McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
plot issues
eviladam:
I've recentlly realised I'm no good at plotting. I have a great concept, I have characters that I like to think are believeable, and I know how the book starts and ends, I just can't come up with enough plot to keep it interesting all the way through.
pathele:
Have you ever read Scenes and Structure by Jack Bickham? It helped my plotting immensely. Basically following the scene/sequel pattern as your building blocks and you build the plot one block at a time. It's just a matter of knowing where you are going and slowly clearing the path to get there.
Also, for me the plot may deviate from my building blocks, but that is what Jim calls the Great Swampy Middle. (Have you read Jim's livejournal? It is a great resource too)
Good luck
-paul
Josh:
Another variation of the scene-sequel way of building a story is the MRU. Motivation-reaction unit. Your character is motivated by something (maybe a guy shoving a gun in their face) and they react accordingly (fighting, running away, sacrificing). This builds one MRU at a time.
Are you lacking structure to your plot, or do you just not have enough story at this point to fill out an entire novel? Have you considered writing a novella and taking advantage of a tighter story format?
If it's structure you're looking for, something to give you some guidelines on how to flesh out your story, I'm always ready to recommend the Snowflake Method, which I found through Randy Ingermanson.
http://www.rsingermanson.com/html/the_snowflake.html
You start with a single sentence describing your plot idea, and then eventually end up with full character sheets, scene layouts, and an incredibly detailed plot synopsis that springboards the actual writing. I've used at least portions of this for every manuscript I've written, and it's a great way for me to give myself some initial structure as the ideas start to solidify. There's always room for flexibility, so don't feel cloistered by it either.
Hope this helps.
BobSkull:
--- Quote from: eviladam on April 04, 2007, 08:44:24 AM ---I've recentlly realised I'm no good at plotting. I have a great concept, I have characters that I like to think are believeable, and I know how the book starts and ends, I just can't come up with enough plot to keep it interesting all the way through.
--- End quote ---
Well, no offense, but that may cause a problem to a writing career.
But I'd suggest picking your best idea and then meticulously outlining it so that you're essentially filling in the blanks with outstanding characters and plots.
eviladam:
None taken. It's something I'm trying to work on. I hope to one day over come this problem.
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