Do
You Know What A Plot Is?
by: Nick
Vernon
What a plot is and what a story is
can be sometimes confusing. If you think they are the same¡K
They are not. A plot is the outline of your story. The story
is everything included.
I will illustrate the difference by asking you to visualize
two pictures¡K
1. Visualize a skeleton.
Then
2. Visualize a body.
The skeleton is your plot. It¡¦s the outline of your story.
It won¡¦t be visible when we flesh it out but it will still
be there, holding your story together.
The body is your story. It¡¦s everything, which our story
will contain, including the plot. The story is the plot
fleshed out.
What does it mean to ¡¥flesh it out?¡¦
Let me show you.
I¡¦ll take a brief plot¡K
A man meets a woman and they fall in love. They encounter
great difficulties because their family are against the
relationship.
This is the outline of the story.
Now we are going to flesh it out and make it into a story.
Fleshing it out means adding things to make this basic plot
into a story. To do this we will add the rest of the ingredients
such as¡K
„« Setting ¡V Where will our story take place
„« Dialogue ¡V What will be said and by whom
„« Characters ¡V How many characters will our story contain?
Who are they? What is their role?
„« Problems ¡V What and how many problems will the couple
encounter
„« Goal ¡V What is the couple¡¦s goal?
„« Conflict ¡V What is the conflict?
„« Climax ¡V How is the conflict going to come to its peak?
„« Ending ¡V Will their love win in the end?
„« And anything else I¡¦ll need in my story
Once we have written up all these ingredients, this will
be our plot fleshed out into a story.
_____________
Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?
The writer, who doesn¡¦t have the time to plot, always finds
the time to rewrite.
Sound familiar?
I¡¦ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of
my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into
writing my story that I wouldn¡¦t bother with plotting.
Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It¡¦s your map,
which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the
unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can
happen¡K.
„« Our stories aren¡¦t focused
„« We lose our way
„« Our characters don¡¦t come to life because we don¡¦t
take the time to develop them
„« We get stuck
„« The story strays from us
And all this happens when we haven¡¦t figured everything
out first.
Your plot is the foundation of your story. It¡¦s the skeleton,
which will hold your story together. Your plot is there
to work everything out first ¡V to see if it can be worked
out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements
that make a story.
Plotting is the difference between writing a story for yourself
and writing one for an audience. Writing for ourselves doesn¡¦t
require too much strain because we only have ourselves to
please. It¡¦s when we have to please our readers that the
hard work begins.
If you are aiming to sell your stories, plotting is a must.
Have you plotted your story before writing it?
_____________
Do You Plot With Your Character In Mind?
You are plotting the story. You write down what will happen,
what problems will arise, what obstacles you will place
so the character won¡¦t reach his goals immediately, what
he¡¦s going to do to overcome these problems etc¡K
So all these things will be happening to your character
since it¡¦s his story we are telling.
Does it make sense then to have your character in mind as
you plot these things?
It does. Because it will depend, based on the type of person
he is, how he will face these problems, what he will feel,
what he will think, what he will do.
Different types of personalities make up our world. Some
people worry too much, so whatever problems come along,
they will worry with the same intensity. Other people view
the lighter side of life. Minor problems do not affect them
as largely as major problems. To some challengers are welcome
- they thrive on them. To others, challengers are viewed
with fear and uncertainty.
As you¡¦re plotting the events of your story they have to
correspond with the type of personality your character possesses.
What happens when you plot without thinking of your character?
He will act ¡¥out of character.¡¦ He will do, say, think,
feel things that don¡¦t suit his personality.
For instance¡K
If your character is a worrier and you place him in a situation
where he doesn¡¦t worry, then that¡¦s making him act according
to how you want him to act in your plot.
You¡¦re manipulating him to suit your plot - You¡¦re not
writing with his personality in mind.
As you plot the events in the story, simultaneously build
your character.
Cross-reference what you have written about your character
and the situation he is in. Do they correspond?
_____________
What Can Go Into A Plot?
We all tackle plotting differently. How you plot will be
individual to you, as it is with every writer.
Below is an outline of what can go into a plot. How much
you choose to develop each point is entirely up to you.
