Plot questions - Writers Forum

Emily Mann · 08-28-2005, 12:25 PM

How do you find a plot and keep it going? I have more than a few characters running around, but I can't seem to keep their stories going for more than several chapters. Do you know where the story is going or do you let the characters decide and live their own stories? And either way, how do you do it?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

Hodge · 08-28-2005, 01:45 PM

That's exactly how I do it. Once you have your characters down, you can just stick them into different situations and they'll work everything else out.

Dirkin · 08-28-2005, 04:51 PM

I write out a point form outline of the entire plot, trying to fit as much intrigue as I can into that. I also try and have rising action, climax and closing actions plotted.

Then as I'm writing, often my points seem dull compared to what I'm writing, or I explore facets of the character's life, that I never considered while writing the outline. I find that just having a few points and being able to connect the dots seems to work... I would write something like this

- *name* gets on the boat
- *name* gives up *item* for a boatride to *place*
- *name* arrives at *place* and gets very lost
- *name* finds *area* in *place*
- *name* learns about *other name* in *area*
- *name* fights *monster* in *area*

using that little piece of outline I could probably send out 3000-4000 words. So keeping a decent outline will help your plot progress. The most important thing is to know the general area that your characters will be going on before you actually write it down.

mammamaia · 08-29-2005, 07:22 AM

emily...
if you're having trouble keeping things straight and knowing where to go next, just 'plot' it out...

write up a brief synopsis of what you think the story/plot is going to be [or what it is so far]... then, convert that to bullet point thumbnails of each story element... from that, you should be able to see where you've painted yourself into corners and which characters are at a dead end and need to be either rescued or dropped...

just remember what the word 'plot' means... it's not just a noun, but a very useful verb... in nautical terms, it's what a captain does to lay out the ship's route from point A to point B... your point A is the beginning of your novel, point B is the end...

get the point?

hope that helps a bit... love and hugs, maia

Robgb · 08-29-2005, 10:20 AM

The most important thing you have to remember is to give each of your characters a goal. Ask yourself, "What does Joe want?"

The answer can be very simple. Joe wants to marry Cynthia. Or Joe wants to rob a bank. Or Joe wants to live in Spain.

When you figure out what a character wants, then all you have to do is point him toward that goal -- and more importantly -- put a LOT of obstacles in his way.

Joe wants to marry Cynthia --

-- but Cynthia's already engaged to another man.

-- Cynthia can't stand the site of him.

-- Cynthia thinks Joe exposed her secret to the world.

-- Cynthia's fiance works for the mob.

Once you have a number of obstacles in place, your character merely has to navigate his way through the minefield toward his goal. Giving him a focus will help you focus on what to do with the characters.

Joe's failure or success in realizing his goal is the end of your story.

But don't just stop at Joe. Give EVERY character in your story a goal. Those goals may not be as big as Joe's, but they should almost always be in CONFLICT with Joe's goal, because conflict creates drama.

There's nothing more boring than a story or a scene or a character without conflict.

Emily Mann · 08-30-2005, 05:32 PM

thanks for all the tips! Yes, my characters are wandering around in search of a plot.......lol