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Learning to Plot

Richard White

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I'm glad to see this post, Merovingian, because I was about to make the same suggestion.

A technique I picked up from my time in the military was backward planning. In other words, if we were going to deploy at 0900 on Monday, then we knew we had to form up at 0730 on Monday, which meant we had to draw weapons at 0645, which meant the morning formation was at 0600, which meant I had to wake up at 0400 to get to post on time, and of course, at X-2 days we had to pick up the supplies we'd ordered at X-10 days ahead of the exercise and so on.

Basically, it deals with knowing where you want your story to end and then backing up through the various steps to ensure you account for all the things that have to happen to get your character to that point from Chapter 1. It is especially useful when you're writing mysteries to ensure you haven't forgotten to leave enough clues to point out who the villain is without it sounding like deus-ex-machina.

Now, I know some people like to start from Chapter One and have no idea where their characters are going to take them, and that's perfectly fine too. However, in my experience, if I don't have a final destination already in mind for my stories, they tend to wander and meander and the first set of edits takes FOREVER to whip this story into shape. Since my first professional writing experiences were doing media tie-ins, I had to have a synopsis/pitch approved by both the editor and the licensor up front and then if I was doing a novel, I had to do a much more in-depth synopsis or even a chapter-by-chapter break down for the licensor to approve before I ever started writing (oh, and the deadline isn't getting any further away while we're cleaning up the synopsis), so the more I developed my plot up front, the quicker I could do my stories. The backward planning was just simply to ensure I hit all the high points and didn't have any plot holes I hadn't patched by the end of the book.

Again, not everyone likes doing this, and I'm never going to say this is the only way to do it, but it works for me.
 

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Plotting Backwards

I agree that plotting backwards can be very effective. I have an exercise I assign to students at the Odyssey Writing Workshop that gives them the climax to a story (a doctor destroying a robot) and asks them to plot backwards, figuring out what they need to show before the climax, and how many scenes that will require, to give the climax the power and emotion they want it to have. Do you want readers to be relieved that the doctor destroys the robot? Upset? Something else? What do we need to know about the doctor for the climax to create the emotion you want and carry the power you want? What do we need to know about the robot? The pre-climax section of a story is basically providing the context that will make for an effective climax. So considering the climax and what it requires can help you plot out the previous scenes and create a unified, focused story.

If you can't think this way and need to write the story to discover the climax, you can still use this technique when you are starting revisions.

Jeanne
 

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I first sat and got very familiar with the three act structure. It exists all around us in books and movies but I didn't notice the beats until I sat and concentrated. I noticed the three act structure is the same for books and movies, and since it was a quick study, I sat and watched movies that fit closely into this structure. I looked up the movie on the internet where someone had fit it into the three act, copied it to paper, then watched the film.
I also read about other structures like the Hero's Journey.
I found this persons help: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/

But mostly find someone(s) who are expert plotters. Do a detailed version of your plot and ask them if they see any problems or any improvements. Some people say looking over the plot is useless, let them read the manuscript, but it takes less time to read so you're likely to get more help and the help will be focused on the plot.

One warning though. Don't get so bogged down in plot you neglect character. And don't try to force your ideas into a formula.
all the best
 

Enlightened

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I expect this post will get some disagreement. All good.

J.K. Rowling, maybe by accident or maybe by design, created a type of vertical structure to coincide with her horizontal structure (plot). From what I can tell, there are 5 support levels and 5 antagonist levels for Harry Potter. I think they are something like this....

Supportive Cast (most supportive on top)
5. His birth parents / Snape.
4. Ron (Weasley family), Hermione & Hedwig (Owl).
3. Hagrid & McGonagall.
2. Mrs. Weasley, Dobby & Sirius Black.
1. Dumbledore (Fawkes/Phoenix). <-- Agreed with Snape when he said he treated Harry Potter like a pig for slaughter.

Antagonist/Non-Supportive Cast (least problematic, for Harry, at the top)
1. Dursley family.
2. Malfoy family.
3. Prof. Umbrage.
4. Belatrix LeStrange & death eaters.
5. Voldemort (Nagini/snake).

Rowling had the different character levels, with some exceptions, harm or kill the counter levels on the opposite side. I think this form of structure is invaluable. For me, it helps with plot points, when to manage character interactions and with whom, and many other things.

