebox Disorganizer.
5. Can a pantser become a plotter? Camy takes a shot in Pantsing and Plotting.
6. How does how you are affect how you plot? Find out from Marg McAlister's article, Plotting by Personality.
7. Escape the Sargasso Sea of plotting with advice on how to deal with Sagging Middles by Dr. Vicki Hinze.
8. Get insight into the whys of plotting from Crawford Killian's Ten Points on Plotting.
9. PBW's Ten Things to Help with Novel Plotting (note that my single novel plotting template is now here; my trilogy plotting template is here, and my mid-length series plotting template is here.)
10. Our blog pal Simon Haynes has made his terrific-for-plotters program yWriter 3 available as a beta release.
Two other freewares of interest to all, no matter how you plot: OpenOffice has gone portable, which means you can take a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing package and database with you on your iPod, portable hard drive, USB thumbdrive or any other portable media. Jarte is a streamlined, simplified word processor with essential, user-friendly features.
Upcoming this week on PBW:
The second annual Left Behind & Loving It virtual workshops -- stay tuned to PBW today for more details.
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. Not sure how to outline your plot? Get some advice from plot kahuna Lee Masterson.
2. Footsteps to a Novel by Margaret Fisk includes a link to her excellent Excel worksheet on plotting scenes by POV ala Holly Lisle.
3. Floating Notes allows you to use virtual stickies on your desktop (beats misplacing all those handwritten Post-Its.)
4. Squirrel Technologies offers a couple of freewares that may appeal to the freestyle plotfreaks out there, such as Notebox Disorganizer.
5. Can a pantser become a plotter? Camy takes a shot in Pantsing and Plotting.
6. How does how you are affect how you plot? Find out from Marg McAlister's article, Plotting by Personality.
7. Escape the Sargasso Sea of plotting with advice on how to deal with Sagging Middles by Dr. Vicki Hinze.
8. Get insight into the whys of plotting from Crawford Killian's Ten Points on Plotting.
9. PBW's Ten Things to Help with Novel Plotting (note that my single novel plotting template is now here; my trilogy plotting template is here, and my mid-length series plotting template is here.)
10. Our blog pal Simon Haynes has made his terrific-for-plotters program yWriter 3 available as a beta release.
Two other freewares of interest to all, no matter how you plot: OpenOffice has gone portable, which means you can take a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing package and database with you on your iPod, portable hard drive, USB thumbdrive or any other portable media. Jarte is a streamlined, simplified word processor with essential, user-friendly features.
Upcoming this week on PBW:
The second annual Left Behind & Loving It virtual workshops -- stay tuned to PBW today for more details.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Plot Algebra
Plot Algebraic Equations
Aphrodite's Curve Ball [H + H + A = LT]
To plot a love triangle, find the sum of the hero, heroine, and antagonist.
Boolean Secret Baby [H + H = (H + H)2 = H2 + 2H2 + H2 = H + 2H + H = H + H + H + H = B]
If the hero and heroine get together often enough, they will simplify their relationship, work out all their problems, and have a baby in last chapter.
Habeas Crime Fictionous [P / BLI + ES / TA = DB]
Protagonist divided by bimbo love interest plus ethnic sidekick divided by thuggish antagonist equals dead body.
Janus's Law of Duplicity [PT + RH = -A, P = A]
If the plot twists and red herrings do not result in an antagonist, then the protagonist is the antagonist.
Moufang Switcheroo [(PL)(IA) = P(LI)A
If the protagonist shares a love interest with the antagonist, then the love interest is out to screw one or both of them.
Properties of the Pissed-off [P < C, P + M (?GS + CC?) > C]
The protagonist is less than conflict, but the protagonist plus motivation is greater than conflict, especially if great sex and a cute chick are added into the equation.
Unending Order of the Infinite Series [P + . . . . + (C/(infinity)).FI = (number of open threads/2). (first + last motivations)=(infinity/2).(P+(C/(infinity)).FI)=(infinity/2).(P/(infinity)).A =(A-P)/Advance = KJA]
The bestselling fiction series shall be written until the publisher goes belly-up or the author drops dead, in which case Kevin J. Anderson will take over writing it.
