Plotting
“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” -Mark Twain
As I mentioned in my previous post I am finishing one final manuscript before my 25th birthday in July. Like most of my work I went into this book with a general idea but no set plot. Instead, I have a two sentence pitch at the top of my manuscript to act more as a cardinal direction than actual instructions. As long as I have that course marked as my final destination, the journey can be as free as it needs to be.
Plotting, or my personal preference for plotting, is the main focus of this post. When it comes to plotting, I prefer the flexibility offered by a general idea, with a few milestones. In my opinion it really lets the characters develop a little more. Instead of holding them to rigid personalities, they become more authentic and adjust to the conflict.
In Stephen King’s On Writing he talks about writers being archaeologists who brush away the dirt covering a story. Rather than beginning a dig knowing what the final city will look like, just keep brushing away and uncover the general shape of the civilization. Then through editing add the recurring details that give the story its charm.
Personally when I try detailed plotting before I’ve even written a page, I find some of the items I hope to make meaningful through subtle recurrence turn out to be tacky. For example, a locket I want to be a secret focal point of the story so I introduce it on page 10; then it comes back on 30, 70, 110, 180, by the time I reach the end of the book I’d rather hang myself with the stupid locket than find out what’s actually inside or why it’s important.
I have only written two books with strict plots, and they required the most editing afterwards. Rather than allowing the story to unfold with a natural occurrence of events under a general umbrella I tried forcing strict plot points, which seemed forced into the narrative. The characters were flat, with only a small handful of traits and the antagonists were easy to conquer. It’s impossible (at least for me) to fill every unique detail that makes a book special into a plotting session and the harder I try to specifically designate every allusion, metaphor, and object of importance, the more porous the narrative becomes; the hints I were hoping would be subtle were either too heavy handed or non-existent; the protagonist only had one goal and one or two weaknesses, and the villain was stale. In all these heavily plotted books I found myself loving the supporting characters so much more, and for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why.
Now I am sure it was from their freedom. Every quirk they had naturally developed on the page because I wanted to conjure an emotion, not just advance the plot. Those quirks enriched their backstories, and came up throughout the text. As did their strengths. They had more engaging dialogue too because I did not enter conversations with them just to move from one point to the next. I found my protagonist genuinely did not know who they were and ended up having the most emotionally engaging conversations with them because it was real.
As for the small details that J.K. Rowling has mastered in her texts I found going into a novel or series knowing one or two items need to be important and left as clues can work but can also be overwhelming. Instead if the item comes up on its own during the first draft I have found success in marking it down in my notes and adjusting its significance in editing. The great thing about writing is no one needs to read your first draft. If you find out at the end of your book a character needs to pick a lock, you can sprinkle a back story of why a supporting character learned how to pick locks so it makes more sense at the end.
The point of this post is not to say there is a correct or wrong way to write. If you prefer the process of plotting I am not here to tell you that’s incorrect. But personally, I have found far more success, and far less backtracking, in plotting my editing rather than my first draft.
As I mentioned in my previous post I am finishing one final manuscript before my 25th birthday in July. Like most of my work I went into this book with a general idea but no set plot. Instead, I have a two sentence pitch at the top of my manuscript to act more as a cardinal direction than actual instructions. As long as I have that course marked as my final destination, the journey can be as free as it needs to be.
Plotting, or my personal preference for plotting, is the main focus of this post. When it comes to plotting, I prefer the flexibility offered by a general idea, with a few milestones. In my opinion it really lets the characters develop a little more. Instead of holding them to rigid personalities, they become more authentic and adjust to the conflict.
In Stephen King’s On Writing he talks about writers being archaeologists who brush away the dirt covering a story. Rather than beginning a dig knowing what the final city will look like, just keep brushing away and uncover the general shape of the civilization. Then through editing add the recurring details that give the story its charm.
Personally when I try detailed plotting before I’ve even written a page, I find some of the items I hope to make meaningful through subtle recurrence turn out to be tacky. For example, a locket I want to be a secret focal point of the story so I introduce it on page 10; then it comes back on 30, 70, 110, 180, by the time I reach the end of the book I’d rather hang myself with the stupid locket than find out what’s actually inside or why it’s important.
I have only written two books with strict plots, and they required the most editing afterwards. Rather than allowing the story to unfold with a natural occurrence of events under a general umbrella I tried forcing strict plot points, which seemed forced into the narrative. The characters were flat, with only a small handful of traits and the antagonists were easy to conquer. It’s impossible (at least for me) to fill every unique detail that makes a book special into a plotting session and the harder I try to specifically designate every allusion, metaphor, and object of importance, the more porous the narrative becomes; the hints I were hoping would be subtle were either too heavy handed or non-existent; the protagonist only had one goal and one or two weaknesses, and the villain was stale. In all these heavily plotted books I found myself loving the supporting characters so much more, and for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why.
Now I am sure it was from their freedom. Every quirk they had naturally developed on the page because I wanted to conjure an emotion, not just advance the plot. Those quirks enriched their backstories, and came up throughout the text. As did their strengths. They had more engaging dialogue too because I did not enter conversations with them just to move from one point to the next. I found my protagonist genuinely did not know who they were and ended up having the most emotionally engaging conversations with them because it was real.
As for the small details that J.K. Rowling has mastered in her texts I found going into a novel or series knowing one or two items need to be important and left as clues can work but can also be overwhelming. Instead if the item comes up on its own during the first draft I have found success in marking it down in my notes and adjusting its significance in editing. The great thing about writing is no one needs to read your first draft. If you find out at the end of your book a character needs to pick a lock, you can sprinkle a back story of why a supporting character learned how to pick locks so it makes more sense at the end.
The point of this post is not to say there is a correct or wrong way to write. If you prefer the process of plotting I am not here to tell you that’s incorrect. But personally, I have found far more success, and far less backtracking, in plotting my editing rather than my first draft.
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