Plot: Brainstorming&Outlining
October 29th 2009 11:39
By this point you've already picked out your plot and gathered some ideas. Today you're going to brainstorm a few more ideas, make some decisions and begin working on your outline.
This outline is going to be somewhat more detailed than what I normally use, but don't be afraid to modify it slightly or expand on parts you think are most interesting/important to your story.
Part One-Brainstorm
Earlier, I asked you to write a sentence that gives an idea of your main plotline. Your ideas should all sprout from this sentence. Use an idea web unless you find another method of brainstorming more effective.
Think about possible characters, possible subplots, possible scenes to get the necessary information from you to your readers. My brainstorm for my main novel come November, Phoenix Falling, has things such as 'Triad' written. These simple words give me ideas for more complex scenes, and I know generally what order they need to go in to show to the reader what the Council was like and how it fell apart, and what changed after it fell apart.
Brainstorm for fifteen minutes. Come up with as many interesting characters, plot twists, and subplots as you can. After fifteen minutes, stop, and spend five brainstorming possible endings for this novel. Make them vague. Pick one. Be aware that this might not be the ending, but if you begin with an end in mind it generally makes things smoother. What you come up with now will probably be similar to what you write at the end of your novel.
Part Two-Outline-Blank
You'll need a lined piece of paper and a blank piece of printer for this exercise. Today you will be using the blank piece of paper, tomorrow you will be using the lined piece of paper.
On the piece of printing paper, you're going to make decisions.
Take up to seven of the ideas that you just came up with, ideas that you really like and feel you can expand into large scenes or perhaps series of scenes. We're going to develop each of these a bit so that you can make more informed decisions.
Pick one idea, and write its heading from the idea web on the blank sheet of paper and underline it. Write a bulleted list of possibilities for this idea.
Think about:
~How, and why, this idea might happen with your story
~What this would add to your story (especially if this is a character)
~How this would change your story and characters
~How this could (realistically) change the outcome/ending of the story
~Why you want to write about this idea/character
Repeat this which each chosen idea. You should have 5-7 bulleted points for each idea, enough to have a good idea of what would be involved with writing each one.
Mull the ideas over in your head. Put them aside for a couple of hours, and before you go to bed, pick out up to four that you really like. Put checkmarks beside them. These are the plot points you are going to develop further tomorrow.
Prompt
Today I want you to write 1, 000 words about the mythology of the culture in which your story takes place. Think about common traditions among normal people and common practices among priests and priestesses, common views of various Gods and Goddesses, and the like.
Thanks for reading,
~Dianna
This outline is going to be somewhat more detailed than what I normally use, but don't be afraid to modify it slightly or expand on parts you think are most interesting/important to your story.
Part One-Brainstorm
Earlier, I asked you to write a sentence that gives an idea of your main plotline. Your ideas should all sprout from this sentence. Use an idea web unless you find another method of brainstorming more effective.
Think about possible characters, possible subplots, possible scenes to get the necessary information from you to your readers. My brainstorm for my main novel come November, Phoenix Falling, has things such as 'Triad' written. These simple words give me ideas for more complex scenes, and I know generally what order they need to go in to show to the reader what the Council was like and how it fell apart, and what changed after it fell apart.
Brainstorm for fifteen minutes. Come up with as many interesting characters, plot twists, and subplots as you can. After fifteen minutes, stop, and spend five brainstorming possible endings for this novel. Make them vague. Pick one. Be aware that this might not be the ending, but if you begin with an end in mind it generally makes things smoother. What you come up with now will probably be similar to what you write at the end of your novel.
Part Two-Outline-Blank
You'll need a lined piece of paper and a blank piece of printer for this exercise. Today you will be using the blank piece of paper, tomorrow you will be using the lined piece of paper.
On the piece of printing paper, you're going to make decisions.
Take up to seven of the ideas that you just came up with, ideas that you really like and feel you can expand into large scenes or perhaps series of scenes. We're going to develop each of these a bit so that you can make more informed decisions.
Pick one idea, and write its heading from the idea web on the blank sheet of paper and underline it. Write a bulleted list of possibilities for this idea.
Think about:
~How, and why, this idea might happen with your story
~What this would add to your story (especially if this is a character)
~How this would change your story and characters
~How this could (realistically) change the outcome/ending of the story
~Why you want to write about this idea/character
Repeat this which each chosen idea. You should have 5-7 bulleted points for each idea, enough to have a good idea of what would be involved with writing each one.
Mull the ideas over in your head. Put them aside for a couple of hours, and before you go to bed, pick out up to four that you really like. Put checkmarks beside them. These are the plot points you are going to develop further tomorrow.
Prompt
Today I want you to write 1, 000 words about the mythology of the culture in which your story takes place. Think about common traditions among normal people and common practices among priests and priestesses, common views of various Gods and Goddesses, and the like.
Thanks for reading,
~Dianna
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