Plot Outlining
October 30th 2009 11:57
This is the last full exercise. Tomorrow will be an optional prompt/exercise. Today you're going to put together a plot outline.
Plot Outline Part Two
Spend a few minutes picking out up to five ideas you like the most. Put stars beside them on the blank piece of paper. At the top write 'Outline' and underline it.
Look at what you've already decided. You want a concrete beginning, a fairly concrete ending, but a fluid middle. Decide when and how you want to begin your novel. Do you want to begin with a scene from your main character's childhood, or do you want to begin when your main character gets thrown into the adventure? Write a paragraph on the lined piece of paper describing how you want to begin your novel.
A paragraph, in this exercise, doesn't have to be long if you don't want to go into too much detail. It only needs two or three sentences. You just need to communicate a basic when, where, and who. How and why you can decide as you write, but you need an idea of your timeline, your setting, and your characters.
In what you think should be chronological order, (do this on a separate sheet if you want) list the plot twists, ideas, and introductions of characters that you really like. Play around with this order a little bit. Think about how meeting a new character at a different point in the story might change your characters and thus the story itself.
Write one event on the lined piece of paper, underline it, and write two to four sentences describing the when, where, and who of the situations. Maybe throw in a sentence about why or how, but again, that can be changed and decided later.
Repeat the last step with each of your events.
Now write up to three paragraphs about how you think the main character is likely to change throughout the story. Think about how your character reacts to challenges, think about how much they are willing to learn and to grow, and how much of the growth will be reluctant. Think about how people can change one another. And think about how the change in the character might change the end of your story.
Ask yourself how much you're willing to change what you had originally thought up for your ending. And then ask yourself if the ideas that you've come up with are worth the sacrifice; if not, pick other ideas you've had that you think might work better to replace these. But don't be afraid to change your ending. Unless you began this adventure with an end in mind-unless that is the first part of the story that came to you-it can always change.
Write two to four sentences about the ending of your novel. Discuss where, when, who, and briefly mention how and why. Remember that this can change, because your characters can go wild and drastically change your story, but having an end in mind makes you more ready to just work towards that goal.
If you think of any more possible plot points during this exercise, jot them down; you might need more than what you have come November. In fact, you probably will.
Prompt
Today I want you to write about your world for 1, 000 words. Write about the history of the different countries and how, over the years, they have gotten along or not gotten along.
Post a paragraph here. I'm always interested in reading your responses.
Plot Outline Part Two
Spend a few minutes picking out up to five ideas you like the most. Put stars beside them on the blank piece of paper. At the top write 'Outline' and underline it.
Look at what you've already decided. You want a concrete beginning, a fairly concrete ending, but a fluid middle. Decide when and how you want to begin your novel. Do you want to begin with a scene from your main character's childhood, or do you want to begin when your main character gets thrown into the adventure? Write a paragraph on the lined piece of paper describing how you want to begin your novel.
A paragraph, in this exercise, doesn't have to be long if you don't want to go into too much detail. It only needs two or three sentences. You just need to communicate a basic when, where, and who. How and why you can decide as you write, but you need an idea of your timeline, your setting, and your characters.
In what you think should be chronological order, (do this on a separate sheet if you want) list the plot twists, ideas, and introductions of characters that you really like. Play around with this order a little bit. Think about how meeting a new character at a different point in the story might change your characters and thus the story itself.
Write one event on the lined piece of paper, underline it, and write two to four sentences describing the when, where, and who of the situations. Maybe throw in a sentence about why or how, but again, that can be changed and decided later.
Repeat the last step with each of your events.
Now write up to three paragraphs about how you think the main character is likely to change throughout the story. Think about how your character reacts to challenges, think about how much they are willing to learn and to grow, and how much of the growth will be reluctant. Think about how people can change one another. And think about how the change in the character might change the end of your story.
Ask yourself how much you're willing to change what you had originally thought up for your ending. And then ask yourself if the ideas that you've come up with are worth the sacrifice; if not, pick other ideas you've had that you think might work better to replace these. But don't be afraid to change your ending. Unless you began this adventure with an end in mind-unless that is the first part of the story that came to you-it can always change.
Write two to four sentences about the ending of your novel. Discuss where, when, who, and briefly mention how and why. Remember that this can change, because your characters can go wild and drastically change your story, but having an end in mind makes you more ready to just work towards that goal.
If you think of any more possible plot points during this exercise, jot them down; you might need more than what you have come November. In fact, you probably will.
Prompt
Today I want you to write about your world for 1, 000 words. Write about the history of the different countries and how, over the years, they have gotten along or not gotten along.
Post a paragraph here. I'm always interested in reading your responses.
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Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
plots for all of my books have been reworked dozens of times, and after it all, Im still shaky on the beginning of book one!
Did some work on my blog today on my worlds time and seasons.
History for each continent is by far, the most important thing I need to do.
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Yeah. The most important worldbuilding factor for Tamraq, my Jihad world, is the history of the religion and the Gods.
I'm glad to see that you're making progress
~Dianna