Hands-On Plotting

So, I have always considered myself a pantster. When I get an idea, I do a very barebones rough outline of what's going to happen and how it will end, and then I begin to type and just go with the character flow. Perhaps it's because I am more right-brained and plotting seems too structured for me, or maybe I just don't have the patience to sit down and map it out when my story is brimming to the surface, ready to be written.

But after listening to Shelly Beach's presentation on her plotting technique, I have a whole new outlook on it, and I'm eager to try it out. It's very hands on and I always like a little craftiness...but two pluses for me:

One, it is very visual: You have a giant map of your whole idea right in front of you as you type.

Two, it is workable: You can move stuff around and change things up throughout the writing process.

In order to plot this way, all you need are post-its, assorted colored notecards, and a large blank wall .


Step 1: Mapping Out Your Story

Begin to map out back story, conflict, complications, obstacles, ultimate crisis (climax), resolutions, using post it notes for each piece of information. In my very conceptual graphic, you see that you are doing a chapter by chapter outline (I only show a few chapters here, but you would go all the way to the end of your story). Be sure your points are moving the story forward and maintaining a rise in tension toward a climactic point (ch. 20 on my example). Visually doing this with your post-its helps you to remember where the story is going, what loose ends need to be dealt with, and what the stakes are at different points of the book.

Examples of what would be written on the post-its from my wip:

Spanish explorers arrive on the river

Chief thinks Spanish commander is a god

Fake god shows powerful arquebus,

Andres and Yana meet at falls...

Step 2: “Braiding” Plot and Characters

So, you have a chapter by chapter outline of what is going to drive your story-- through character emotions and situations. Shelly reminds us that “plot and character go together. Character's flaws drive the plot.”

To learn more about this, check out Robin Perini on Braiding Character with Plot.

Now, assign a notecard color for your main character's point of view and other characters' point of view. (Shelly suggests that one character needs to be your primary point of view.)

On each notecard, write what you want to show through the character's pov at that post-it point in the story.

So from my story (the illustration does not necessarily go with my wip example):

Post it: Spanish Explorers arrive on river

Yana: Intrigued by Andres on vessel

Andres: Journal entry: hardships on river, fear of people they may encounter

Post it: Chief declares fake god

Yana: Doubts in the fake god

Andres: Journal entry: fears his commander's idolatry, notices Yana's doubt

You begin to see how the characters and plot braid together by showing the character's pov in specific ways along the plot line.


A word on plot, from Shelly's notes:

“Don't let your focus be the plot, which is the series of events and situations that occur along the route of your story. The Plot is a natural outcome of the seeds of your story—it emerges from your setup of the characters, their conflicts and the setting they occur in. You'll write a more powerful, believable story if you focus on seed planting long before you worry about the harvest.”