How to Find Your Basic Plot
14:00
April is right around the corner, and with it comes Camp
NaNoWriMo. If you’re taking up the challenge like me, then you might be
prepping your plot in anticipation of the big day. Maybe, like me, you’re
lacking a bit in the ideas department. You might be struggling to come to grips
with a new genre, or just trying to flesh out a brand new idea into something
you can work with. Whatever your plotting problem is, fear not! I have several steps that always help me when I’m getting to grips with the outline of a brand
new story.
Start by identifying
your story goal: What is your
story about anyway? Is it an epic quest to slay a dragon? A romance where the
boy wants to win the girl? Identifying your story goal is the first step to
having a solid basis for your story. Make sure you’re clear on what’s really
happening in this book.
Work out what you
know: Do you have ideas for random scenes? Are there relationships you’d
like to cultivate? Events you would like to add to your plotline? Write it down.
You might not have enough for an entire plot yet, but you might be surprised at
how much you actually know about this book. Plus, going through what you know
can inspire other ideas. And writing down these things gives you a skeleton to
build the rest of the plot around.
Get to know your
characters: Who is this delightful cast of colourful characters you’re
planning to spend the next month with? What do they do with their lives? What
are their hopes and dreams? Their disappointments? Interview your characters. Fill
out questionnaires if you like them. Dig into their backstories. Plot ideas
often grow naturally from characters, so by getting to know your characters,
you might find yourself generating new plot ideas. Plus it’s always helpful to
know something about the people you’re going to spend an entire book with.
Build around what you
have: You might not have a full plot yet. But you do have an idea that your
questers are going to cut through a quicksand bog and nearly lose a companion
to the treacherous sands. Brainstorm around this event. Why did they cut
through the bog? What made them so desperate as to risk the quicksand? Are they
being chased? Are they on a fast approaching deadline? Building around what you
already know allows you to fill in smaller gaps rather than being faced with
the daunting task of coming up with an entire book.
If you can,
brainstorm with someone else: One of my sisters loves helping me fill in my
plot holes. We spend an evening talking about the book, discussing ideas and
bouncing suggestions off each other, and the plot just seems to materialise of
its own accord. If you have someone else to help you, try brainstorming with
them. They may be able to suggest connections and ideas that didn’t occur to
you, or could trigger some new ideas of your own.
These are a few of the
steps I follow when I’m trying to outline a basic plot for a new book. What do
you do when you’re plotting? Are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo? What will you be
writing about? If you’re not doing Camp NaNo, what are you working on at the
moment?
10 comments
When I went to this writing camp, my instructor told everyone to use this formula: *insert hero and two adjectives describing hero* wants *insert goal here*, but *insert external conflict here* and *internal conflict can be insert here, but it optional*. If the story doesn't fit this formula, my instructor says, then we should work our plot more. I am doing Camp NaNoWriMo; my story is about a couple and second chances. I don't want to go into much detail. ^.^
ReplyDeletexoxo Morning
That is an excellent way of writing a one sentence summary, which is something I definitely struggle with. It's hard to condense everything into one sentence sometimes, isn't it? Which makes it difficult to tell if the plot is all there and all working. Great advice. A book about second chances sounds interesting. I totally get not wanting to talk about it yet. I haven't told many people about my project yet either. Good luck with Camp NaNo!
DeleteThese plot tips are great! Especially since I'm playing around with two particular plots right now, this is super handy and I plan on using some of these ideas as I keep trying to make my way through. I don't know how to plot so well, yet, but I'm still working on it with the projects I do have in mind! :)
ReplyDeletePlotting is hard isn't it? I used to not plot at all to tell the truth. It was just easier. Til it came time to edit. Having two plots to play around with must be fun. How do you pick which idea you end up writing? I always find that so difficult.
DeleteThanks! I'm working on a book I've been writing for a bit. It's had to explain what it's about, but I might post an excerpt on my blog circusandstuff.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteIf you decide to post an excerpt, you should definitely leave me a link so I can see it. I"d love to know more about your book.
DeleteGreat advice. Just a quick question, would you recommend working on world building before you write the first draft or after?
ReplyDeletePrecious @ Clockwork Desires
I would suggest doing at least some basic worldbuilding during the planning stage. Not only does it make writing the setting easier in the first draft, and make editing easier too, but worldbuilding can often suggest new plot ideas too. It doesn't have to be super detailed if that's not how you work, but I would definitely suggest knowing a little about your world.
DeleteI always save the plot for last during the planning stage. I find that figuring out the details of the world and then figuring out the personalities and goals of my characters helps me to come up with lots of plot events and twists. Thanks for the great tips, Imogen.
ReplyDeleteI find the exact same thing. Learning about the characters is one of the best ways I come up with plot ideas. They always have such interesting histories that can tie into the plot and make fun stuff happen!
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