Braiding - It’s not just for hair!
I can’t be more excited about today’s guest blogger…the incomparable, Alison Kent! I know that many of you started visiting our site because of links from hers and for a great part, Alison is responsible for Plotmonkeys being on the web. She was instrumental and invaluable in helping us design and maintain this site to this day and we all just love her more than words can say.
On a personal level, I remember very well the first time I met Alison. It was at the RWA convention in Orlando, my first year as a published author. I was pregnant, but floating around the literacy signing, meeting every Temptation author I could. I’d remembered Alison from her appearance on 48 Hours and had not only read her first book, CALL ME, but devoured it. This was the kind of romance I wanted to write! Ultra-sexy, a bit edgy and irreverent…I was so happy when I finally met her and she was so generous and giving with her time and advice. She hasn’t changed!
So without further ado…Alison Kent!
I date my writing career as beginning in 1990. That was the year I discovered and joined Romance Writers of America. I’d toyed with one story the year before, and that story was my first to complete, my first to submit, and earned my first rejection.
Joining RWA, I was able to learn how much I didn’t know about the craft of putting a story together. In fact, I tell everyone who asks me how to learn to write to join RWA - even if you’re going to write in a different genre. The organization’s writing workshops, found from small local conferences to the biggie each summer, are invaluable.
Since I started writing seriously, I’ve written upward of thirty novels and novellas. Once my editors had worked with me long enough to trust I knew what I was doing, I was able to sell on synopses. This was an exciting crossroads because it meant I didn’t have to write a full book and wonder if it was going to sell.
It was also a scary crossroads because writing a synopsis for an unwritten novel can be truly difficult when you have trouble with plot. Like I do. Or like I did. My synopses, in fact, for a very long time were nothing more than studies in character growth with vague plot points thrown in. (I joked with my husband that my books were all plotless wonders.)
Obviously, I had a subliminal grasp of plotting or I wouldn’t ever have been able to make it to the end of a book. But because I needed to be able to write a synopsis before the book was written, I had to master plotting - to learn what makes up a plot and how to weave those elements into a cohesive story.
Don’t get me wrong. I still believe that the basis of a strong story is its characters, but those characters need something to do in order for the story to be worth reading. And, yes, I can hear all of you saying you’ll never learn to write a synopsis for a book you haven’t written. We’ve all been there. We’ve all said that. And if you want to sell on synopsis, you will learn. We all do.
That doesn’t mean all synopses are brilliant pieces of storytelling work. Mine most definitely are not. They’re usually bland and flat and I nod off myself while reading them. But in addition to the romance, they include the elements that drive all of the novel’s mini-stories forward.
But you don’t have mini-stories, you say? You may not think you do, but read on, and I’ll prove it!
What I want to offer you here are a couple of tips I’ve found to be almost magical in weaving a romance plot into the central plot while wrapping subplots in and around. (Yeah, all those mini-stories!) And these tips involve office supplies - a writer’s best friend!
It helps me to have a visual layout of the various plotlines I’m working to braid together, rather than trying to keep them straight either in my head or in a narrative synopsis. These tricks are ones I’ve picked up in workshops I’ve attended over the years. By no means are they original.
So, first of all you need BIG paper, either posterboard or newsprint sheets.
Next you need markers, colored, one for each plot line. And finally white index cards.
(You may have seen a variety of author plotting boards online (this is my favorite) that use colored post-it notes. When I’m laying out my final plotting board
for writing, that’s what I do. But what I’m talking about now is the pre-work that lets me write the synopsis so that I can get to that final plotting board.)
Now to begin.
