Plotting Away
I haven’t had to plot out a new story for a long time. I’d forgotten how hard it can be. I’m in the brainstorming stage: writing down lists of ideas, no matter how good or bad they seem to be. Soon, hopefully, those ideas will coalesce into something that resembles a feasible plot. Going by experience, it will be quite different than the finished product, but it still has to look good as it is.
There are people out there who can sit down with a blank page, start writing, and see where it takes them as they go. Not me. I need to have that framework of an outlined plot, even if I end up warping it into something completely different. I need to know something about where I’m going before I can go there.
It may be hard to come up with a new story, but it’s still exciting. So many possibilities. So many different ways it could go. Thinking up a story is a little like starting a new relationship. You see all the good things that you could fall in love with but none of the annoying little flaws. There’s still the possibility that this one could be the best ever. Reality will set in eventually, of course. But there’s no harm in enjoying the rose-colored glasses while they last.
I’m afraid I don’t have any amazingly useful plotting techniques to share. Not even any halfway decent ones. If you’re the sort of person who thrives on index cards and outlines I highly recommend Alexandra Sokoloff’s blog. She has a huge amount of wonderful information and tools. Unfortunately, I’m the sort of person where trying to follow most of her advice just makes my head hurt. So I muddle along intuitively until I get something that feels right.
I suppose that’s the best advice I could give. Do what feels right. Whether it’s index cards and charts or a few scribbled notes or nothing at all, try a few things and find the type of plotting that works best for you. Just don’t spend too long on it. You can plot the soul out of a book if you keep working at it. Don’t be afraid to start writing before you know all the details.