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Ana muses about understanding the core issues for her hero and heroine.
I completed my plot outline last week.
I filled in duh! details like what the heroine does for a living. Spaced believable plot twists appropriately. Relocated premature hints.
I checked that the sub plots were resolved. (Two subplots were eliminated. I tend to try to make things too complicated, too intricate for my skill level.)
I solved the vexing issue of who would deliver the break that the heroine needs to unravel the mystery--and why.
Most importantly, I started and ended with the prime external story issue: namely what happened to the heroine's mother.
Emotionally, this question keeps the heroine frozen in time. She can't move forward even when her friends, her father, and even the villain urge her to. She feels if she devotes a single minute to anything other than solving the mystery of her mother's disappearance, she's stabbing herself in the back.
The hero is the opposite in that he knows he sabotaged his life and is determined to climb back up the hill toward his dream of being in big league baseball. However, he is so fixed on his goal, he's in danger of losing his soul. Meeting the heroine will change that.
I am happy with my hard work. This is the first time I've plotted an entire story in detail.
Now I have to write a marketable synopsis. Back to the brain strain.
I'm in awe of people who can write such detailed outlines and stick to them. And I'm realizing it might be a skill I have to start to develop, at least somewhat. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good exercise--and quite hard to do. I followed the template from the Deep Story plotting system to choose the order of key plot points, pinch points, and reveals.
DeleteIt should be easier the next time I do it--which I will. Part of the reason I write so slowly is: when I have to figure out where the story should go next, too often I write into dead end and have to go back and start over.
Wow, all that must have taken some working out! Hope you can get your characters to stick to it when you start writing the actual story!
ReplyDeleteIt did take a lot of work! I changed and rearranged quite a few times until I found the plot flow that builds the tension to the Black moment. If the characters introduce new things, it will be great. They will deepen the story without steering the plot off the tracks.
DeleteWow! I am so much more of a pantster than this. I don't think I could figure out this much detail from the get go. In every book I've written. something always surprises me that happens...the characters always want to have their own way. Most of the time I let them! :)
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, the characters and I had intense interactions during the plotting process. I had the first five chapters written, so I'd profiled the characters pretty well. The plotting identified where I needed to add or amend character details. So much easier to do now, rather than have to go back and find every place in the narrative that would need changing to be consistent.
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