Say, for example, you are writing a story where a stranger rides into town and hires on to help a widow 
save her farm by bringing in a bountiful crop in order to pay off the mortgage loan her husband took out from the local banker to cover gambling debts. (External plot)
The stranger (hero) has come to town in search of the outlaws who killed his brother. (Hero’s plot)
The widow (heroine) cannot lose the land because both her mother and father as well as her two stillborn children are buried in the private cemetery on the hill. If she can’t come up with the money, her only choice will be to marry the banker’s evil son. (Heroine’s plot)
The banker and his son want the land because of hidden gold buried by war criminals (the same ones who killed the hero’s brother) beneath her barn, but the widow is in their way. (Antagonist’s plot)
Obviously, the hero and heroine will fall in love and their love will conquer all. (Romance plot)
On the paper, you are going to draw a different colored line for each of your interwoven plots. Straight lines, east to west.
Red will be your main plot - this is the struggle of the hero & heroine to save the farm. Along this line you will mark the events that effect this plot line only. Drought, fire, etc.
Blue will be your hero’s plot - the search for his brother’s killer. Along this line you will mark his progress and his pitfalls.
Pink will be your heroine’s plot - her struggle to pay off the debt and fend off the banker’s evil son. Along this line you will mark the heroine’s personal struggles - dealing with her husband’s betrayal, the unwanted suitor, etc.
The events you mark on the blue and pink lines will often be internal events, emotional decisions and dealings that propel your characters toward their personal goals.
The fourth line, purple, is the romance plot. Along this line you will mark the progression of the romance. The awareness, the first kiss, the events that bring your hero and heroine closer to love.
The fifth line, black, is the antagonist’s line where you will show the plotting and scheming of the banker and his evil son.
Now, the events you’ve marked along each line will be the natural progression of that story arc from beginning through various scenes and acts to the climax.
By marking these events along each line, you can see the relationship between your various stories, how an event in the antagonist plot will effect the main plot.
This way you have a perfect chart of cause and effect from beginning to end.
(Here is a very rough version of what I’m talking about. [Link to image]
It’s one I scratched on a legal pad while taking notes during a workshop giving by Jo Leigh over ten years ago - and I still have it! I credit Jo for teaching me how to plot!)
The second step is to take your index cards and, using corresponding color coding, list each of the story 
events from each plot line. (This is extra cool if you use colored index cards, but the colored ink works fine!) Then lay out your cards in progressive story order and get ready to assemble them.
As you begin, one look will tell you if one particular plot line is overwhelming the rest, or if you’ve failed to resolve one plot point that impacts another.
If you’re writing a romance, then you should have a lot of purple cards.
If you’re writing more action suspense, then your main plot line needs sufficient attention.
Having your cards laid out this way shows you exactly where you need to add, adjust, or rearrange the emphasis of story events for proper impact.
Ordering your events also points out pitfalls in pacing.
You can visually eyeball where you’ve overlooked the hero’s personal quest while spending too much time focused on the heroine’s need to save the plot of land where her family is buried.
This is so important when you’re dealing with subplots that are dependent upon one another for their cause and effect.
It’s hard to miss plot points or inadvertently drop clues in the wrong order when you have each scene outlined so simply.
If you’ve studied Robert McKee’s book STORY or done research into the basic three-act structure, you can even better use the plot line method of cutting your individual plots into their proper story arcs along their line.
And I have no clever ending but to say, “Go forth and braid.”
What a great post! Especially for people like me who usually have a lot going on in their stories! Thanks for sharing such great tips!
Comment by Margay — February 9, 2008 @ 6:57 am
WELCOME ALISON - aka one of my fav people - I have to say I tried this method just like she tried to teach me. I couldn’t do it. But I am fascinated by it and the people who can make storyboarding and these line plots work. I’m just not one of them!
Comment by Carly — February 9, 2008 @ 8:39 am
What a great concept. Will Self’s writing room gave me a headache
and for some reason I couldn’t pull up the example of the one’s you did, but I got the general idea. I’m just getting ready to start on a new story so I’ll try this and see how it goes.
I am such a pantster and I almost panic when I think about sitting down and plotting, but I really want to learn because I sure don’t enjoy the painful rewrites either (going back and strengthening the conflict or filling in gaps).
Oh, and I love the pictures of the braids!
My hair is not quite to my waist but it’s getting close and so I keep it pulled up most of the time to keep it out of my way. I usually go with the plain ‘ole ponytail or french braid but some of those were really cool. Wonder if they can be done by “self”?
