Jan
15 THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN PLOTTING:
I’m not sure if I’ve shared these with you ladies before or not. I hope not! BTW, does anyone want me to post from my workshop about writing love scenes? Or my take on the Hero’s Journey?
1. There are no coincidences – everything that happens should have significance. Everything should serve a purpose. That goes for love scenes as well. Everytime your characters appear on the page, their actions should propel the plot forward or bring some new information that is crucial to the story to light.
2. Plot stems from having your characters face adversity – readers want to see your character face a challenge, not go about their happy lives. That’s why “Star Wars” was not “Little Skywalker on the Prairie.”
3. Every character has their own agenda. Remember GMC? These agendas rule your plot.
4. Plot is the intertwining of characters and their agendas.
5. Plot often begins before the story starts. By the time you begin telling your tale, the plot should already be in motion. Your book should start just as or just before your characters are thrust into the action, but the events that led to it have already happened. Your heroine trying to save the farm? Even if we meet her on page one, the hero has already started his effort to foreclose on page -5 (you know what I mean).
6. Foreshadowing is your friend. The first part of the story should set up events as a kind of prophecy. The second half is the fulfillment of that prophecy. Indiana Jones says “I hate snakes” and what happens later in the movie? Snakes! Titanic is claimed unsinkable — we all know where that story goes, and it’s truth!
7. Do not lose focus of what kind of story you are telling (or who the story belongs to!). This makes me think of ‘Happy Feet’. It started a cute movie that I loved and ended up a mess that had no relation to the beginning. It wasn’t Mumble’s story anymore — it became the film-makers’ soap box. Don’t let your book become yours.
8. Use your characters to progress and dramatize your plot. You characters are there to tell your story – let them.
9. Give your hero a goal and then take it away. As long as your character is striving for a goal, you have a story to tell. Again, this is the GMC thing.
10. Plot is all about cause and effect. Shows like 24 and Prison Break are great for this. Everything a character does has an effect. Ripples are wonderul in fiction. Go ahead and create some of your own. Your heroine sleeps with the hero — what happens because of that? Your hero trusts the wrong man. What are the consequences. Luke Skywalker’s aunt and uncle were killed because of the droids and the info they had. Their death is what allows Luke to leave home and go with Obi-Wan. Because he leaves home, he rescues Leia. Because he rescues Leia he falls under the notice of Darth Vadar. You get the picture.
11. The point of plot is change. The story should revolve around a change in the hero’s life. Remember the brief mention of character arc? This is it. Either the protagonist or the protagonist’s world changes. In a romance it is generally the hero who changes and for the better. Sometimes the hero has to change as well, but generally not as much.
12. Do not get bogged down in your own cleverness – there is a thin line between quirky and clever. When you think you’re being clever you’re probably not.
13. Always come back to character. Character is what drives your story. Keep them real and your plot will work.
14. Your hero should either save or destroy the day. This is your main actor. He/she has to make choices and every choice will effect the outcome of your plot – whether or not the hero succeeds in achieving that goal. Not all goals have to be achieved in order for the story to be a good one. Some goals are better left behind.
15. There may not be such a thing as a ‘new’ plot, but your plot is still yours — make sure you keep it that way. Write the story you need to write — not the one you think you should, or worse, the one someone else already tackled.
Questions? Have you hit a snag in your plot? Do you have trouble plotting? Maybe you’re a pantser and don’t plot, you just write? Please, share!
Oh, and Night of the Huntress is now available at a bookseller near you. 
Well, even me being a panster, I still have the GMC but perhaps I should have a very detailed outline for the chapter/scene. Depends on what I’m writing. I sometimes struggle with an oroginal plot, one that hasn’t been used before, and those are getting fewer and far between these days with so many great writers out there.
First and foremost, i WRITE FOR MYSELF. If other people don’t like my plot, characters, etc. There may be nothing i can do to change their minds, but as long as I’m writing something that I’m interested in, then I think I’ve won the battle.
I would love to hear what you did for your workshop on how to write/or write better love scenes.
Thanks for all this great info, Kate. i am learning so much. Hopefully one day I can be 1/10th the writer you are today.
Michelle
January 31st, 2007 at 12:46 amKathryn, you’ve been amazing!! Simply, simply amazing. I’ve learned so much in just these few days with you, than I did in the year-long fiction-writing class I took recently.
I especially liked this: Not all goals have to be achieved in order for the story to be a good one. Some goals are better left behind.