(And they said that I'd never use it after high school. Ha.)
Extra credit: write an algebraic equation for your WIP or favorite novel in comments.
Aphrodite's Curve Ball [H + H + A = LT]
To plot a love triangle, find the sum of the hero, heroine, and antagonist.
Boolean Secret Baby [H + H = (H + H)2 = H2 + 2H2 + H2 = H + 2H + H = H + H + H + H = B]
If the hero and heroine get together often enough, they will simplify their relationship, work out all their problems, and have a baby in last chapter.
Habeas Crime Fictionous [P / BLI + ES / TA = DB]
Protagonist divided by bimbo love interest plus ethnic sidekick divided by thuggish antagonist equals dead body.
Janus's Law of Duplicity [PT + RH = -A, P = A]
If the plot twists and red herrings do not result in an antagonist, then the protagonist is the antagonist.
Moufang Switcheroo [(PL)(IA) = P(LI)A
If the protagonist shares a love interest with the antagonist, then the love interest is out to screw one or both of them.
Properties of the Pissed-off [P < C, P + M (?GS + CC?) > C]
The protagonist is less than conflict, but the protagonist plus motivation is greater than conflict, especially if great sex and a cute chick are added into the equation.
Unending Order of the Infinite Series [P + . . . . + (C/(infinity)).FI = (number of open threads/2). (first + last motivations)=(infinity/2).(P+(C/(infinity)).FI)=(infinity/2).(P/(infinity)).A =(A-P)/Advance = KJA]
The bestselling fiction series shall be written until the publisher goes belly-up or the author drops dead, in which case Kevin J. Anderson will take over writing it.
(And they said that I'd never use it after high school. Ha.)
Extra credit: write an algebraic equation for your WIP or favorite novel in comments.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Outlining Ten
Ten Things to Help With Outlines
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. Fill in the blanks with Writing.com's Blank Novel Outline.
2. Rob Parnell uses the 1-10 method of outlining in his article Building Novel Templates.
3. The folks who created Compendium concept mapping freeware just released v. 1.5.1 in beta.
4. Organize Your Novel by S.L. Bartlett had a neat suggestion about creating a "Wall of Rogues" to help the writer visualize characters.
5. Need to outline during your lunch hour? Read Alicia Rasley's article, Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes.
6. Yours Truly's Single Novel Plotting Template.
7. Scene by Scene: A .pdf version of ScreenwritersWorkshop.com's The Step Outline: Getting to the Barebones of Your Idea can be downloaded here.
8. Topicscape mind mapping software offers a free trial version download, as does MindApp and, for Mac users, Tinderbox.
9. For the Linux users out there, try the digital notebook capabilities of Alexander Theel's TuxCards freeware.
10. But it's not mandatory: check out Crawford Kilian's post Writing Without an Outline.
Finally, folks keep e-mailing and asking me for this link: World Check, my post and outline on how much worldbuilding I do for a novel.
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. Fill in the blanks with Writing.com's Blank Novel Outline.
2. Rob Parnell uses the 1-10 method of outlining in his article Building Novel Templates.
3. The folks who created Compendium concept mapping freeware just released v. 1.5.1 in beta.
4. Organize Your Novel by S.L. Bartlett had a neat suggestion about creating a "Wall of Rogues" to help the writer visualize characters.
5. Need to outline during your lunch hour? Read Alicia Rasley's article, Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes.
6. Yours Truly's Single Novel Plotting Template.
7. Scene by Scene: A .pdf version of ScreenwritersWorkshop.com's The Step Outline: Getting to the Barebones of Your Idea can be downloaded here.
8. Topicscape mind mapping software offers a free trial version download, as does MindApp and, for Mac users, Tinderbox.
9. For the Linux users out there, try the digital notebook capabilities of Alexander Theel's TuxCards freeware.
10. But it's not mandatory: check out Crawford Kilian's post Writing Without an Outline.
Finally, folks keep e-mailing and asking me for this link: World Check, my post and outline on how much worldbuilding I do for a novel.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Plot Tigers
In Craft & Technique, one of Paul Raymond Martin's little writing instruction books that I keep pushing on other writers, he said something that simplified the whole business of plotting beautifully:
"There are three elements to every plot: Get your character up a tree. Put tigers under the tree. Get your character out of the tree."
