ALL ABOUT PLOTTING, PART 2

Good morning - it's officially the first day of spring, and the first sunshiney day for, it seems, aeons. The sky is virgin blue, the clouds mere whisps of cotton wool and it's time to look into more Plotting

If like many people, you think that for 'real' writers, the business of plotting comes effortlessly, forget it. The majority of writers have to study the elements of plot and pay serious attention to constructing the narrative and viewpoint most appropriate for their story.

Your main character, the protagonist, must encounter a conflict - with another character, society, nature him or herself or come conbination of these things - and undergo a change as a result. Conflict, also known as 'the major dramatic question' is the basis of plot.

Elements of Plot:

The Introduction: presents the central conflict as well as the characters and the setting. In modern fiction, it is necessary for the writer to involve the protagonist in conflict as early as possible.

Rising Action or Development: Is where the character faces various impediments to his or her goal. Learn to build dramatic tension; to keep readers interested with twists and turns which will lead to:

The Climax which is the turning point in the story, the pivot on which your story hinges. Climax is the resolution of conflict, the point of no return beyond which the protagonist's fate - be it good or bad - is secured.

In the Denoument, the author ties up the loose ends.

Plotting all sounds so simple, doesn't it? In some ways it is and in other ways it's not.

A helpful tip is to identify the basic elements in your reading, to question why the writer decided to tell the story the way he or she did. The important thing for you, the writer, to remember, is that something has to happen. It may seem elementary but it can be quite complicated. By all means experiment, but spend time on the basics, too.

Good plotting, and in the meantime if you want to make contact the address is: patricia@patriciaoreilly.net

All About Plotting, part 1

A recent comment from one of the top British literary agents stressed the importance of a well plotted story.
Plot concerns the organisation of the main events of a work of fiction. Plot is concerned with how:
(1) events are related
(2) events are structured
(3) events enact change in the major characters

Most plots trace a process of change in which characters are caught up in a conflict that is eventually resolved. Plots may be fully integrated, tightly knit or episodic in nature.

Conflict is the basis of Plot. Without conflict there is no story because there is no change or growth. A tip is to think of conflict as a question your story sets out to answer.

As a writer, a questions to ask yourself is: What is the central question of my story?
Your conflict or question may be only half-formed when you write your first draft but before embarking on a revision, it's essential that you define the conflict of your story. Once you've done that, it's much easier to know which parts of your story to cut and which to expand.

It may sound simplistic but for many emerging writers, plot is one of the hardest elements to grasp. Make sure your story contains a central conflict. Someting must happen to turn your main character's life upside down, and through this experience, a change must take place within your character. If your idea does not include a conflict, you're probably not ready to start editing your first draft. Indeed, you may not even be ready to begin writing that particular story.

Enthusiastic as we may be to begin writing when we get an idea, a little time spent on preliminary plotting saves time, energy and ensures a more professional story.

Good plotting and next month we'll continue on the PLOTTING theme.