I personally dislike reading stories where everything is neatly tied up in bows. And yet, that’s what I wrote in my first WIP. It is far more difficult to leave dangling threads behind, to be picked up later, or not, than it is to make sure everything has a resolution.
Plot often begins before the story starts. By the time you begin telling your tale, the plot should already be in motion.
My plot was created with the first word on the page.
Keira-who-needs-a-hitting-on-the-head-emoticon-as-her-avatar
January 31st, 2007 at 2:11 amI’m reading through and catching up on all your posts, Kathryn. I wanted to say this again: This primer on GMC and plotting has been fabulous!! Thank you!
Kathryn wrote, “Most readers would find it difficult to believe that a woman who has a great career, a loving husband and two beautiful children would want to run away and join the circus. If you’re going to give her that goal, you’d better be able to make the reader buy into it.”
It is always the implausible that I’m drawn to, as a reader and as a writer. Making it work, though, is another matter. Kathryn, would it be possible for you to give me some hints on how you go about uncovering the underlying motivations for the heroine’s overwhelming desire to willingly throw away, what on the surface seems to be an ideal life situation? THANKS!
You mentioned in your motivation essay, “…motivation must be realistic and relatable: The motivation must make sense for your character.”
True, but wouldn’t you say that some motivatios are harder for the reader to believe than others, even if they are “right” for your character, because the reader’s personal outlook to life comes into play here? In the above case, it would be difficult to convince the reader that the circus is really the best option for the heroine, not the comfortable home and hearth and loving family. So, in that case, how do I, as the writer, overcome these deep-seated personal objections of the reader? How do I make the heroine so convincing that the reader will follow me, even beyond his/her comfort zone?
Isabel wrote, “…character in every scene has to have GMC - not the overall GMC…”
AHA!! Thank you, Isabel; I missed this in the original post. I only looked at the overall GMCs in terms of character arcs.
Kathryn wrote, “…your characters can have only one goal yes.
Can it be possible that the heroine’s goal in a scene or two runs counter to her main goal? So long as there is overall progress on the main goal to a satisfoactory conclusion, is it important that every scene must advance the goal? Sorry, this question is so convoluted. Hope I’m making sense here.
Conflicting goals — Kathryn, you’re a genius. I always thought that the main conflict had to be from outside the couple, like a villain, not within themselves.
Haven: I love the new site design. You might want to check the last few comments on the Jan 28th post for spam. Eek!
January 31st, 2007 at 3:36 amI’m commenting here to the comments on the Jan 25th post Feeling Good.
Laura: Kolya is a Czech movie about a little boy whose Russian mother is in such dire straits that she is forced to leave her boy with his Czech father for a few weeks. The story is about the developing relationship between the boy and the man. It is a moving story without descending into pathos or bathos. The boy’s smile is a surefire pick-me-up.
Isabel wrote, “Keira, I kid you not, your list is almost identical to mine.”
I’ve been suspecting for a while that we’re separated at birth twins. I’m very glad to know that I’m not the only one in love with her local Target. There is always something new to look at, and vibrantly colorful, too.
Oooh, I do envy you your beaches, Isabel. It’s great that you have such ready access to something you enjoy a lot.
Does your WIP have beaches in them? I’m trying like mad to bring Brighton into my Regency world, but failing miserably so far.
January 31st, 2007 at 3:49 amWow, Keira. Bring on the questions! And I love my Target, too. They just remodeled it. I don’t think a store can get any more fun
Kate, this was super-FAB. After a year of reading posts and attending workshops etc, it’s not too often I see something different crop up. This page should be printed and stuck right in the front of my notebook.
Kathryn, would it be possible for you to give me some hints on how you go about uncovering the underlying motivations for the heroine’s overwhelming desire to willingly throw away, what on the surface seems to be an ideal life situation? THANKS!
Having recently struggled with a manuscript that required so much convoluted explanation to motivate anything, I have to throw my two cents in here. If one did dream up a plot that very few people were able to believe, no matter how many pages and pages and pages and pages…uh, you get the picture…of motivation you provide, categorized and listed with the word “goal” or “motivation” in the scene (as in, “Jonathan’s goal was to return the boy to his mother. He could only blame his own unhappy childhood for wishing to see this goal met. Blah blah blah…” And people are STILL telling you this is impossible, it would never happen, nobody would ever do this…Then maybe one should rethink her plot and cut her story down to it’s basic elements: the good ol’ h/h. Which is not to say it’s YOUR problem. Just that in the last year or so I’ve come across plots other than mine that share the same trait of complete and utter unbelievability. Ahem. Kate?