Thanks for being here and sharing such great information!!
Comment by Jodie — February 9, 2008 @ 9:16 am
Alison this couldn’t have come at a better time for me! I am doing something so new and different now, I’ve decided to do some serious plot braiding. I so appreciate the step-by-step instructions!
Thanks for being here…you are one of our favorite honorary monkeys!
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Comment by Leslie — February 9, 2008 @ 9:47 am
Hey Alison
this is a great post and thanks so much for links. I’m a need to see it kinda girl and this helps bunches.
Comment by vicki — February 9, 2008 @ 10:53 am
Hi Ms. Kent,
Thank you so much for being here and for your tips on plotting. I am definitely going to give it a try. I don’t think of myself as a good plotter. I think I’m terrible so hopefully it will help.
The pic of Will Self’s plotting board was UNBELIEVABLE! All I can say is wow. The man definitely knows where his stories are going.
The links you put up for some reason my computer won’t show them to me. Bummer. :wallbash:
I am trying to sell to BLAZE at the moment and have just sent in another set of revisions to Brenda. Hopefully the 3rd time will be the charm. :pray:
If not, that’s okay. Onward and upward. Then the 4th, 5th, or 6th if she sticks with me and this story. But if she wants to move on that’s okay too. I can use your plotting tips for the next book.
Like Carly told me recently, “You have no idea what it takes to be published.” But I’m learning and that’s what’s important. It just takes me and my pea brain longer to “get it” than others.
Thanks again for being here. I always love hearing advice from authors who write for Brenda. It puts me that much closer.
Have a wonderful day all. And good morning all you lovable plotmonkeys!
Happy Hopping jungle bunnies,
Cher
Comment by Cher — February 9, 2008 @ 11:06 am
Thanks for swinging with us in the jungle today, Alison! And for anyone out there who hasn’t read an Alison Kent book, RUN to your nearest bookstore and buy one. She’s an amazing writer who most definitely can PLOT!
Comment by Janelle — February 9, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
What an interesting post!
Comment by Minna — February 9, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
Thanks, Alison. Great blog post. I’m really bummed the rough version example link won’t work on my computer — even tried it on DH’s computer which has just about everything on it (he’s an IT guy) — but alas it wouldn’t work.
If anyone has any advice on making it work, please post. Thanks again!!
Comment by Kelly R. — February 9, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
Wow, Ms. Kent, you’ve really written a TON of books. You definitely know what you’re doing. I’m putting your plotting tips to work immediately and I’m ordering your books today. :-)
I love it when I find an author I haven’t read before.
Cher
Comment by Cher — February 9, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
Great post, Alison. The link to your “rough version” doesn’t work, but I think i know what you need. I think I do this in a more erratic way. lol. Inserting subplot segues and scribbling in the margins.
Comment by vanessa jaye — February 9, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
Wow! Thanks Allison for this fantastic step-by-step process!
I’m shucking my panster approach - well maybe one leg - and am going to try this method when I start my next story.
I was wondering, when you’re starting a new book, what comes first for you, the character(s) or plot?
Comment by Robin — February 9, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
Hi Alison, welcome to the jungle. Thanks for visiting today. I have no desire to become a writer but it is still interesting to learn how you all go about the process. I’m an avid reader & have read quite a few of your books. I like your SG-5 series. Last night I just finished reading the Blaze anthology Tex Appeal, a fun book to read. Each couple’s story was entertaining. Thanks for your story about the doctor & the sexy rancher.
Everyone have a great day. Enjoy!
Comment by Donna M — February 9, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
Cher - I’m keeping everything crossed for you on those revisions. I can’t wait for you to post here and let us know when the revisions are done and you’re going to have your name on the cover of a Blaze!!!!
Comment by Jodie — February 9, 2008 @ 3:26 pm
Jodie, thank you. You’re a sweetheart. I can’t wait for that day myself. :-))
Have a good one,
Cher
Comment by Cher — February 9, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
Struggling with plotting so this was very helpfu. The link to the example doesn’t work though, and I couldn’t find it over on Alison’s site.