So some basic questions to ask are¡K
1. Briefly what your story is about
2. The theme?
3. Main Characters
a. For main characters it¡¦s best to write a full biography
of them.
4. Secondary Characters
a. Who are they?
b. What will their role be?
c. What is their relationship with main character?
5. Beginning of the story
a. Viewpoint ¡V who will be telling the story?
b. Setting ¡V where will the story take place?
c. How will you introduce main character?
d. How will you introduce other characters?
e. How will the story begin?
f. What will happen in the beginning?
g. What is the conflict?
h. What is the character¡¦s goal?
i. How will the conflict prevent the character from reaching
his goal?
j. What¡¦s motivating the character?
6. Middle of the story
a. What will happen in the beginning section, of the middle
of your story?
b. How will this be tied to the beginning of your story?
c. What will happen in the middle section, of the middle
of your story?
d. What will happen in the end section, of the middle of
your story?
e. What events are going to occur?
f. How will you show your character¡¦s personality?
g. What problems are you going to introduce? (List each
problem and how the character solves it)
h. How are you going to make things harder for your character?
i. What will happen in the climax?
7. End of the story
a. Will the character achieve his goal?
b. How will he or won¡¦t he achieve it?
c. What¡¦s going to happen in the end?
d. How are you going to end your story?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Or if you prefer you can plot in scenes¡K
First, figure out how many scenes your story will contain.
Then plot each scene.
Scene one
a) Setting
b) Introduce characters
c) Introduce conflict
d) Introduce goals
e) What will happen in the first scene?
f) How will your first scene develop the character and the
story?
Scene two
a) Introduce first problem
b) What does the character feel about this? What does he
think?
c) Have the character solve the problem
d) Begin making things harder for him
e) How will the second scene develop the character and the
story?
Scene three
a) Throw another obstacle in your character¡¦s path
b) Have him solve it
c) How will the third scene develop the character and the
story?
Etc¡K
How you plot doesn¡¦t matter. The most important thing is
To plot.
_____________
Have You Completed A Character Questionnaire?
Complete a character questionnaire for each of your main
characters or even secondary characters that play a vital
role in your story. This way you will know your character(s)
well before you start writing about them.
Fill in as much information about them as possible. Don¡¦t
only answer what you will need in your story. The objective
here is to get to know your character till he becomes a
¡¥live¡¦ person in your mind.
So let¡¦s begin¡K
1. In a few sentences write down a summary of the plot
2. Character¡¦s personal details
a) First name
b) Surname
c) Age
3. In a few sentences write down the character¡¦s back story
(a bit about his background)
4. The role of the character in your story
a) What are character¡¦s goals?
b) What are character¡¦s motivations?
c) What is the character¡¦s conflict?
d) How will the conflict stop the character from reaching
his goal?
e) What is he going to do to overcome the conflict?
f) What problems will crop up during the story?
g) How will those problems get worse?
h) What will the character do to overcome those problems?
i) How will he resolve the conflict?
j) How will your character¡¦s background influence how he
behaves in your story?
k) What is the relationship with other characters, if any,
in your story?
5. Physical Descriptions
a) Height
b) Eye colour
c) Hair colour
d) Hairstyle
e) Hair length
f) Complexion
g) Shape of face
h) Body type
i) Weight
6. How does his expression change when¡K
a. He¡¦s with a loved one
b. He¡¦s with someone he dislikes
c. He¡¦s with his boss
d. He¡¦s with a colleague
7. Personality
a) Type? (shy, outgoing, insecure, dominant etc)
b) Distinguishable traits?
c) Mental scars? (Complexes etc)
d) Ambitions?
e) Sense of humour?
f) Fears?
g) Anxieties?
h) Phobias?
i) Overall personality?
j) How does his personality change when he¡¦s experiencing
different emotions?
k) How does he act when he feels confident?
l) How does he act when he feels inadequate?
m) What gestures does he use when he talks and thinks?
n) How does he walk? With confidence? Does he slouch or
stride?
o) What mannerisms does he have? (Does he fold his arms?
