Melanie Dickerson here.
One of the things I get asked
about most often from young writers is plotting. Even though they may not know
they’re asking me about plotting. For example, they may tell me that they have
started a novel but they’re stuck and don’t know what to write next. Or they
may ask me, “How do you finish a book? I always get about 50 pages into it and
then I never seem to be able to finish.” And even more common is, “Where do you
get your ideas?”
In these cases, the problem is
usually that they don’t have enough plot. So if you know you need a plot, where
can you get one? Or if you have a partial plot, where do you get the rest?
Plotting is a strange animal.
Some of us outline meticulously, and others get a few vague ideas for a story
and just start writing. But either way, you have to have a plot. So it’s
important to know the basics of what makes up a good story. It’s important to
know the essential elements. It’s important to read about how other writers
come up with their plots. And it’s important to figure out what methods work
best for you.
When a young writer asks me for
advice, I will usually send them my list of writerly websites, with Seekerville
and the Seekerville archives at the very top. I also give them a list of
several books on writing for them to read, such as Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell and Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. This is what I did, I
read how other writers do it. I tried to learn as much as I could about story
and characterization and plot. And I went to workshops at conferences and took
notes.
I have 15 published novels but I
still like to get tips on plotting, even though I’m a pantser who hates
outlining. I sometimes say I don’t do a whole lot of plotting, but that’s not
really true. I have to plot. I just don’t like to plot in too much detail too
far in advance. I’d rather plot as I go along and keep the ideas percolating in
my head. But however you plot, it’s good to figure out what works best for you.
And it’s also good to acquire
some plotting tools.
One tool I’ve used with several
of my books is Donald Maass’s Writing the
Breakout Novel Workbook. It’s a fill-in-the-blank workbook that is a
companion to the book by the same name. It can help you come up with ways to
make your plot more interesting.
These days I have a Plotting
Worksheet that I made for myself. I fill it out before I start writing. The
first part is basically the GMC chart from Debra Dixon’s book Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, or GMC, which is a classic and should be
read by every fiction writer. I focus on one of the main characters and I write
down an external goal, a motivation for that goal, and the conflict for that
goal. Then I do the same thing for the other main character. You might also
find it helpful to write down the GMC for the villain as well, but you
definitely should have one for the villain.
Missy has a great post about GMC here.
The rest of the worksheet are a
series of blanks that I do for each of the main characters. These are mostly
questions about the characters’ past, and I got these from a workshop taught by
Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck. (So I did actually go to at least one
workshop while I was at a writers conference, instead of only socializing my
friends!)
I would love to tell you all the
questions I ask myself about my characters, but that would seem like I was
giving away Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck’s information, almost like
plagiarism. So I suggest you check out their materials. Susan May Warren’swebsite has a section of her website Writing/Teaching,
and you can explore there, but she also has a separate website here with her My Book
Therapy information called Learn How to Write a Novel. She and her team have workshops that they teach, writerly services where they
teach you one-on-one, and they have books. Some of their services are
expensive, of course, since they’re teaching one-on-one and you’re getting
their focused attention. So if you can’t afford that, don’t despair. I didn’t
shell out a lot of money in the beginning, either. I read books from my
library. I bought books on writing. And I read the great blogs out there that
are chock full of free articles.
I will tell you some of the questions
I ask about my characters. I try to come up with their greatest fear, the lie the
heroine believes about herself, her biggest strength and her biggest flaw. Her
deep wound she acquired from her childhood. If you can come up with this stuff
about your characters, it will help you with plot, because plot and
characterization go hand in hand. Think about it. If you know your character’s worst
moment from their past, or their biggest fear, you can use that to create
tension and conflict and create something for your character to overcome,
something the villain can use against them. Before you know it, you’re coming
up with scenes in your head.
Something else your plot needs is
a Beginning, Middle, and End. It needs a trajectory. What is the big “inciting
incident” that starts your story, that thrusts your character into conflict or on
a journey? For the middle, you have to ask yourself, What is going to keep the
tension and conflict going? How can I make things worse for them in the middle?
What is a good plot twist that ramps up the conflict? Where are my characters
going, and what do they have to go through and learn before they can get there?
And of course, you need to figure out the ending, preferably before you get too
far into the story. What does Happily Ever After look like for my characters? And
if you don’t write HEA endings, then how are you going to tie up all the loose
ends and bring closure for your characters?
Another plotting guru who has tons
of resources and books on writing is James Scott Bell. You can check out his website where he has a section For Writers.
Okay, let me know if that’s
helpful. You at least have a TON of possible resources now. And if you’re
willing to share, tell me how you plot, what resources have helped you, and how
you get ideas for your plot, or what your plotting process is. One commenter
will win an e-copy of my new book Magnolia Summer.
From New York Times Bestselling author Melanie Dickerson comes a story of romance, heroism, and secret identity. Will this Deep South Zorro succeed in saving his sleepy Southern town?
Truett Beverly returned to Bethel Springs, Alabama, after finishing medical school. Fighting a secret war with a corrupt lawman wasn’t in his plans, but when Sheriff Suggs threatens his childhood friend, Truett dons a cape and hood and becomes the Hooded Horseman, placing him squarely in the sheriff’s crosshairs.
Celia Wilcox arrives in Bethel Springs in June of 1880. She’s come from Nashville to help her sister care for their younger siblings. She hopes only to be on the small farm for the summer, just until her mother recovers from the shock of Celia’s father’s death. She must return to Nashville in order to fulfill her dream of opening her own dress shop.
Celia catches Truett’s eye from the moment she steps off the train. He finds himself wanting to impress her, but she flatly refuses to flirt with him or to fall for his—if he does say so himself—considerable charm. Truth is, Celia’s attraction to Dr. Truett Beverly terrifies her. What will happen when Sheriff Suggs discovers Truett is the Hooded Horseman? Will Celia's greatest fears come true? Or will she be able to prevent the sheriff from carrying out one last lynching?
Truett Beverly returned to Bethel Springs, Alabama, after finishing medical school. Fighting a secret war with a corrupt lawman wasn’t in his plans, but when Sheriff Suggs threatens his childhood friend, Truett dons a cape and hood and becomes the Hooded Horseman, placing him squarely in the sheriff’s crosshairs.
Celia Wilcox arrives in Bethel Springs in June of 1880. She’s come from Nashville to help her sister care for their younger siblings. She hopes only to be on the small farm for the summer, just until her mother recovers from the shock of Celia’s father’s death. She must return to Nashville in order to fulfill her dream of opening her own dress shop.
Celia catches Truett’s eye from the moment she steps off the train. He finds himself wanting to impress her, but she flatly refuses to flirt with him or to fall for his—if he does say so himself—considerable charm. Truth is, Celia’s attraction to Dr. Truett Beverly terrifies her. What will happen when Sheriff Suggs discovers Truett is the Hooded Horseman? Will Celia's greatest fears come true? Or will she be able to prevent the sheriff from carrying out one last lynching?