From what I can tell, from Harry Potter,....

More supportive characters die (7:2) than non-supportive. 2 (non-supportive) of 9 characters is 22.2% ; 7 (supportive) of 9 characters is 77.8%. Roughly, 4 of 5 characters (who support Harry) die (compared to 1 of 5, or 20%, being non-supportive die).

You can take this and apply it to your own work, for similar numbers.

Harry Potter had 7 books. The characters go 5 levels deep; either supportive or antagonistic. This is a 7:5 ratio (71.4%, call it 70%, of your series number of books can dictate how many levels deep to go, if you are writing a series).

EDIT: This type of structure is grossly missing from Star Wars (where you have higher levels of characters killing nobodies). This is debatable though. I think Star Wars could be better if it had this structure.
 
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eqb

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I know I already have, but taking a break to try and get a submission to Nicholl before May 1 close date.

Awesome.

My point being that while we all have different approaches, it's far too easy for newbies to fall into endless plotting and planning and research.

At some point, a writer needs to put butt in chair and write a complete draft.

ETA: I speak from my own experience. Six novels published by Big 5 publishers. Three more in production and a third under consideration. At some point, a writer has to write.
 
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Enlightened

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Awesome.

My point being that while we all have different approaches, it's far too easy for newbies to fall into endless plotting and planning and research.

At some point, a writer needs to put butt in chair and write a complete draft.

ETA: I speak from my own experience. Six novels published by Big 5 publishers. Three more in production and a third under consideration. At some point, a writer has to write.

Fair enough!


Yes. She used series grid and series symmetry as well. She used a lot of elements/tools/techniques to make her series very strong.... Till she left a lot of problems in her prequel, Fantastic Beasts. Regardless, Harry Potter was fantastic.

My earlier post was but a theory. It may help someone who reads this thread one day, or not.
 

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What is your premise? Start with that.
How do you want the story to end? Once you know that, you can build the set-up points.
What is your Character's arc?
What lessons need to be learned?

At the end of the story, your character should evolve in some way. He/She should learn a lesson and become better than they were.

Do you have a theme that builds in your story?

Who is the Opponent? There should be a parallel goal between your MC and your Opponent.

Once you know this, what actions or circumstances sets your MC off on their mission.

Build the story taking into mind their friends and foes in the story. What stops them from reaching their goals?

You can build this into your plot till it reaches the climax. Will the hero or the opponent reach the targeted goal?


Good Luck
 

JEChillemi

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I think you should plot the same way you organize other things in your life, just more detailed. I kept trying to plot in traditional ways for months, then I'd give up and put the entire project on hold. In my daily life, whenever I need something organized I personally turn to Excel. Sounds weird to plot in Excel, but that is what I was most comfortable with so it was natural for me to use it when plotting. So what are you comfortable with when you need to come up with, say, a grocery list? I know that is a small example, but try thinking about how your mind already works and expand on that.
 

CJEvermore

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Plotting just confuses and bores me, so I take the Ray Bradbury/Stephen King approach, both of which say that plottiong is a bad thing. Get an idea, stick an interesting character in an interesting situation, and tell the story of how the character gets out of the situation. You get plot as a byproduct. The idiom "Well begun is half done" means everything.

Bradbury, with his usual elequence, says, Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible
destinations. Plot is observed after the fact rather than before. It
cannot precede action. It is the chart that remains when an action
is through. That is all Plot ever should be. It is human desire let
run, running, and reaching a goal. It cannot be mechanical. It can
only be dynamic.

So, stand aside, forget targets, let the characters, your fingers,
body, blood, and heart do.


King, with his usual bluntness, says, Plot is the good writer's last resort and the dullard's first choice.

King believes the story is already there, so you don't plot it, you just excavate it. I feel the same way. Your milage may vary.

I was going to share a Stephen King link, but you got there well ahead of me :) I think as soon as the plot starts to squeeze the joy out of a story, stop. I've tried over-plotting, and it feels like I'm putting everything in a small, tightly-spaced box. I like the idea of a story progressing naturally, seeing what the characters do and how they interact with the events around them. A plot will soon emerge almost without you having to think about it.
 

indianroads

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Good morning. My name is IndianRoads, and I'm a plotter.