I like that, although tigers and trees are a bit tame for me. Dump a bunch of injured characters into a sinking lifeboat, surround the boat with starving sharks, and then send in a cat 5 hurricane before they try to get out -- that's more my style. Still, if you're having trouble with roughing out the basic plot of your story, Paul's three phase approach can be a great starting place.
One of the books I just finished had a plot tiger running around in it that I didn't even see until the third pass. Even stranger, the tiger was setting, not a character or active conflict. The thing was, this one aspect of the setting kept bugging me, and not for the usual reasons like I hate writing it and would that everything could take place in a dark featureless void etc. It sat there acting like a big lump until I rearranged a scene and then wham, it snarled in my face. I hate making changes, but I took the tiger off its chain and let it run. The end result was amazing stuff that didn't alter the story but actually pulled it together, almost as if that was the way it should have been written in the first place. Whether it was the subconscious parallel plotting or just pure dumb writer's luck, I was glad it happened.
Does this happen to anyone else out there? What sort of plot trees or tigers do you find in your stories?
"There are three elements to every plot: Get your character up a tree. Put tigers under the tree. Get your character out of the tree."
I like that, although tigers and trees are a bit tame for me. Dump a bunch of injured characters into a sinking lifeboat, surround the boat with starving sharks, and then send in a cat 5 hurricane before they try to get out -- that's more my style. Still, if you're having trouble with roughing out the basic plot of your story, Paul's three phase approach can be a great starting place.
One of the books I just finished had a plot tiger running around in it that I didn't even see until the third pass. Even stranger, the tiger was setting, not a character or active conflict. The thing was, this one aspect of the setting kept bugging me, and not for the usual reasons like I hate writing it and would that everything could take place in a dark featureless void etc. It sat there acting like a big lump until I rearranged a scene and then wham, it snarled in my face. I hate making changes, but I took the tiger off its chain and let it run. The end result was amazing stuff that didn't alter the story but actually pulled it together, almost as if that was the way it should have been written in the first place. Whether it was the subconscious parallel plotting or just pure dumb writer's luck, I was glad it happened.
Does this happen to anyone else out there? What sort of plot trees or tigers do you find in your stories?
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Plot Habits
Very famous writers firmly believe in plotting out a novel. Other very famous writers don't. Both types have made, are making, and will make piles of money from their books. Thus the debate on To Plot or Not to Plot will rage on forever.
Plotting is one of my favorite things to do. I believe in it, I do it all the time, and it works for me. However, if you think plotting is unnecessary (or stupid, or pedestrian, or inartistic, etc. etc.), or if you worship writers who don't do it and resent the ones who do, or the thought of plotting your own novel makes you break out in hives, you should stop reading this post right now.
Yesterday Shiloh posed an interesting dilemma about plotting in comments here; specifically: any suggestions on how to actually get more into the habit of plotting something out?. I responded with some examples of plot-timeline and plot-summaryline methods I've used to teach writing students, but I really didn't answer her to my own satisfaction, and mulled over the question for a couple of hours.
This is what I ended up with: It's not how you plot as much as it's that you get into the habit of thinking about plot from the start of the novel concept. Doing that trains you to think in story versus detail.
Using the same premise I did in my response to Shiloh yesterday, let's say I have a wonderful idea for a character named John. He's a cop. He's also half-demon. But I'm going to forget about plot and concentrate on the details. John's cool. John has possibilities. For me, it's all about John.
(Several days later) Okay, so I've got John all figured out. What he looks like, how he talks, the clothes he wears, what sort of demonic powers he has, the type of ice cream he likes, his shoe size, etc. He's all dressed up and pretty and ready to make a novel with me. Now what do I do with him? What to do. What to do. I know, I could have him meet a nice human girl who doesn't know he's half-demon. Someone wants to kill them. They have to help each other. And then . . . what to do. What to do. (I've got to do something; I just don't want to think about plot yet. I'm too focused on remembering John's favorite ice cream and shoe size.)
