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

Applying What You Learn at Conferences

I was recently blessed with the opportunity to hear Debra Dixon, author of Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. 

I first heard of "GMC" through Seekerville.  Here are a few great posts:

Tina Radcliffe on Why I Love GMC
Deb Dixon's Seekerville Post
GMC Chart for One of Missy Tippens' Books

Wow, this was a packed conference.  I was even fortunate enough to connect with a few ACFW members and find out information about some of the face to face groups and opportunities in my area. 

One of my most valuable conference takeaways was the fact that Debra asked us to take two sets of notes.  One on what she was saying and another set entitled "My Story."  She explained that our story and application should be the bulk of our notetaking.

Now I have to admit I do try to apply what I learned to my story, but taking this set of notes made me far more conscious of the fact that if I don't apply what I learn I've wasted my time.

Debra first had us write down our expectations of the day, what we were specifically hoping to learn in terms of improving our story.  I plan to take note of this from now on when I listen to audio conferences.

So I asked myself: How can I build sense of urgency even further in the scene where Rachel ______________(her action)?

I named the starter goal in my story, then listed items that gave Rachel's goal increased urgency.  Examples for this particular character are: abuse, her own thought processes, fear of being replaced, and the loss of a family member.

In which spots along the way do I need to make Rachel's goals more clear?  When the characters' goals have changed is it obvious to the reader?  How can I ramp up the conflict in every single scene?

I find as a result of the conference I am asking these questions as I write my scenes.

I really suggest if you're having a hard time putting GMC into practice, journaling the GMC for several movies.  Once you've done that I think it really helps charting the goals, motivations, and conflicts of your characters to come more easily.

Have you ever attended a conference or listened to relevent audio on writing?  What tips do you have that have helped you apply what you've learned to your writing?

Scoring a Well-Rounded Manuscript: Characters and Plot

In the first post of this series, I likened a well-rounded story to the game of bowling. Each pin equals one important aspect of a manuscript and the goal is to knock down all the pins, therefore touching on each element of a story to make it as polished and complete as possible.

We discussed the first pin as voice - you can check out the post here - and today I'm talking about the next row of pins. Just two pins but very important to a story. Characters and Plot.

These two elements of a story are most successful if each is planned and/or written with a purpose.

Characters

A well-rounded and effective story cannot be created without characters, and not just any random characters, but characters with depth and intent. One of the simplest ways to approach this is the well-known GMC method.

Goal - What does your character want?

Motivation - Why does your character want this?

Conflict - What's going to stop your character from reaching their goal?

But beyond that, what other tricks can be used to help develop fully rounded characters?

Character sheets - listing anything or everything from appearance and characteristics to likes, dislikes, and background

Character interviews - approach getting to know your character like an interview, asking them questions about their past or their interests right now, even write it down to discover character traits and how they act while answering certain questions.

Invented scenes with your characters - either write your character from a different POV or drop them in a random scene and do something like a free write to learn more about their personality

Plot

Plot execution is an important aspect of story-telling and being able to do it well can take a ho-hum plot and bring it alive. So what are some ways this can be done?

Let voice touch your plot - even a used idea can become new and interesting with a fresh voice and unique perspective

Advance the story with intent - know where the story is going and use each scene to get there, trying to avoid loose, unproductive scenes

Use an organized approach - try the Snowflake Method, the three act story structure, a helpful plotting book, or your own method to create a whole and fluid plot outline

Again, plot and characters are right up there with voice. These three carry your novel. Executing plot and creating characters is most effective when each have a purpose at every point in the story.

What do you think are the most important parts of a novel? What tricks do you use to help create fluid plots and well-rounded characters?