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Plotting Chapter by Chapter

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Juan Dolor:
I think my problem is that I don't know how to tie it all up.  Writing short stories is no problem because they don't have to have a proper ending.  But I have never been able to finish a novel.  I think I have the problem that comic book writers, role-players, and the writers of Lost have-- lots of interesting hooks but no idea where this is all going to go.

akoebel:
I suppose that depends on what type of writer you are.
Me, I can't plot a thing in advance (believe me, I tried). I know the general ending and where I start, but what goes in between, I have no idea.

To me, knowing my characters is key. I need to know them inside and out, and I'm not talking about their favorite color, but about why are they scared people, or arrogant, and such. I also try to give them psychological motivations that I can use later to induce changes.

After that, the characters become the engine of the story. I put them in the initial context, and they do all the work, and react to one another. Characters will often surprise me by dropping bombshells out of the conversation, and I'll have to take those into account as I write. The most difficult part is nudging them to go back towards the ending I had planned. So far, it mostly worked (i.e. I didn't have an ending that was that different from my first vision).

If you do it like that, the scenes do flow easily from one to another, so if keeping scenes consistent is your problem, this could help you.

I also found Dan's video to be a huge help, though I do use it for rewriting, not for the first draft.

So, maybe you can try my "write by the seat of your pants" technique : it's fun to see the characters build the story, though it can be stressful at times not knowing what comes next (try discovery-writing a whodunit !).

Jason R. Peters:
Whenever I don't know where to go "next", I actually use a short "scene workshop" form. I developed it myself, but it's based on concepts and principles learned from writing classes, podcasts, lectures, and books.

The questions I answer on the form are:

Point-of-View Character:(Hint: Who is suffering the most?)
Character's Current Goal:
Emotional Impact:
Character's Arc Goal:
Major Revelations:
Does Arc Goal Change?
Scene Begins With:
Scene Ends With:

My vision often changes as I begin writing, because the answers to some of these jog loose more ideas, but it gets me started anytime I'm not sure what comes immediately next. Like many, the beginning and end are clear visions, the middle at risk of muddle.

Shiael:
the good thing about writing is when you know exactly what happens and when, you can make an outline and just write the parts you want to and then fill in the others later, that way when you are feeling in a writing type mood, you don't have to try and push past a part to get to the next big scene. You just go straight there. I am barely on chapter four of my book and have already written chapter six. I just felt like it.

fardawg:

--- Quote from: Ruthie on January 08, 2011, 12:13:07 AM ---Watch this. The link goes to the first of the five videos. It's an AWESOME presentation by Dan Wells on story structure that helped me immensely with a similar problem.

--- End quote ---

I was going to link to those too. These really helped me get my head around basic outlining. It's much better than the overly simplistic three act format.

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