I'm also a former Design Engineer that did 30+ years in Silicon Valley... so there's that. To create a product you don't just start out with a blank sheet of paper and start drawing. You first decide what your product is along with the features it will have, and from that you develop a plan to create it.

The end of the story usually comes to me before the beginning. Early on I also get a sense of the main characters - and once I have them I can find the beginning. Plotting is the process of figuring out how the character will move from the beginning to the end. Features are added along the way that enhance the product and characters. Length is also a consideration - if I were to wander aimlessly feature-creep would occur and the novel would be a million word door-stop. Some meandering is fine when it adds depth to the characters or story, beyond that I try to keep the plot as linear as possible.

I write all this out as a bulleted list, break it into chewable chunks (aka chapters), work up simple character profiles, go over it many times to consider flow - then start in on the first draft.

With all that said - my characters often act up along the way... and new ones that hadn't previously introduced themselves show up and often play key roles in the story. So I plan, but remain flexible when it comes to change.
 
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I have the opposite problem. I'm great at both teaching and creating stories but struggle with writing. Seeing that there are so many writers here that need help with plotting, is anyone interested in partnering up where I can assist in the story part of your work?
 

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The truth is, plotting is really about using what you already know in an order/combination that tells a good story. If you know what Themes you want to convey, a few solid Characters, and an idea for a Setting, you can figure out a good backbone for a plot. Try this activity to build your first three events (you can reuse the activity to make more between, but 3 is the magic number to get started).

Beginning
- What Characters are here? Protagonist should be there in most cases, Antagonist if he/she will be an active force in story, and NO MORE THAN 2 supporting characters. Too many people at once will confuse readers.
- Where are they? Pick a place out of your setting that really exemplifies what the readers will see throughout the book. For instance, if this is an inter-stellar travel story, show us a space station or an alien world. If it's a place rich with natural splendor, show us a volcano, glacier, or stormy plains.
- What happens? Whatever happens to these Characters at this Place, make sure it introduces the main Themes of your work.

End (skip to an event towards the end to avoid contradicting yourself/plotholes)

- What Characters are here? Protagonist is a must, unless removed from the story (by death or other cause). Antagonist is a must, with the same conditions as the Protagonist. All main supporting characters should be present, if not physically, in the thoughts of those who are.
- Where are they? Similar to your opening location, this should be a place that exudes what your Setting is all about. Think DRAMATIC for the finale. This means something different for different genres. In a fantasy, it might be the center of an enchanted meteor belt. In a thriller, it might be the den of a killer/monster.
- What happens? This is a climactic event that will finish the development of how every Character feels about your main Themes. Make sure it completes the picture of the Themes you began with your opening scene.

Middle (now that you have a beginning and end, you can start connecting the dots without fear of generating a plot black hole)
- What Characters are Here? This should be the parts of your cast you want to develop with this scene. Protagonist is recommended. The Antagonist should also be present, even if not in person. Show how they are hindering the MC, physically or psychologically.
- Where are they? Make this a location related to the Character you want to develop most here. If it's NOT your Protagonist, make it the home of whoever is developing, or a site of an important life event for them.
- What happens? It should reflect how your Character's feelings about your Themes are changing or not changing. Change is objectively GOOD in a story (no one likes flat, static storylines) so if your Characters don't change, they should suffer consequences. This can be physical, psychological, or emotional.

Follow this formula to get a feeling for the process. You'll inevitably develop your own quirks and style about it. This is a foolproof method to get you started developing a very solid plot. If becomes amazing when you add your own twist to it. Good luck, and don't hesitate to DM me if you have more questions!
 
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MsVibey

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This is a long thread and I've only read about half of it so I'm wondering: has anyone covered scenes and sequels yet? They're pretty much the building blocks of plotting. I do them old school, on index cards, and it's so satisfying and fun to spread them all out on the floor, table or wall (hey - depends on the length of the story) and shuffle them around and take them away to build up tension, provide restful moments, unexpected turns, etc.
 

