Karen GoatKeeper's Blog - Posts Tagged "plots"
Starting a Book
No, this is not a new project. It is one started and abandoned due to a major plot glitch. The glitch is solved so now the project is on track, maybe.
Perhaps I am odd but the most important part of writing a book or paper for me is coming up with that first sentence. I jot down plot ideas. I make out character sketches. I map out settings. [And I didn't know I was a plotter? A bit dense perhaps.]
From these I can write a first rough draft but it feels flat. It struggles. Something is missing.
But my reading is that way too. The first paragraph is critical. It sets the tone for the entire book for me. If I like it, if it fits, I slide into the book and roll on through it.
This third book in the Hazel Whitmore series has the first half of a draft written. The opening is flat, dull. It's interesting and eventful but doesn't grab me, it doesn't fit.
Where do good first lines come from? I don't know exactly. Perhaps that is why they are so hard for me to come up with.
My first lines seem to require me knowing the plot outline, the characters and the settings. Somehow these meld together becoming a story. And there is the first line.
The one for the third Hazel book? "You will pay." Hazel held the note she found in her locker in her hand reading and rereading it.
Perhaps I am odd but the most important part of writing a book or paper for me is coming up with that first sentence. I jot down plot ideas. I make out character sketches. I map out settings. [And I didn't know I was a plotter? A bit dense perhaps.]
From these I can write a first rough draft but it feels flat. It struggles. Something is missing.
But my reading is that way too. The first paragraph is critical. It sets the tone for the entire book for me. If I like it, if it fits, I slide into the book and roll on through it.
This third book in the Hazel Whitmore series has the first half of a draft written. The opening is flat, dull. It's interesting and eventful but doesn't grab me, it doesn't fit.
Where do good first lines come from? I don't know exactly. Perhaps that is why they are so hard for me to come up with.
My first lines seem to require me knowing the plot outline, the characters and the settings. Somehow these meld together becoming a story. And there is the first line.
The one for the third Hazel book? "You will pay." Hazel held the note she found in her locker in her hand reading and rereading it.
Where Is the Plot?
So far we have the hero, heroine and villain for our melodramas. Now we need a plot.
Where do we find a plot?
Old melodramas have the villain trying to trap the heroine into marriage. The hero and heroine are in love so the hero thwarts the villain to win the girl. So simple. So trite. So stereotyped.
Where do we find a better plot?
A plot revolves around things the characters want and what they are willing to do to attain these wants. Let's revisit our characters.
We have profiles of these characters individually. How do they connect with each other? How do these connections affect their hopes, dreams and desires?
What obstacles stand in the way of the characters attaining their hopes, dreams and desires? Can you think of more obstacles? Even obstacles that seem far-fetched should make the list.
Which of the main characters will take center stage in your melodrama? Your character sketch is who this character is at the beginning of your melodrama.
Which hope, dream or desire will this character attain in your melodrama? This is where your character is going.
Now, fill in the space between these two with the obstacles. You won't use all of them. You may even come up with new ones. These will pull in your other main characters.
Now you have the beginnings of a plot.
Where do we find a plot?
Old melodramas have the villain trying to trap the heroine into marriage. The hero and heroine are in love so the hero thwarts the villain to win the girl. So simple. So trite. So stereotyped.
Where do we find a better plot?
A plot revolves around things the characters want and what they are willing to do to attain these wants. Let's revisit our characters.
We have profiles of these characters individually. How do they connect with each other? How do these connections affect their hopes, dreams and desires?
What obstacles stand in the way of the characters attaining their hopes, dreams and desires? Can you think of more obstacles? Even obstacles that seem far-fetched should make the list.
Which of the main characters will take center stage in your melodrama? Your character sketch is who this character is at the beginning of your melodrama.
Which hope, dream or desire will this character attain in your melodrama? This is where your character is going.
Now, fill in the space between these two with the obstacles. You won't use all of them. You may even come up with new ones. These will pull in your other main characters.
Now you have the beginnings of a plot.