Comment by PatriciaW — February 9, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
Thank you, Allison, for posting this great information. (And thanks to Jodie for sending me over here
) I’m a pantser but am trying to write a suspense for the first time, and I think having a handle on the plot will be a big help 
I couldn’t link to all your examples 
but your step-by-step instructions should do the trick. 
Comment by Luanna — February 9, 2008 @ 3:48 pm
Thanks for the excellent post with all your great experience out there for us to share. When I that
you were today’s guest, I halfway hoped for another Alison/Alison interview! I really enjoyed that!!
Pat Cochran
Comment by Patricia Cochran — February 9, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
OOPS! I left out the word “saw”!!!!!
Pat Cochran
Comment by Patricia Cochran — February 9, 2008 @ 6:29 pm
I’m just now getting online after the day’s writing. I can’t figure out why the link to the rough version image isn’t working; I can see it when I click on it, but I’m guessing it’s a hot-linking thing somehow at my server.
I’ll put it up somewhere else for you guys to see. Or, I think the husband is fixing it . . . Anyhow, I’ll fix it and post here when it’s available somewhere, LOL! Now let me go back and read the comments!
Comment by Alison — February 9, 2008 @ 8:28 pm
Okay, the images are working again, sorry about that!
Margay - I think when you have a lot of subplots to thread through and wrap up and want to make sure you don’t drop any of them, this is one of the best ways to do that!
Carly - It’s okay! What you do obviously works just fine!
Jodie - When I had waist length hair, I did 3 strand and 5 strand braids myself. Not easy, but doable! And about the plot braiding, doing this DOES keep me from having to do a lot of rewrites. Usually when I’m done with a book, I’m done except for the final polish!
Leslie - I LURVE being a Monkey.
And really, for suspense? This is the only way I can work. There is so much to keep going and my head is only so big! I have to have them where I can see them - like Vicki said!
More in a bit. (And I’m going to install a subscribe to comments feature for you guys!)
Comment by Alison — February 9, 2008 @ 8:57 pm
lvoe the styles good to see u here alison love your books
Comment by kim h — February 9, 2008 @ 10:16 pm
I think the most important aspect of this lesson is your identifying the different threads. I GET how to line ‘em up and weave ‘em, but I never understood what makes a subplot, how you untangle what belongs in what thread. This makes sense to me somehow and it just clicked for me, and I thought of my current WiP and went, well gosh, I’ve got it right for a change! Thanks, Alison, this is invaluable.
Comment by Jess — February 9, 2008 @ 10:40 pm
Good luck, Cher, with your Blaze submission! And thank you, Janelle!
Sorry, Jaq and Luanna and Patricia and all, that the pics didn’t come through. It was a hotlinking thing, and the husband fixed it, but after the fact . . .
Robin - Usually I start with a situation for one character. A what if for that particular person. The story I’m writing right now started with me knowing who my hero was and that he would be taking a road trip, and then I had to match him up with a heroine with whom he’d be in conflict. I came up with a stowaway story that I’d thought would be a straight romance, and totally flipped into another suspense!!
Donna - Thank you for reading TEX APPEAL and the SG-5 stories! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Pat - I’m glad you enjoyed my interview of myself, LOL! That was fun!
Comment by Alison — February 10, 2008 @ 12:15 am
Jess - I’m so glad it worked for you! I’ll clean up this article at some point and make it more specific, and post it at my site!
Comment by Alison — February 10, 2008 @ 12:16 am
This was great! Very clear and helpful. Sometimes plotting seems overwhelming, so I’ll have to keep this in mind next time around, in the hopes that it will make it a little easier.
Comment by Caryn — February 10, 2008 @ 4:22 pm
Caryn, it is overwhelming! I am currently totally overwhelmed! But when I lose myself, I always go back to those basics of every character having a storyline and I manage to get myself out of trouble!
Comment by Alison — February 11, 2008 @ 11:34 am