Plotting Your Novel - Useful Links and Tips
October 17th 2010 20:03
There are different approaches to plotting a novel. Try the one that fits your writing style - you won't get far with the Snowflake method if you like to explore most of your story as you write, for instance.
You may say that you want to write a character-driven. Great, that's what I do. You'll still need a plot, though. Something has to happen (in my opinion; reading - and writing, for that matter - 50k of existential angst without any action would be putting me to sleep in record time). The following links provide useful methods for plotting and/or will help you to determine the plot of your story.
How many basic plots are there? One, three, seven or more? Here's a list of different theories about how many different plots there are. Doesn't matter if you subscribe to any of these theories, looking at the plot descriptions often helps to identify what type of plot your novel will have.
Notecarding: This is my preferred method of plotting. It gives you a rough outline of the story but it's flexible. You need notecards, a huge desk or empty space on the floor and a couple of hours you can spend undisturbed with your notecards. Follow the link to Holly Lisle's webpage about this plotting technique.
Some people like to know exactly where they're going with their story - if that's you, you'll probably go for the snowflake method. If you follow it through, you'll be equipped with a master plan. It's so detailed it provides you with every little aspect of your novel.
Aristotle's Poetics on LibriVox: Even though Aristotle wrote his Poetics more than two millennia ago, his theories about story telling are still valid today. Every story is based on the three-act structure of beginning, middle and end, with the middle and end starting with a turning point. This is a link to an audio version of Poetics.
You may say that you want to write a character-driven. Great, that's what I do. You'll still need a plot, though. Something has to happen (in my opinion; reading - and writing, for that matter - 50k of existential angst without any action would be putting me to sleep in record time). The following links provide useful methods for plotting and/or will help you to determine the plot of your story.
How many basic plots are there? One, three, seven or more? Here's a list of different theories about how many different plots there are. Doesn't matter if you subscribe to any of these theories, looking at the plot descriptions often helps to identify what type of plot your novel will have.
Notecarding: This is my preferred method of plotting. It gives you a rough outline of the story but it's flexible. You need notecards, a huge desk or empty space on the floor and a couple of hours you can spend undisturbed with your notecards. Follow the link to Holly Lisle's webpage about this plotting technique.
Some people like to know exactly where they're going with their story - if that's you, you'll probably go for the snowflake method. If you follow it through, you'll be equipped with a master plan. It's so detailed it provides you with every little aspect of your novel.
Aristotle's Poetics on LibriVox: Even though Aristotle wrote his Poetics more than two millennia ago, his theories about story telling are still valid today. Every story is based on the three-act structure of beginning, middle and end, with the middle and end starting with a turning point. This is a link to an audio version of Poetics.
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