January 31st, 2007 at 7:57 amYeah, I want to copy and paste your words of wisdom so I can re-read them until I’ve got them memorized! Thanks again for the “write stuff.”
I am a pantser who wishes urgently for more structure. But I seem incapable of sticking to an outline. Things just sort of come to me and off I go. Not sequentially, of course, which means I’m constantly building bridges and I’m no engineer. And the strangest thing…I’ll go back and re-read, and have no recollection of writing what I did. Is there such a thing as an idiot savant writer? That would be me. Or maybe it’s just early-onset Alzheimers. I prefer to think of it as having a fickle muse, but I have found it to be helpful to write every day, even if it’s just a few paragraphs and the muse is nowhere in sight.
January 31st, 2007 at 8:09 amWhat a great comprehensive list, Kate. I kept nodding and saying, “Yes!” So Amen, sister!
January 31st, 2007 at 8:45 amKate, you’re keeping me on my toes this week.
I’m leaving my house so I just wanted to chime very quickly here…Kate I’d love it if you could blog about the Hero’s Journey and the love scene blog - if you get a chance. If you could only do one, however, I rather hear you on Hero’s Journey because I’m just starting to “get it”. See you in a bit!
January 31st, 2007 at 9:41 amYay! Thanks Kathryn… and I would love to hear what you have to say about the hero’s journey from your workshop.. and the love scenes, too.
I am so happy right now because I am applying all of this to the new project I started last week. This is fabulous stuff~!!! Thank you so much Kathryn..
Keira, that sounds like such a terrific movie, I can’t wait to watch it.
I think I have finally had a character break through… It only took me a few months and a ton of people to hammer it into my head. :O) :O)
January 31st, 2007 at 9:46 amI’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…this is exactly what I needed, Kate! Thanks so much! And again, I’m printing it out.
I would also love to hear about both the Hero’s Journey and about writing love scenes. Call me greedy, but I’ll take whatever I can get! LOL! I’m soaking it all in.
Great questions, Keira!
January 31st, 2007 at 10:26 amMe too, Andrea!
January 31st, 2007 at 11:09 amOkay, I’m gonna tackle some of Keira’s questions!
Let’s start with that circus woman. She’s got a loving husband and two kids, right? Now, how do you motivate her into being the kind of woman who leaves all that and joins the circus? Well, first of all, I’d think we’d want to set this story maybe in the 30s (or earlier!) when circus’s were still a little mysterious, seedy even. Our heroine is amazing at throwing knives, let’s say. She learned to do this because this is what her father did/does — in the circus. She is forbidden to join the circus herself. Her family is poor and she has to help look after her mother and siblings. Then, a nice man with a little money comes to town. He notices the heroine and is instantly smitten. He can give her a good life. He can help support her family. She doesn’t love him, but he is good to her. She marries him. He has young sons that she tries to become a mother to, but they continue to ask for their real mother. She feels unwanted by the children and smothered by her husband who loves her, but doesn’t want her to have a life outside of his.
That’s a quick outline, but to me this seems like a woman who will run.
And yes, there can be other goals, so long as there is the big one. Even the big one can change.
January 31st, 2007 at 11:40 amOh, so tomorrow I’ll post my Lovers’ Journey — which is an outline of the Hero’s Journey but geared toward romance.
And then after that, I’ll post about love scenes. I have a signing on Saturday which will take me away for a good chunk of the day, but I will be here eventually — I promise!
January 31st, 2007 at 12:01 pmHiya
I’m not a writer, just a reader, but when I wrote papers in high school or college thus far, I just could never plot. In HS when we first did term papers, they went through the process that one’s probably supposed to do, outlines, notecards (3×5s for something, 4×6s for other stuff), what to do with them, etc, etc, etc, I did what they wanted with the stuff because we had to hand in all of it for the final grade. But I just could never really deal with it all — I guess I’m not much of a planner or plotter. LOL
Now, I’m sure as I finally make it to the next school, whenever that’ll be at this rate (LOL), and move on from there, things will be different, in that you have to plan something out. HS stuff is nothing, but more complicated stuff is something. But I don’t think I still could get myself to go through that process - I probably need to get down my idea somehow, but I tend to do things as I go along. Easier that way.
Lois
January 31st, 2007 at 2:10 pm