Have you heard any explosions lately? No? You must not live in Northern Ontario. My brain has been exploding randomly and quite loudly recently.
Why?
I'm attempting to plot out a rewrite of a story.
KaBoom!
Problems:
- I'm NOT a plotter
- I need more tension between characters
- the external tension needs some polishing to make it more realistic
- the characters are too sweet
Solution:
- I came across a post by Rula Sinara over at Kelly Steel's blog the other day talking about the synopsis
- Hmmm. I could write a synopsis BEFORE I start the rewrite
- this worked out pretty well, and helped me add in some tension between the characters, BUT it also pointed out new...
Problems:
- saggy middle
- most of the conflict comes to me as I'm writing. How am I supposed to know the middle before I get there???
Solution:
- google 'visual plot outlines'
- find this post by Chuck Wendig
- celebrate a little because writing the synopsis first is there (proving I'm not completely losing it!)
- find new ideas (writing backwards sounds BRILLIANT!!! I always know my ending before I begin so this might work)
- feel better when I see story bibles (I've done those - maybe I can do this plotting thing after all!)
Problem:
- not sure if any of this will work
Solution:
- give them a whirl! I won't lose anything by trying (plus I LOVE trying out new things)
- if I can't deal with the explosions any more, maybe I'll just Pants out a new version and hope all this thinking helps me make that version stronger!
So how does any of this help you out?
- some new ideas on plotting
- a reminder to keep open to new ideas. You never know when something will send you scurrying in a new direction. For me, the best learning experiences have been when I learned something I'd never even considered before
- another reminder that none of us work the same way -- and that's okay. Writing is a creative exercise and we should approach it that way. There is no one tried and true method that works for everyone. Don't be afraid to be unique! And, conversely, don't be afraid to borrow from others.
How about you? Are you a plotter? What has sent you in a new direction lately? Any other non-linear plotting techniques that might help me out?