Does he flick his hair?)
p) How does he speak? (Clearly, mumble, confidently, drawl
etc.)
q) His voice? (Rich, loud, soft, etc)
r) His vocabulary? (Casual, formal, illiterate etc)
s) What does he think when he¡¦s alone?
t) Does he have any secrets he hasn¡¦t disclosed to anyone?
u) His prejudices?
v) Dominant motives?
w) Values most?
x) Desires most?
y) How does he treat those around him? (children, superiors,
etc)
z) Any vices or virtues?
8. Likes and dislikes
a) Favourite colour, food, etc
b) Favourite music?
c) Taste in clothing?
d) Does character like something in particular?
e) Does character dislike something in particular?
9. Lifestyle
a) Where does the character live (country, city)?
b) Does character live in a house, apartment etc
c) Does character like where he lives?
d) Does where he lives reflect what kind of person he is?
e) Does he have a favourite room? (Or a piece of furniture
or other object etc)
f) Does he have a car? What type? Does the car reflect the
person he is?
g) Any hobbies? Personal habits (neat, sloppy etc)
10. Background
a) Parents names
b) Parents occupations
c) Describe relationship with parents
d) Any siblings?
e) Describe relationship with siblings
f) What kind of childhood did the character have?
g) What kind of adolescence did the character have?
h) What kind of schooling did character undergo? (Private
or public? Has this shaped who he is?)
i) What was the highest-level achieved in school?
j) Citizenship/Ethnic Origin?
k) In which country does he currently live?
l) If the country he lives in is not where he was born,
why does he live there?
11. Character¡¦s current position
a) Any friends?
b) Any enemies?
c) Acquaintances?
d) Has character been married before?
e) Has the character been engaged before?
f) Any children?
g) Most meaningful experience?
h) Any disappointments?
i) What is the character¡¦s goal in life?
j) Attitude towards the opposite sex?
k) Attitude towards life?
12. Employment
a) What kind of job does character currently have?
b) What kind of jobs has the character had previously?
c) Is character content in current employment?
d) If not, what would be their dream job?
13. What do you feel for this character?
a) Admire
b) Love
c) Hate
d) Dislike
e) Like
f) Pity
g) Envy
Whatever you feel for this character, your emotions must
be strong. If they are not, either build on this further
or begin building another character altogether.
_____________
How Are You Plotting?
Writing is a creative process and how every writer chooses
to create, is individual to them. Likewise, with plotting,
every writer plots at a level they are comfortable with.
Some just plot the bare essentials. They have a firm idea
of the story they want to write and have a good memory to
be able to memorize everything.
Others go into more detail. These writers prefer to figure
everything out before they write the story.
How you plot will also depend on your level of experience.
For the beginner, it¡¦s recommended to plot thoroughly.
Before writing, think of every possible situation. Plot
events thoroughly, plot scenes to the last detail and generally
leave no questions unasked or unanswered. This way you will
always know where you¡¦re going.
_____________
Are You Using The ¡¥What If¡¦ Technique When Plotting?
Your short story of 500, 2.000, 10.000 words or whatever
word length you choose to write, will spring from a single
idea - Perhaps a one-sentence idea.
So when you are still in that one sentence stage, using
the ¡¥What If,¡¦ technique is a good way of generating ideas
to build on that initial story idea.
While you are in the plotting stage, experiment. Your aim
should be to write the best story you can. Experiment to
see what bits and pieces you can put together to write the
best story ever.
So using ¡¥What If,¡¦ ask yourself questions then answer
them¡K
„« What if the character was like this?
„« What if this happened to him?
„« What if I placed him in this situation? How would he
react?
„« What if I took this away from him?
„« What if his worst fear came true?
„« What if he doesn¡¦t get what he wants? What will he do?
„« What if I placed this obstacle in his path? What will
he do?
You¡¦ll be surprised what you come up with, if you take
the time to experiment.
_____________
Does Your Plot Suit Your Characters And Vice-Versa?
When an idea comes to us for a short story, we either think
of a story line first or a character first. Whichever we
think of first, and later on build, we have to make sure
the plot and the character suit each other.
Example one ¡V We think of a story line first.
