My guest post on the "Plotting" method appeared on Emilie Rabitoy's site. Here's an exerpt:
Ah! That dreaded first draft! Most authors have a favored way to creating their first draft. Some are “pantsers,” who dive in and start typing whatever comes to mind with just the basic idea of where the story will go, while others are “plotters” who plan every chapter and every scene. Somewhere in the middle are the “hybrids,” who have a fairly clear idea of what will happen, but only a vague idea of the where and why. In this segment, I will discuss the “plotting” method, in which the author decides the overall plot of the story, including specific characters, with a well delineated plan for each scene, accounting for the character arc and the three-part story structure, and developing the story with every pass. 1.OUTLINE: Only the basic information on what happens and to whom goes into the outline. The point of view (POV) is not necessarily assigned. It’s all “tell” and no “show” at this point. I’ll share my method. Using “Styles” in MS Word, I convert all the lines into “Headings” and turn on “view Navigation.” This allows me to clearly see what’s happening in the entire story, with the ability to move chapters around as needed. Using one line for each event, the outline for a 60K story can be written in one or two pages. EXAMPLE: Married woman bumps into ex-boyfriend who didn’t want kids. She doesn’t love her slob of a husband. Calls ex over for dinner. Husband gets jealous and has an affair. ? Hits wife or kids? Woman gets a divorce. Marries ex. (Silly plot, but let’s go with it). To read more, click here. |
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