| |
| |
|
Writing Information |
|
|
|
Plotting By Personality - Work With Your Natural Instincts
What's the best way to plot? Quick answer: the best way to plot is whatever works best for you. After all, we're all different. Interview any group of a dozen writers and you'll find they all have different times of the day when they're alert; different belief systems about the world; different preferences in food and films. So why on earth would we all agree on the best way to plot a story? Personality Types To find out the best way of plotting for you, first (a) think about your usual approach to problems then (b) try a few different methods. It's not certain that the 'best' way for you will dovetail with your personality type, but it's likely. If we work on the four basic 'types', we find that people tend to gravitate to being:
If you tend more towards being introverted, intuitive, feeling and perceiving, then you are likely to prefer a more flexible form of plotting. You would probably feel comfortable with cluster diagrams, branching, and scribbled notes with lots of arrows and extra little boxes. Cluster Diagrams You can use these for the basic plot, for characters, and for settings. Draw a circle in the middle of the page. Write the name of the story in this circle. (Any working title will do.) Around it draw more circles- as many as you need for things such as the catalyst for change, the character's initial problem or goal, obstacles to be faced, final challenge for the main character, darkest moment, secondary characters, ending. There's no point in my prescribing how many circles you need- after all, this is your plot. You're the intuitive, feeling type - you don't want me to say 'you have to put this here and that over there'. Watch your plot grow in front of your eyes. Branching Branching is very similar to the cluster diagram. You begin with the story, then draw 'branches' (lines) out from the box in the centre. These branches will represent the main thrust of your story: the same basic 'ingredients' as used above in the cluster diagram: characters, problems, obstacles, and so on. Off each of these main branches you draw smaller lines or branches - and along those lines write the specific problems encountered, the various characters in the story, and so on. Both cluster diagrams and branching will let you see the shape of your story in a pictorial way. Many writers find they can get a much better overall sense of where their story is going when they can see it all as a diagram, rather than as a list of points. Plot outlines Perhaps you feel much more at home in a structured environment. You are extraverted, and tend to think about things and make judgements. In this case, you could feel much happier with a detailed plot outline, with each step carefully planned. You may need to 'write out' the plot so you feel you know where you're going. The Gary Provost Plot Checklist There are many basic plots you can use, but one of the best I've seen is the one advocated by the late Gary Provost. His plot outline, in the form of a checklist, is as follows:
Happy plotting! (c) Copyright Marg McAlister Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Gut Check: Quitting Your Full-time Job for Your Freelance Career It's 6:00 p.m. Review of A Classic: Finneys Invasion of The Body Snatchers To keep it simple and basic: Jack Finney's Invasion of The Body Snatchers succeeds first and foremost because it's a great story. If there was nothing else to be said about it, just that it's a great story, that should be more than enough to keep it on the bookshelves for the next generation to enjoy as much as the last. Ten Quick Tips for Inexperienced Writers One of the biggest problems that inexperienced writers have is simply knowing how to get started. If you've unsure of your writing skills, then here are some quick tips to help you get started. Write Strategy: Think, Believe, Attack Think of writing like karate.. The Write Habit: How to Strengthen Your Writing Muscle Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in shape.I realized how true that saying is when I took what I called "a well-earned break" after I finished my first novel. Become an Instant Author by Playing Well with Others You wrote a tips booklet. Maybe more than one. Writing Without Style Style manuals are all well and good, and in fact, highly desirable for newspapers. The average reading level of newspaper readers is the sixth grade. Tips for First Time Authors : 2 Easy Steps to Make Your First Book a Success Congratulations on writing your first book. That is quite an accomplishment. The One-Plot Wonder Back in the mid to late 1980s I was a security guard. The pay was lousy, but it gave me many hours in seclusion to write short stories and novels. Do The Unfamiliar To Keep Your Writing Going One of the best ways to blow someone's winning streak during a tennis game is to comment on how great they are doing. Your comment will kick in their left brain's inner critic which will zap their flow and change their focus. The Spectre Hound And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring, and its wild bark thrill'd around, His eyes had the glow of the fires below, 'twas the form of the spectre houndOne of the most chilling omens of death in English folklore is the large, spectral demon dog called Black Shuck. A death omen comes to collect souls and if you have the misfortune to see Black Shuck - expect death to come within a year. And What Do You Do? ... How To Know When Youre a Writer! It's the funniest thing. When someone asks me what I do for a living, I tell them, "I'm a writer. Under The Leaded Sky in Serbia by dr Mirjana Radovic When one population in one century survived five wars, two wars in just ten years, enforcment by self a question it`s the war destiny of Serbian people or his dare. With what a Serbian people has merit this - with his frankness, levity, with collective and national damnation or just with that fact which they are living in the territories which from its geopolitical consideration always were interesting orbit of much other populations. 7 Book Publicity Tips for Authors and Small Publishers The biggest mistake authors make when trying to get free publicity is pitching either themselves or their books.Don't pitch authors! Pitch issues. Top Ten Tips (Part 2) Golden Rules For New Writers - Things you need to know before you begin.Rules govern everything we do in life; even if those rules are of the unwritten kind we abide by them and expect other people to do the same. 10 Best Writers Who Ever Lived Compiling a list of the history's ten best writers is like skating on a heated swimming pool. Just when you get started, you find yourself in hot water. Groundbreaking Work Every writer knows that the urge to write is not always present. As a result, the dedicated writer writes anyway. Freelance or Staff There is no doubt that a staff writer enjoys advantages not availed by the freelancer. However, there are benefits available to the freelancer that a staff writer can never expect. Spiritual Journaling Whether you keep a separate spiritual journal or just want to add your spiritual postings in your regular journal, you will want to read this.Personal journaling supports our development and growth. Rejection - Have the Right Perspective and Don't Quit If you're getting rejections from your submissions, please don't quit yet until you read the following article. I want you to get a perspective on rejection.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2008 ReV Brown and LaMesa Gifts |
