Plot Monkeys

It’s been a great three weeks discussing my plotting style. Quick review: Plotting vs. Pantster = stupid argument. IMO, you do not have to pick one over the other, one is certainly not better than the other and most important, before you pick a style, understand both ways. You never know when the techniques from one style will serve you in completing your book.

Last week, I went through one technique for plotting based on the screenwriting method. I mentioned there are other ways, but this one works best for me.

Here’s the key to that system working for me, who is as much a pantster as I am a plotter…I don’t plot the entire book at one time.

I mentioned last week that the last row of my plotting board–a full quarter of the book–was blank. It was until today (Friday) when St. Leslie Kelly of the Plot took my desperate phone call and helped me see my way to the end. <= That’s Leslie. I’m throwing the roses.

Plotting an entire book requires skills I don’t have anymore. I used to have them, back when I used to have a memory, too. Now I have to work around my deficiencies, which means, not knowing that far in advance what I’m going to write.

Do I know my plot points? Nope. I simply know when I need to introduce them to the story. Do I know my black moment? Not usually. I just know I have to have one. I plot in small increments and the post it notes are so mobile, they allow me to move things around when scenes take longer than anticipated or perhaps scenes are in the wrong place.

Essentially, I don’t plot–I write, and plot as needed. That, IMO, is the definition of a pantster. But sometimes–more often than not lately–I can’t write a word until I have a short term goal–and the short term goal is plot.

I suppose this method means I have to do more rewriting and going back and layering, but I do that anyway, so it’s no big deal. The point of today’s lesson is that no matter what kind of writer you think you are, you can be flexible enough to use many methods to achieve your goal.

Oftentimes, a big question for me is deciding whose point of view a scene needs to be in. The common answer is “the person with the most at stake.” But that’s not always true. Sometimes, the decision has to be more organic to the story as a whole. That’s another place where the post its come in handy. With one visual, I can see whose point of view I’ve used for every chapter in the book. I can keep track of my secondary storyline and make sure I haven’t spent so much time with them that they steal the book from my main characters. I can see where my big turning points are so that I have no sagging middle.

There are definite advantages to this method that I think some of you should try–and best case scenario–adapt to your own style and use.

The last thing I want to say to all of you who have been so patient with this workshop is to reiterate that you shouldn’t pigeon-hole yourself or label yourself. Learn everything. Keep an open mind. Know that the method you used for one book may not work for another and that your “way” of doing things could change. If your method works and you’re producing books in the time frame you want, then there’s no NEED to change…though you might want to try something new just to see. But if you are not reaching your goals, it may be time to shake things up and try something new.

That’s all I have time for today, I’m afraid. Now that I have a plot, I have seven days to write 75 pages. Hopefully, the end result will be something my readers love!