McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Help planning the plot

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belial.1980:

--- Quote from: spikespiegel82 on April 19, 2010, 04:52:11 PM ---See but for me personally this has been my main stumbling block in the past, I start to write a story and then hit a wall where I never know where to take it from there.  I figure if I have a general plot outline in mind, I can write toward a goal and write my way toward my goals.  I've always been a pantser in the past, which is why I've never finished more than a short story.  I appreciate all the help guys.  There's some good advice here.  My philosophy now is just to keep working on it because I'm procrastinating my life away. 

--- End quote ---

Another thing that you might try that I find helpful: when you hit a wall sit down and write for an hour non-stop. It can be actual prose but I think it's better if you just spit out ideas on the page. When I do this, I'm basically thinking out loud and putting my thoughts on paper. I recommend just jotting down as many ideas as possible. Write down as many possibilities for the plot thread as you can. The key is to not let up. Write for a full hour, even if you repeat yourself or write down some ridiculous stuff.

Then when your hour's up print off the several pages you've written and pull out a red pen. Start crossing out things, circling ideas you like, writing in the margins, and pulling whatever ideas you like. Take your time, digesting all the stuff you've written. You'll probably cut 9/10 of the stuff out but I bet you'll end up with a couple of ideas that you like and can examine further.

Clear out everything from the document that you didn’t like, type in the stuff you added with the pen then start typing again, as much and as fast as you can for another hour. When you're done print it off and have a go at it with the red pen.

This can be an exhausting process but I think if you're disciplined and keep at it, it can really help generate some solid ideas.

spikespiegel82:
Again guys, I appreciate all the words of encouragement.  I actually was able to figure out all the key plot points using the 7 Point system in that video and power point presentation.  It really helped!  Now all I have to do I flesh out the story, round out the characters, figure out a possible sub plot or two, research more of the mythology and such I'm going to include in the story, create a few more characters, and then of course write the thing.   ;D

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