Now, take the same wonderful idea for a character named John but let's limit the amount of detail via constructive character-building. Remember those three questions I keep harping on:
Who is John? He's a cop. He's also a half-demon.
What does John want? To be a good cop and live a normal human life.
What's the worst thing I can do to John? Make him use his demon side to be a good cop, and ruin his chances for a normal human life.
Those are all the details I need to know about John right now; it's time to make story.
I build my story around John and the answers to those three questions. John meets a nice human girl named Marcia at a Halloween party. She'd like to find a decent guy, settle down and live happily ever after. Only during the party she gets stuck with a stolen, cursed diamond and the thief who wants it back is sending demons from Hell after her.
Thinking through this scenario versus many tiny details allows me to sketch out the story in my head. It's progressive and the story is growing as I think about it, but my head's not cluttered up with details so I can still see the story.
Let's keep going: John saves Marcia's life and she's initially grateful; he's a decent guy and a cop -- the kind of guy she could fall head over heels for. But: Marcia discovers that John has a strange tattoo on his chest. And superhuman strength. And his eyes glow red in the dark. John is presently freaking out Marcia, but she doesn't have time to have hysterics, because now the thief is trying to kill both of them. (Note here: I'm still plotting, but John is also developing as a character via details from Marcia's POV. I've limited John's strangeness to three big things versus a thousand little things.)
Plotting from this point goes in all sorts of directions, as there are questions I have to answer, i.e.: How does the thief try to kill them? What sort of demons from hell are we talking about here? What's the deal with this cursed diamond? How does Marcia confront John about his oddities? How does John protect Marcia? Does he suspect that she stole the diamond? I need to work out these answers before I plot any further, but as with John's character I'm going to keep the answers simple so that again I don't get bogged down with a lot of detail. Just the facts, ma'am.
When you think in story versus detail, you're putting together a collage of ideas. Too much detail clutters the collage; it breeds and it obscures things and it ends up confusing you. Less is not only more, it's vital to get the novel sketched out in your head. You can always add more detail to the collage later; too much gets in your way and suffocates the story before it gets rolling.
I'm not sure I'm explaining it as well as I can, though, so does this help, or am I just confusing the issue more?
Plotting is one of my favorite things to do. I believe in it, I do it all the time, and it works for me. However, if you think plotting is unnecessary (or stupid, or pedestrian, or inartistic, etc. etc.), or if you worship writers who don't do it and resent the ones who do, or the thought of plotting your own novel makes you break out in hives, you should stop reading this post right now.
Yesterday Shiloh posed an interesting dilemma about plotting in comments here; specifically: any suggestions on how to actually get more into the habit of plotting something out?. I responded with some examples of plot-timeline and plot-summaryline methods I've used to teach writing students, but I really didn't answer her to my own satisfaction, and mulled over the question for a couple of hours.
This is what I ended up with: It's not how you plot as much as it's that you get into the habit of thinking about plot from the start of the novel concept. Doing that trains you to think in story versus detail.
Using the same premise I did in my response to Shiloh yesterday, let's say I have a wonderful idea for a character named John. He's a cop. He's also half-demon. But I'm going to forget about plot and concentrate on the details. John's cool. John has possibilities. For me, it's all about John.
(Several days later) Okay, so I've got John all figured out. What he looks like, how he talks, the clothes he wears, what sort of demonic powers he has, the type of ice cream he likes, his shoe size, etc. He's all dressed up and pretty and ready to make a novel with me. Now what do I do with him? What to do. What to do. I know, I could have him meet a nice human girl who doesn't know he's half-demon. Someone wants to kill them. They have to help each other. And then . . . what to do. What to do. (I've got to do something; I just don't want to think about plot yet. I'm too focused on remembering John's favorite ice cream and shoe size.)
Now, take the same wonderful idea for a character named John but let's limit the amount of detail via constructive character-building. Remember those three questions I keep harping on:
Who is John? He's a cop. He's also a half-demon.
What does John want? To be a good cop and live a normal human life.
