Book plotting for the rest of us
Today winds up my mini-posts on plotting a book.
When I first started writing novels, it used to drive me nuts that I couldn't plot a book from beginning to end, including everything that happens in between. I thought that's how "real writers" did it. They had their system, be it notecards, notebooks, post-its stuck in chapter and scene order on a wall. (BTW -- I've done that last one before for a plot snafu I was trying to work out, and it was not only helpful to me, but decorative for my office.)
Through trial and error and experience, I've finally accepted that I can't plot a book from beginning to end with everything in between. Before I start a book, I know the beginning (the first couple of pages come pretty quick), some big events in the middle, and if I'm lucky I have a vague notion of how I want it to end. Endings give me fits. . .uh and that big section towards the end of the middle that feels suspiciously like quicksand. If you're a writer, you know where I'm talking about. I've found that the harder I fight, the more I sink. I tend to overthink things, and make them way more difficult than they really are. Usually (actually always), the best answer is the easiest answer.
I've come to accept that what my writing brain considers a fully plotted book, my logical brain considers vague notions at best, and a convoluted mess at worst. My logical brain doesn't like things untidy. I've learned to tell my logical brain to shut up.
So I plan for the trip (as much as possible), but I enjoy and look forward to the unexpected. The best parts of a book are the parts I could never have predicted or plotted.
When I first started writing novels, it used to drive me nuts that I couldn't plot a book from beginning to end, including everything that happens in between. I thought that's how "real writers" did it. They had their system, be it notecards, notebooks, post-its stuck in chapter and scene order on a wall. (BTW -- I've done that last one before for a plot snafu I was trying to work out, and it was not only helpful to me, but decorative for my office.)
Through trial and error and experience, I've finally accepted that I can't plot a book from beginning to end with everything in between. Before I start a book, I know the beginning (the first couple of pages come pretty quick), some big events in the middle, and if I'm lucky I have a vague notion of how I want it to end. Endings give me fits. . .uh and that big section towards the end of the middle that feels suspiciously like quicksand. If you're a writer, you know where I'm talking about. I've found that the harder I fight, the more I sink. I tend to overthink things, and make them way more difficult than they really are. Usually (actually always), the best answer is the easiest answer.
I've come to accept that what my writing brain considers a fully plotted book, my logical brain considers vague notions at best, and a convoluted mess at worst. My logical brain doesn't like things untidy. I've learned to tell my logical brain to shut up.
So I plan for the trip (as much as possible), but I enjoy and look forward to the unexpected. The best parts of a book are the parts I could never have predicted or plotted.
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:32 AM
4 Comments:
Seems to me we each have to blunder through until we figure out what works for us! Thank goodness for gracious people who've gone before and who are willing to give advice.
:o)
You're most welcome. ; ) But I don't know that I'm giving advice, more like posting warnings. What does the t-shirt say? "If you can't be an example to others, be a warning." Though you gotta love being a writer. What other job can you be staring out a window daydreaming and you're working. Or "I don't know" is a valid answer when someone asks you what you're working on, or where you are.
Yup. Know that quicksand scenario well. :)
Yeah, I always run into problems toward the end of the middle. And the funny thing is, I'm always surprised/freaked out when it happens. You'd think I'd remember. ; )
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