Plotting 101 (LAURIE FARIA STOLARZ)

For this month, we’re talking about plot. How important is plot when writing a story? In my opinion, plot is super important, but so is character. If you’re a “plotter,” perhaps you begin with the “what happens” in the story. If you’re a “plunger,” then maybe you’re more inspired by who your character is, what their backstory is, what drives them forward… But can you really begin with one and not the other? In a word, yes. But, with either method, you’ll need to go back and fill in, because plot and character really go hand-in-hand. 

I know a brilliant writer who loves, loves, loves “character.” She’ll spend months developing the character in her head (everything from their favorite foods to their astrological sign). Then, once she starts to write, she’ll plunge forward for pages, letting the character materialize: their family, their love life, their backstory, their career, their issues, their pet peeves… One time, around page 200, she realized that nothing was happening in the story. In other words, her story didn’t have plot, so she had to go back (and lose over a hundred pages in the process).

I often get questions from (aspiring-to-be-published) writers seeking advice when they've hit a roadblock in their works-in-progress. They tell me that they were initially so excited about the plots for their stories, but then, when they got to a certain point, they lost steam. When I ask them questions that are pointed at their characters – what their character wants, why they want it, what keeps that character from getting it, and what the character needs to learn in order to get it – they often don't have the answers. In this case, the story lacks “character.” 
So, once again, plot and character go hand-in hand. But, can you start with one method, over the other, yes, absolutely. I, for one, love plot. I get wrapped up in big-and-twisty ideas: someone gets trapped inside an amusement park and has to relive their nightmare (Welcome to the Dark House), a group of teens film a documentary in an abandoned mental institution that’s rumored to be haunted (Project 17), a girl is taken and kept captive in a room for seven months (Jane Anonymous). 

Below, I’m sharing a very brief/bare-bones version of plotting, using my very first novel, Blue is for Nightmares. Below it is an exercise you can use if you’re starting something new and want to begin with plot.

But, with every one of my stories, regardless of how plotted, I have to spend some serious time letting my character form, grow, develop, evolve...
 

Plotting 101:

1.     Come up with an idea.  You want to figure out the driving force of your story.  For example, perhaps you want to write about a girl who drops out of high school to pursue her dream of becoming a Hollywood actress.  Or, maybe you prefer writing about a boy who gets involved in a gang and ends up stealing from his own parents.

 

2.    Choose the basics of your character, i.e. gender, age, situation in life, whatever helps you picture them enough to get your plot going.  In my first novel, Blue is for Nightmares, Stacey is a 16-year-old practicing Wiccan at boarding school.

 

3.    Introduce your character to an initial action/problem.  This is the first event/ problem in the story that pushes the reader forward.  For example, maybe your 15-year-old bully of a character learns that her parents are getting divorced and she’ll have to move and start over at a new school. In Blue is for Nightmares, Stacey starts having nightmares that her roommate is going to be killed within four days’ time.

 

4.     Decide what it is your character wants.  This drive will influence most if not all of your character’s decisions and actions.  It’s your character’s motivation.  In Blue is for Nightmares, Stacey wants to save her roommate before it’s too late.  She also wants to forgive herself for ignoring nightmares that she had three years ago, because a little girl died as a result.

 

5.     Decide what keeps your character from getting what s/he wants.  There are usually one or more obstacles that keep(s) your character from getting what they want.  In Blue is for Nightmares, Stacey’s obstacles are many: she fears she won’t be able to stop the killer (self doubt); she has botched spells; she relies too heavily on spells and not enough on herself (lack of confidence); she failed to save someone in the past and fears it will happen again.

 

6.     Have your character learn a lesson.  This lesson is usually a real turning point for your character. Having learned this lesson, they can better achieve what they want.  In Blue is for Nightmares, Stacey learns that she is more powerful than her spells, that her spells do indeed aid her, but it’s the will and power inside her that’s most important.

 

7.     Climax – this is usually the highest point of tension in the story, the place where most of your action or drama will take place.  This may be the point where your character faces his or her biggest obstacle. In Blue is for Nightmares, Stacey figures out who the killer is and confronts him.

 

8.     Resolution – this is the tying up of loose ends.  It’s also where subplots get tied up (note: a subplot is any minor plot in the novel.  For example, even though Stacey is trying to save her roommate, she’s also battling the crush she has on her best friend’s boyfriend.)  Having stopped the killer and saved her roommate, Stacey now goes away with a healthier sense of self.  We also learn whether or not she gets the boy.

 

9.     If all else fails, think of plot in terms of the Monkey theory.  In other words, put a monkey up in a tree, throw rocks at it, get the monkey down. 

 

Exercise: 
A grad student places a confession box in a public bathroom with a sign that says, “Hi, I’m a graduate student doing my capstone project on anonymous confessions. Please write a confession on the slip of paper provided and drop it into the box. Please do not include any information that might reveal or hint at your identity. This is strictly anonymous.” 
 
What are some of the confessions that might be found in that box? Generate a short list of possibilities. 
 
Choose one of the possibilities from your list, and use one of these sentence-starters to help you generate a free-write:
            
            Dear Reader, I can’t believe I’m telling you this… 
            
            Dear Reader, you aren’t going to like me very much…
            
            Dear Reader, no one really knows this about me, but…