What's the worst thing I can do to John? Make him use his demon side to be a good cop, and ruin his chances for a normal human life.
Those are all the details I need to know about John right now; it's time to make story.
I build my story around John and the answers to those three questions. John meets a nice human girl named Marcia at a Halloween party. She'd like to find a decent guy, settle down and live happily ever after. Only during the party she gets stuck with a stolen, cursed diamond and the thief who wants it back is sending demons from Hell after her.
Thinking through this scenario versus many tiny details allows me to sketch out the story in my head. It's progressive and the story is growing as I think about it, but my head's not cluttered up with details so I can still see the story.
Let's keep going: John saves Marcia's life and she's initially grateful; he's a decent guy and a cop -- the kind of guy she could fall head over heels for. But: Marcia discovers that John has a strange tattoo on his chest. And superhuman strength. And his eyes glow red in the dark. John is presently freaking out Marcia, but she doesn't have time to have hysterics, because now the thief is trying to kill both of them. (Note here: I'm still plotting, but John is also developing as a character via details from Marcia's POV. I've limited John's strangeness to three big things versus a thousand little things.)
Plotting from this point goes in all sorts of directions, as there are questions I have to answer, i.e.: How does the thief try to kill them? What sort of demons from hell are we talking about here? What's the deal with this cursed diamond? How does Marcia confront John about his oddities? How does John protect Marcia? Does he suspect that she stole the diamond? I need to work out these answers before I plot any further, but as with John's character I'm going to keep the answers simple so that again I don't get bogged down with a lot of detail. Just the facts, ma'am.
When you think in story versus detail, you're putting together a collage of ideas. Too much detail clutters the collage; it breeds and it obscures things and it ends up confusing you. Less is not only more, it's vital to get the novel sketched out in your head. You can always add more detail to the collage later; too much gets in your way and suffocates the story before it gets rolling.
I'm not sure I'm explaining it as well as I can, though, so does this help, or am I just confusing the issue more?
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Timelining
I'm setting up my new novel's timeline tomorrow, starting with an event that happened 700 years ago. The novel won't begin with that event, or the others that occurred over the subsequent seven centuries, and there will be no flashbacks. Still, I need to impose order on one character's lengthy backstory, and chronicle it in major events before I wrestle with the present (this is all part of my practice of knowing a lot more about my characters than the reader does.)
If you think of a novel as simply a series of events, fortunate, unfortunate or otherwise, you can map out a basic structure that will help you create your scenes. Here's the first part of the original timeline for StarDoc.
1. Cherijo packs her things and leaves Earth for a new world.
2. En route to the new world, Cherijo broods over her situation.
3. Cherijo arrives at the new world and insults her new boss, Dr. Mayer.
4. At her new job, Cherijo makes mistakes and questions her decision.
5. Cherijo clashes with Reever, the colony's telepathic linguist.
6. A slaver forces Cherijo to deliver his mate's quintuplets.
This was my initial plan for the opening chapters, and when I wrote the book, the timeline gave me a story roadmap to follow. I decided to open the book a little differently, because the solitary packing-to-leave scene I had in mind provided too much info dumpage temptation, and that's the reason the novel opens with Cherijo in the shady part of town, hiring a pilot and ending up in the middle of a bar fight. This change in plans didn't alter things, and I find that if I timeline only off significant events that affect the protagonist in relation to the central plot, setting changes generally won't cause a problem.
Timelines allow you to move through the novel plan without a lot of unnecessary information or the cast of characters cluttering your view. I find the hardest thing about working off a synopsis is that it reads in story form. I'll break up a synopsis into one or two paragraph chunks when I use it for creating chapter sumarries, but even then it's too wordy or not orderly enough to really be useful.
What most helps you all when you're working out your novel plan?
Related links:
Holly Lisle's Scene-Creation Workshop -- Writing Scenes that Move Your Story Forward
How to Plot When You Can't
How to Make a Timeline
If you think of a novel as simply a series of events, fortunate, unfortunate or otherwise, you can map out a basic structure that will help you create your scenes. Here's the first part of the original timeline for StarDoc.
