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Plotting for Non-Plotters
Terry Odell
“It's like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
“Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.” E.L. Doctorow
If I had a plot that was all set in advance, why would I want go through the agony of writing the novel? A novel is a kind of exploration and discovery, for me at any rate. Chaim Potok
I always start with characters rather than with a plot, which many critics would say is very obvious from the lack of plot in my films although I think they do have plots - but the plot is not of primary importance to me, the characters are. Film Director Jim Jarmusch
In order to have a plot, you have to have a conflict, something bad has to happen. Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill)
Plotting
isn't like sex, because you can go back and adjust it
afterwards. Whether you plan your story beforehand or not, if
the climax turns out to be the revelation that the mad
professor's anti-gravity device actually works, you must go back
and silently delete all those flying cars Colin Greenland
Every writer plots. Without plot, there's no story. It's a matter of how and when you do it. What works for one author might not work for another. There is no single way, no best way. You figure out what gets you from Chapter One to The End, and that's 'right' for you. For that book. You're not locked into any single method. Part of the adventure is experimenting, testing, modifying.
Where to start Wherever feels right. Are you character driven? Start with the characters. When you know who they are, their hopes and fears, you can devise evil ways to make their hopes elusive and their fears haunt them. CONFLICT.
Are you plot driven? You don't need to know much. Maybe it's just, "What would it take to make a 'by the book' cop who sees everything in black and white start moving into the gray?" Or, "How far will a woman go to keep her dream business out of the red?" (Finding Sarah, Terry Odell).
In romantic suspense or mystery, it helps to know the crime. Not all the details, necessarily, but solving a crime, or escaping from pursuers is going to be a major plot thread, so it helps to have an idea of what the crime is, and how it affects the characters. That's not to say it can't change.
Are you scene driven? Maybe hear a dreamy song and just know your hero and heroine have to dance to it. How they get there becomes part of the plotting.
How far to go Whatever works for you. (Are you detecting a theme here?) I can't seem to plot more than a few scenes ahead. At most, about three chapters. When someone says, "I'm currently writing chapter 20 of 36," I shudder. How do I know how many chapters I'm going to write? I track word count since publishers have a range of "acceptability" for length, and it helps to know that I'm halfway through the book, so I should have covered half the distance to the resolution.
Trust your instincts Your subconscious has probably been working harder than you have. In Finding Sarah, I was unaware that Randy, the hero, was a gifted pianist until he opened the door to a spare bedroom and his grandmother's piano was sitting there. In the first draft, this revelation came at about chapter 10. In going back to see if I needed to make any changes to accommodate his "new" talent, I had to change only one line. In my WIP, I had a throwaway reference to a police report involving marijuana, which in chapter 20, became a new plot thread.
Storyboard Tracking
Plotters often speak of storyboards. But if you don't plot, how can you use this visual technique? And why should you? After all, there's plenty of computer software, and dozens of worksheet templates that you can use to track and plan.
By getting away from the computer, you can free your thought patterns. It's a visual and kinesthetic approach. You physically move things around, which is another pathway to the brain. It's portable (within limits – but you can take it to another room.) You can see the whole thing at once.
Think of two separate systems.
1. Ideas 2. Plot tracking.
Materials needed Boards – I found a package of 3 white foam core boards on sale, but you can use anything that you can attach a Post-it to.
Post-its (in assorted colors if you're that kind of a person.)
Beyond that, it's up to you. Prefer colored pens to colored Post-its? Fine. You like highlighters? No problem.
Method Since I tend to write books of over 30 chapters, I cut one board in half and attached it to a second, making a tri-fold board that I divided into 32 sections. The third board is where I track random ideas, clues, plot points, reminders.
1. Start with ideas. Suggestions: Anything you see happening in the book. Scenes, brilliant lines to be uttered by a character, back story information. If you're writing romance, you'll have generic post-it's for the Big Five: Meet, First Kiss, First Sex, Black Moment, HEA. GMC for your characters. Stick them all on the Idea Board. Random is fine for now.
2. Start writing. Don't worry that it's all back story, character reveal, info dumping. This is for you, not the reader. Cut it later.
3. As you finish each scene, summarize what happened for each POV character.
4. Reminders: If you remember something as you're on a roll writing chapter 15 that should have been foreshadowed, write it on a sticky and put it on your idea board until you have time to go back.
Things to track: 1. POV characters. 2. Secondary character appearances if they come and go. 3. Time 4. Location 5. Plot threads 6. Reveals
Once something from the idea board is incorporated, it either goes onto the tracking board, or is tossed. Example: Hero finds a handkerchief. Once whatever it's in the story for is resolved, it's no longer needed. If you're insecure, you can leave it on the board, perhaps with a notation as to where it's been handled.
I hope this has given you a few ideas about how to keep track of your plot. There's nothing more frustrating to a reader than to keep wondering what ever happened to the man lurking behind the bushes in chapter two.
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If you have questions, or would like a PDF version of this handout, please email me and I'll send you one.
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