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My best advice on plot is to consider your narrative structure. That is, consider HOW you want to tell the story (1st person, 3rd person, present tense, past tense). One of the hardest things about stories is that they can be anything. Like seriously, anything. But once you start to make some decisions about how to structure your story (include flashbacks? making big jumps in time? narrator or no?) you start to winnow down the options which actually makes it easier to start to figure out WHAT the story is (ie plot).
I've found this to be really helpful.
 

aprildavila

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This is going to be completely unhelpful, but my first step was making friends with someone who was superb at plot and if I got stuck I'd think, "What would he do?" That got me actually thinking about plot as opposed to just randomly letting things happen.

Since then, I make an actual effort to look at the main points that should happen. First step is usually to figure out what the climax should be, then all the little points in between start filling in. I keep a note file that has character descriptions and plot points in it and add to it as I go.

I actually do something similar. My husband is a plot lover (where as I can tend to meander) and so I always think about him reading it. If I know he would groan (always with kindness, he's not a jerk) and ask when the story will start, I know I need to get to the plotting.
 

Unimportant

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A story has five basic but important elements. These five components are: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. These essential elements keep the story running smoothly and allow the action to develop in a logical way that the reader can follow.
Hi Noah, and welcome to AW!

We tend to take all aspects of writing pretty seriously, especially the ones about attributing text to its original creator. None of us want to take credit for prose we didn't actually write!

So, for posterity: "A story has five basic but important elements. These five components are: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. These essential elements keep the story running smoothly and allow the action to develop in a logical way that the reader can follow...." is from one of Penguin's Katie Kazoo downloadables for teachers to use in the classroom.

(And these lesson plans do look really good! Kudos to Penguin and Katie Kazoo!)
 

MacAllister

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Hi Noah, and welcome to AW!

We tend to take all aspects of writing pretty seriously, especially the ones about attributing text to its original creator. None of us want to take credit for prose we didn't actually write!

So, for posterity: "A story has five basic but important elements. These five components are: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. These essential elements keep the story running smoothly and allow the action to develop in a logical way that the reader can follow...." is from one of Penguin's Katie Kazoo downloadables for teachers to use in the classroom.

(And these lesson plans do look really good! Kudos to Penguin and Katie Kazoo!)
This. One more instance will be an instant and permanent ban.
 

Gateway

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Plot is my weakness, and I've decided to try and tackle it head-on. So I'm asking if anyone has any thoughts on how to learn about plotting.

I've joined a free class that Holly Lisle offers from her website, and I've gathered a stack of books. I'm starting my new story out as a collection of notes on needed scenes and story elements, and today I'm going to print them out and shuffle them about, rather than going through my usual process of simply writing it out and juggling it from there.

But if anyone has any thoughts on specific resources and techniques, I'd be grateful. Frankly, I think I have a lot of virtues as a writer, but without narrative drive, well. It's like having a bunch of chrome and no car.
Think of character change driving plot and vice versa, plot driving character change
 

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I tend to start with the ending. I usually have a very basic idea where I want the story to go in my head. Once I've got the ending, I usually figure out the very beginning. I don't know if this is even a great way of doing things, but I feel like the beginning and ending are very important to establish before I do much else. Of course, this is completely dependent on writing style/story type. Once I have those two pieces, I feel that I can start figuring out how to get from one point to the other.
The hardest bit for me to figure out is the perspective/voicing. A lot of times, I really want to voice it from a specific perspective, but it just doesn't make sense for the story that I am writing. So it's like I have to convince myself that it's worth making the switch.
Another thing I struggle with is making decisions. Narrowing down from everything could happen, to this is what happens, is so PERMANENT. I have been trying lately to just make myself decide and play it out, knowing full well that I can change it later if it doesn't work. I tend to feel paralyzed sometimes with making a decision for a character/plot point knowing full well that it will affect everything further down the line.
 

Gateway

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Plot is my weakness, and I've decided to try and tackle it head-on. So I'm asking if anyone has any thoughts on how to learn about plotting.

I've joined a free class that Holly Lisle offers from her website, and I've gathered a stack of books. I'm starting my new story out as a collection of notes on needed scenes and story elements, and today I'm going to print them out and shuffle them about, rather than going through my usual process of simply writing it out and juggling it from there.

But if anyone has any thoughts on specific resources and techniques, I'd be grateful. Frankly, I think I have a lot of virtues as a writer, but without narrative drive, well. It's like having a bunch of chrome and no car.
I would use the journey to understand plot.