Three Easy Plotting Ideas

Plotting easy? Is that what I said in the title? Well, I guess it depends on who you ask. Some of us are plotters and some of us aren't. Even those of us who are still find plotting a challenge on occasion. (Maybe even frequently.)

So what better than to share our plotting tips and make that challenge a little less hard on ourselves?

Sticky-Note Timeline

Photo by Rameshng

What writer isn't a fan of sticky notes? And here's a new way to put those little guys to use.

When thinking about your story, list as many singular events as you can that will happen in your story.

Jake arrives in town and it's different than he remembered...Jake meets Shannon...the bank forecloses on Jake's house.

Write down every big or small event, in any order, you can think of that could happen in your story. When you're finished writing each event on a sticky note, put those sticky notes in chronological order. This gives you a chance to see how fleshed out your plot is, if you want to fill in the gaps, or transfer the timeline to a sheet of paper and go from there. You can even write from what you've got on your sticky notes and throw away each piece after the event happens.

 
The What-If Conflict Question

I know when I'm initially plotting I sometimes have trouble thinking up different disasters to put my characters through. So I ask strangers. Okay, maybe not complete strangers, but people who don't know what my story is about.

I'll say to my family, "What if I just moved to a small town and ran out of money? What things could happen to make life (and finances) harder for me?"

And they'll just shout out ideas.

The water heater breaks!

Someone steals your car!

Monsters attack! (This from my five-year-old. She likes to play, too.)

I do this with all sorts of what-if questions and my family or friends help me fill in gaps I'm struggling with so I can round out the plot, and do so with a different perspective.


Divisions and Subdivisions

Sometimes I need compartmentalized structure. Because there are so many different aspects to a story, knowing GMC, external and internal goals, etc., I make categories for each main character.

Spiritual Stance and Goal
Motivation (back story stuff) and Goal
Internal Conflict
External Conflict (Can be several things)

You can split this up however you want, but basically you're putting big categories that are going to represent your character's wants, needs, and why, and what's going to hinder that. Then you can start filling out the space under each header. This will keep you organized with each character and you can be as extensive (or not) as you want. Hopefully it will help you stay away from plot holes, too

I LOVE plotting because it really helps me write a solid first draft. But I do it at different levels for different stories, hence the varying ideas above.

How much do you plot? Would you like to be a more extensive plotter or not? And hey, while you're at it, if you have any easy plotting tips, do share!

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Cindy is a Colorado native, living near the mountains with her husband and three beautiful daughters. She writes contemporary Christian romance, seeking to enrich lives with her stories of faith, love, and a lot of humor.

To learn more about Cindy, visit her at her personal blog, www.cindyrwilson.com