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The articles in this section aim to provide writers, particularly new writers, with an insight into the world of fiction writing.
Motivation
Using proverb based themes for story ideas - Part One
Using proverb based themes for story ideas - Part Two
Backup Your Writing for Free Online
Plot: The Fiction Writer's Itinerary
Choosing and Describing a Perfect Setting
Characterisation
Learn to be quiet
Delving into your past
Regaining your writing confidence
Using inclusive language in writing
Copyright: Where To Find Information
Critiquing guidelines
Anti-Virus Tip for Writers
All Rights Remain With the Author: Fact or Fiction?
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Writing without a plot is like travelling without a map and a plan; you invariably get lost. Plotting allows you to determine where you're going and when, how you'll get there, who'll accompany you, what you'll see on the way and why you're going in the first place.
Before you write a story, start with a simple plot description, for example: enemy attacks, victims fight back, and good wins over evil. Next, decide on a basic theme, perhaps love or goodness. Make the theme more specific by adopting a proverb such as 'love will find a way' or 'a good heart conquers ill fortune'. Take a step further along the plotting path by writing a one sentence description of the plot, for example: the outbreak of war separates a woman and her fiancé, yet both beat the odds in finding each other again.
From this you can develop the plot further by creating situations and obstacles unique to each character. Once you've plotted the basics of your story, you can move on to plotting major events and scenes.
Plotting with characters in mind lets you show your readers how characters experience major story events. Readers need to see your characters stressed, motivated, frustrated, succeeding and failing, but always inching closer to a resolution of conflict. Each major scene must focus on the characters' emotions.
There are techniques you can use to make a single plot more interesting. Sub-plotting, whether injected for a short period or maintained throughout a story, can add spice to an otherwise predictable tale. Sub-plotting is a flexible tool. You can, for example, branch off from the main story by focusing on a separate conflict with secondary characters or create a parallel sub-plot and weave it into the main plot.
Another technique you can use is the flashback. This is used for stories covering expanses of time. Rather than showing a story from beginning to end in a linear time frame, you can start your story closer to the end and use flashbacks for important past events. Flashbacks add depth to a character's motivation and change or strengthen the plot's direction.
There are various tools and methods you can use to plot a story. Some writers follow a plot pattern known as The Writer's Journey. This is described in the book The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers 2nd Edition by Christopher Vogler. The pattern consists of around a dozen specific points, but basically sees a character thrown into a new environment or situation, overcoming obstacles and becoming a hero.
Although it's mostly used for novels, the numbering method is useful for other story lengths as well. For a novel, list numbers vertically on a sheet of paper to represent chapters and then nominate a major scene for each one. For short stories, list numbers to cover each event related to resolving a character's conflict. The numbering method is a quick way to get a basic story plotted and allows for expansion through the inclusion of lesser events, scenes, sub-plots, flashbacks and so on.
To practice the art of plotting, read a few classic stories or best-sellers then list the themes, basic plots and events that move the story forward. Concentrate on main events and scenes. Breaking stories down to their basic plot structures will show you how the story was constructed around characters with conflicts to resolve.
One way to test a plot's effectiveness is to write a brief synopsis. A synopsis allows you to develop a mini-version of a story using a basic plot, a specific theme and all the major scenes. In a synopsis you leave out descriptions, character attributes and dialogue, and focus instead on the characters' story. A synopsis is fairly easy to write. When someone asks you about a movie you've watched or a story you've read, you give them a form of synopsis -- a summary of the major parts. With a written synopsis, the main difference is that you provide the ending as well.
Whatever method you use, once you've plotted your story and tested it in a synopsis you can begin writing. You should feel as comfortable with your plot as you do when undertaking a planned travel trip, happy in the knowledge you know who, what, when, where, why and how.
Dibell, Ansen. Plot. Writer's Digest Books, 1988
Goodin, Melinda Rose. The Hero's Journey -- a path to plotting. Examining "Lord of the Storm" by Justine Davis, Crossing the Threshold: The home page of Melinda Rose Goodin, 1998 (http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~mgoodin19/hj-2.htm)
Sorenson, Sharon. How to Write Short Stories. 2nd ed., Macmillan, 1994
Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. 2nd ed., Michael Wiese Productions, 1998
© Justin O'Leary 1999
Note: 'How to Write Short Stories' by Sharon Sorenson is now into its 4th edition and is available through amazon.com.
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