1. Cherijo packs her things and leaves Earth for a new world.
2. En route to the new world, Cherijo broods over her situation.
3. Cherijo arrives at the new world and insults her new boss, Dr. Mayer.
4. At her new job, Cherijo makes mistakes and questions her decision.
5. Cherijo clashes with Reever, the colony's telepathic linguist.
6. A slaver forces Cherijo to deliver his mate's quintuplets.
This was my initial plan for the opening chapters, and when I wrote the book, the timeline gave me a story roadmap to follow. I decided to open the book a little differently, because the solitary packing-to-leave scene I had in mind provided too much info dumpage temptation, and that's the reason the novel opens with Cherijo in the shady part of town, hiring a pilot and ending up in the middle of a bar fight. This change in plans didn't alter things, and I find that if I timeline only off significant events that affect the protagonist in relation to the central plot, setting changes generally won't cause a problem.
Timelines allow you to move through the novel plan without a lot of unnecessary information or the cast of characters cluttering your view. I find the hardest thing about working off a synopsis is that it reads in story form. I'll break up a synopsis into one or two paragraph chunks when I use it for creating chapter sumarries, but even then it's too wordy or not orderly enough to really be useful.
What most helps you all when you're working out your novel plan?
Related links:
Holly Lisle's Scene-Creation Workshop -- Writing Scenes that Move Your Story Forward
How to Plot When You Can't
How to Make a Timeline
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Novel III: Outlining
Outlining is not writing a novel; it's preparation and organization of the elements of a novel. You need not outline to write a novel; plenty of writers don't. If you want to sell your novel, you will need a synopsis to show along with some chapters. Outlining allows you to write an a more effective synopsis.
What follows is how I outline. This may make things easier or jam you up. Use only what works for you.
The two novel elements that go into an outline are characters and plot. Like the nouns and verbs that go into making a sentence, characters and plot are the novel. Setting, motivation, timeline, story styling and whatever else you've got in mind aren't necessary right now; they're the adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, etc. that you'll use to enhance the nouns and verbs. Put all that stuff to one side of your head; focus only on the group of characters that populate your story and what they do.
Characters: write a list of their names, and leave some line room to write beside each name. For each name, list assets, flaws, and the problems (I use no more than three of each) this character has. If you have trouble deciding, use a character outline sheet to get to know your character before you outline the novel, or read this workshop article Holly wrote on character creation.
My advice about characters: you should always know more about them than the reader will.
Once you've got your cast mapped out, look at them. Remember that interesting people are unique people. Could any of the characters swap places without a hitch? If yes, then you need to rework some of them. Can you see characters who are going to naturally like or dislike each other, no matter what your plans are? Note that; it will have an impact on how they relate to each other during the novel.
Plot: in simple language, write out the main plot of your novel. The way I do it is to list the five main events of the novel down the center of the page, and then on the side list what happens in between those five events. To give you a visual that doesn't involve my lousy handwriting, my plot list looks a bit like this.
If you're not sure how to plot, Holly has a great article on it here. My advice on plotting: have fun with it and you'll make it fun to write.
Once you have all the plot on paper, examine it the same way you did your characters. A very linear plot may make it easier for you to write the story, but the book is probably going to be predictable and dull for the reader. An extremely complicated plot, on the other hand, will make the novel hard for the reader to follow. You want a not-too-straight, not-too-kinky plot. Also, does the story plot serve the characters you've just outlined? If it's all about one of them and the other thirty-five are going to be sitting around and watching the one, then maybe you should rework the plot to better use that lovely cast you've just created.
Once you've nailed the characters and the plot, then you can get into making lists and outlines of the other elements like setting and motivation and what have you. This is story decorating to me and I'm not into it, so I write only what I absolutely need to flesh out the novel, usually in shorthand prompts that remind me of the main points.
When I'm done the outline, I'm ready to pitch.
What follows is how I outline. This may make things easier or jam you up. Use only what works for you.
The two novel elements that go into an outline are characters and plot. Like the nouns and verbs that go into making a sentence, characters and plot are the novel. Setting, motivation, timeline, story styling and whatever else you've got in mind aren't necessary right now; they're the adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, etc. that you'll use to enhance the nouns and verbs. Put all that stuff to one side of your head; focus only on the group of characters that populate your story and what they do.
