Lewis' Book of Reviews and Writing Advice

HOW DOES ONE PLOT?

Greetings, Ink Jars, Professor Lewis here. Today we shall be discussing plotting--namely how I do so. It has taken a while, but I have discovered a way to plan for my novels that is very helpful. 

Some writers plot EVERYTHING--every detail, others come up with basic outlines, and some find a happy medium. I, personally, do not like to plot every detail. That steals the imagination away from writing and it has given me serious writer's block before. (IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY FACING WRITER'S BLOCK, GO TO MY PROFILE AND READ MY BOOK "BREAKING THE BLOCK" WRITTEN ON HOW YOU CAN CONQUER IT). 

I developed the method I'm about to show you during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) of this year. The goal is to complete a novel in one month! It takes a lot of preparatory work before the month so that you can write without pausing too much once you've begun. 

Now, if you're writing a book for the first time or if you've completed one before, but are starting a new series and only have a brief concept, here is what I would suggest: go ahead and write the first two or three chapters without much "plotting" beyond your ideas. Just see if you like the style which you have developed, if the characters are people you want to get to know better, and if the plot takes off. From here, follow my basic instructions. 

I like to come up with a starting, middle, and ending of my story. How will you get from point A to point B. You can plan this several ways. One is by characters. What are your characters struggles, fears, and goals, and how should they be different or accomplished by the end of this story? Or you can look at the story itself. I have a new book (whose title I do not yet have) where the main characters have already been introduced, but they are on a new mission to find specific items necessary to stop their enemy. I know their starting point and their "breaking point" (where the odds of success drop and the reasons for success explode) and the ending point. 

FOR EXAMPLE: Two of my characters have been on the path to falling in love throughout the first book and now into the second. One is afraid of falling in love and the other is trying to convince her that he is faithful and true. At the end of the story they should be, at least, closer to being in a relationship, right? So I need to keep that in mind in plotting. 

FOR EXAMPLE 2: Another character needs to be just on the threshold (on the way out) of his government's favor and by the end has to be barely holding on, just about to jump off in the pit of working alone, against the law. 

These are both examples of how to plot based on characters. The other way would be to say: 

I know that, in the beginning, these characters have none of the items that they are supposed to collect and at the end they should have them all. 

EXAMPLE: 

-------Character A and B are both in (Country). Character C and D are in palace. 

-------Character A and B have a moment where they can connect and talk. Character C is faced with the ghosts of his past. Character D faces his trust issues. 

------Character A dies. Character B is broken and captured. Character C is going home with all the (ITEMS). Character D separates, going home a different way from C. 

So, then I go through and I fill in the dots, implementing both methods. I write chapter by chapter. Please allow me to use an example from my short story Vial of Shadows which is different from the book I have been comparing my  explanations to. 

CHAPTER I: Tueren opens the story and explains what she is and where she came from. NOTE--stress her loneliness. 

CHAPTER II: Henry comes to house with Ada and Obadiah. Ada is shot. Ada dies. They are still being fired at. Henry tries to fire back. NOTE--foreshadow the fact that he can hear Tueren. Maybe she shouts at him to stop shooting back and he stops? Obadiah dies. 

CHAPTER III: Henry buries Ada and Obadiah. Henry gives Ada the pin. He then comes in. Tueren begins the fight within her about whether or not she wants him to leave. 

That's just an example of chapter by chapter. This allows you to make short notes about details, but also to summarize the chapter--which is very important. These quick sentences allow you freedom and help you focus on the actual purpose of the chapter. 

I mentioned earlier breaking it down by characters. I feel as if I should go into more detail and provide more basic hints about how this works. 

EXAMPLE: 

Tueren: She is trapped in the house. Her goal is to be released. Her weakness is that she loves humans, but hurts them and hates herself for it. 

Henry: He is heading north, escaping from the rumor that he killed his grandmother. He wants to start anew in the north, but meets Tueren and feels bad for her. He knows what she is going through. 

Those are quite easy to do obviously. 

I hope this has been helpful for those of you who are curious about how I plot and how you can do so yourself, but not make it too complicated. If you can think of anything else you want advice for, comment below or message me. 

Also, if you are interested in reading the short story (Vial of Shadows) I mentioned, go to my profile and select it. It is about what happens when an entire emotion is literally bottled and takes on a form. 

Your faithful Writer, Professor Lewis