Your story is set in a rural area. A company opens a factory
and employs workers from that small town. The residents
welcome this, as there aren¡¦t many jobs going around. The
management takes advantage of that fact and exploit the
workers.
Using a technicality in the system, perhaps listing them
under different job titles in their books, they pay them
less than they are entitled. Your main character sees this
injustice and leads the workers to rebel against the management.
Now in a plot like this you will need your main character
to posses certain qualities. Like¡K
Leadership
To be able to lead the people to rebel.
Convincing
The workers are from a rural area. Some might be uneducated
and not aware of their rights. The main character has to
convince them that what the management is doing, is wrong.
Persuader
Living in a rural area, jobs are hard to find. Most of the
workers will view the company as their saviour. Their thinking
will be that receiving little money is better than none
at all. The main character has to persuade them that being
in a rural area the company needs them as much as the workers
need the company.
Strong Personality & Confident
We need a strong character that will see things through
to the end. We don¡¦t want someone giving up when things
get tough. He will also need to be confident that he is
doing the right thing (not to make things worse for the
workers) and believes in himself (knowing what he¡¦s doing
is right).
Strong people skills
To be able to speak and relate to people on all levels.
Negotiator
To negotiate a solution with management and workers.
Public speaker skills
To be able to address this mass group of workers, in a voice
that is confident, persuading, authoritative etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So these are the qualities we will need our character to
have.
Now let¡¦s see if we can make him believable. Remember he
lives in the same rural area, so what makes him different
from the rest of the workers who are willing to settle for
less?
I could say he recently move to that rural area from the
city. He used to work as a union leader and wanted to get
out of the rat race. But having fought for workers rights
his entire career, he can¡¦t stand now to see injustices
and comes to the decision to fight for them and himself.
So this character would suit our plot because we need someone
like him for our story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Example two ¡V Thinking of a character first
We notice a man on the street. Something about him triggers
our interest so we decide to write about him in a short
story. So at this point we will build the character first
and then work a story around him.
Let¡¦s go back to where we saw him¡K
He¡¦s walking briskly along a busy street. He¡¦s in a hurry.
He¡¦s dressed in a three-piece suit, which indicates he
might be a businessman. He¡¦s got a stack of documents under
his arm; a briefcase in his left hand and his right hand
is occupied by holding the phone to his ear, which he¡¦s
shouting into.
Let¡¦s observe him closer¡K
He¡¦s in his mid thirties. He looks authoritative. Perhaps
he has his own business. Why is he shouting into the phone?
Perhaps one of his employees made a mistake, which has cost
the character a lot of money.
What if this employee made the mistake on purpose? What
if he¡¦s secretly working for the opposition, planted to
destroy the main character¡¦s company? What if the owner
of that opposing company is the main character¡¦s own brother?
Etc¡K
So as we analyze this character and ask questions about
him, our plot begins to unfold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plots and characters have to suit each other.
When we have finished plotting and are ready to write the
story, they shouldn¡¦t be ill-fitting pieces of a puzzle
¡V They should be a perfect match.
Does your plot suit your characters and vice-versa?
_____________
Have You Tested Your Plot?
Our plotting stage is our testing area.
Everything in the plot should be tested for its effectiveness
before we put in into our stories. If you believe something
in your plot could be better, make it better.
Figuring everything out in your plot will save you time
rewriting later.
So how do you test your plot?
Start with everything that has gone into it.
For example...
„Ï Are the events interesting?
„Ï Does your plot contain problems for the character to
solve?
„Ï Have you given your character a goal?
„Ï Is the conflict strong?
„Ï Is the resolution of the conflict interesting?
„Ï Is the character interesting?
„Ï Is the setting of the story interesting?
„Ï Will the incident or situation be interesting to your
readers?
„Ï Etc
Make a list of what your plot contains. Comb through it
carefully and tick off each item. If you find that some
things need to be worked on some more, work on them.
I know this might be tedious work, but¡K
¡§Every one-minute you spend in planning
will save you at least three minutes in execution.¡¨
Crawford Greenwald
About the author:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online
gift site where you will find gift information, articles
and readers funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com
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