Characters: write a list of their names, and leave some line room to write beside each name. For each name, list assets, flaws, and the problems (I use no more than three of each) this character has. If you have trouble deciding, use a character outline sheet to get to know your character before you outline the novel, or read this workshop article Holly wrote on character creation.
My advice about characters: you should always know more about them than the reader will.
Once you've got your cast mapped out, look at them. Remember that interesting people are unique people. Could any of the characters swap places without a hitch? If yes, then you need to rework some of them. Can you see characters who are going to naturally like or dislike each other, no matter what your plans are? Note that; it will have an impact on how they relate to each other during the novel.
Plot: in simple language, write out the main plot of your novel. The way I do it is to list the five main events of the novel down the center of the page, and then on the side list what happens in between those five events. To give you a visual that doesn't involve my lousy handwriting, my plot list looks a bit like this.
If you're not sure how to plot, Holly has a great article on it here. My advice on plotting: have fun with it and you'll make it fun to write.
Once you have all the plot on paper, examine it the same way you did your characters. A very linear plot may make it easier for you to write the story, but the book is probably going to be predictable and dull for the reader. An extremely complicated plot, on the other hand, will make the novel hard for the reader to follow. You want a not-too-straight, not-too-kinky plot. Also, does the story plot serve the characters you've just outlined? If it's all about one of them and the other thirty-five are going to be sitting around and watching the one, then maybe you should rework the plot to better use that lovely cast you've just created.
Once you've nailed the characters and the plot, then you can get into making lists and outlines of the other elements like setting and motivation and what have you. This is story decorating to me and I'm not into it, so I write only what I absolutely need to flesh out the novel, usually in shorthand prompts that remind me of the main points.
When I'm done the outline, I'm ready to pitch.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Plot Talk
Author Alison Kent breaks down her plotting method (including neat image) on her discussion board.*
Now I have to go over and harass her about it.
*Registration required to post
Now I have to go over and harass her about it.
*Registration required to post
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Ten Things to Help With Novel Plotting
Every writer has different plotting methods. I use templates. Holly Lisle uses notecards. Not every writer plots, either -- John Grisham does, Stephen King doesn't. Strangest plotting method I've ever heard: One of my former students used an erasable marker on the tile wall in his bathroom.
There is no single right way to plot, so it's best to research different methods, try them out, and keep what works for you. To get you started, here are
Ten Things to Help With Novel Plotting
1. James Scott Bell's Structure Secrets.
2. Stella Cameron's Plotting Your Novel.
3.C.J. Hannah's Four Point Plot Line. (Site no longer exists)
4. Jeff Heisler's Plotting.
5. Randall Ingermanson's Snowflake Process.
6. Holly Lisle's Notecarding: Plotting Under Pressure.
7. Lee Masterson's Plotting Your Novel.
8. M. Mulgrew's Plot Outline Diagram.
9. David Sheppard's Plotting.
10. S.L. Viehl's Single Novel Plotting Template.*
*I haven't updated the copyright note at the bottom of this, but my plotting templates are free for anyone's personal use or non-profit distribution. If you do post or reproduce the template, just remember to give me the byline credit.
(Links updated 2/14/09)
There is no single right way to plot, so it's best to research different methods, try them out, and keep what works for you. To get you started, here are
Ten Things to Help With Novel Plotting
1. James Scott Bell's Structure Secrets.
2. Stella Cameron's Plotting Your Novel.
3.
4. Jeff Heisler's Plotting.
5. Randall Ingermanson's Snowflake Process.
6. Holly Lisle's Notecarding: Plotting Under Pressure.
7. Lee Masterson's Plotting Your Novel.
8. M. Mulgrew's Plot Outline Diagram.
9. David Sheppard's Plotting.
10. S.L. Viehl's Single Novel Plotting Template.*
*I haven't updated the copyright note at the bottom of this, but my plotting templates are free for anyone's personal use or non-profit distribution. If you do post or reproduce the template, just remember to give me the byline credit.
(Links updated 2/14/09)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)