There is an old Hollywood trick that makes first-stage plotting a snap and leaves plenty of room for later development, character intrusion, and twists. It's so simple, it's almost absurd, but you won't think so after you've tried it a couple of times. Best of all, it's a fantastic device for brainstorming. It all comes down to this: Simply decide where the story begins and ends, and let imagination and logic fill in the gaps.
Here it is -- the whole thing:
Number a piece of paper from one to fifteen. Write a one-line blurb of where the story begins next to number one. Then jump down to the bottom and write the ending next to number fifteen. Now go back to the top and write a blurb for what happens after the opening next to number two. Scoot down to number fourteen to write what happened just before the story ends. Continue bouncing up and down from the top of the page to the bottom and in a matter of minutes—voila! Modify this basic outline of the entire novel with additional sequences, subplots, and character PMA+A to bring the story to life.
Yup, that's it. It's called Meet-in-the-Middle, and it's been used by scriptwriters for decades. It only creates a bare-bones structure, of course, but often it’s those missing middle points that cause Writer’s Block. The fifteen scenes created with Meet-in-the-Middle are the highlights, or major and secondary plot points of the story.
So let's do one to see how it works. The example below is a quick boy-girl story mapped out in eight easy steps by my friend and I over breakfast one morning. We just wanted to play with the technique. It took us about 12-13 minutes to put this together between mastication and coffee slurps. Note: for the record, my friend is ex-military/merc/cop. He writes "attack" poetry.
STEP 1
The story begins when boy meets girl. The boy is Bill; the girl is Sandy.
The story ends with Bill killing a murderer. Why? See note above.
1. Bill and Sandy meet.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15. Bill kills the murderer.
STEP 2
Back to the top. Bill and Sandy's true-love-sailing-smoothly needs some kind of interference or there is no story. What better interference than an ex-lover showing up? Whether it is Bill’s ex-wife or an ex-girlfriend does not matter right now.
1. Bill and Sandy meet.
2. Bill's ex shows up.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. Bill finds Sandy being held/tortured by murderer.
15. Bill kills the murderer.
Back down here. There’s really no point in Bill killing a murderer unless that murderer is somehow impacting him personally. What would cause a nice, even-tempered guy like Bill to go after a murderer? Maybe he thinks the lout has hurt his girlfriend. Guess he has to find her there to know that…
STEP 3
Up here again. They’ve met; Bill’s ex has shown up. The only logical next step is for Bill and Sandy to get into a fight over the ex, eh? Welcome to Boy loses Girl.
1. Bill and Sandy meet.
2. Bill's ex shows up.
3. Sandy and Bill fight and break up.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. The murderer tortures Sandy.
14. Bill finds Sandy being held/tortured by murderer.
15. Bill kills the murderer.
If Bill’s going to fin
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Welcome to my blog! I'm a children's book author and reviewer. Browse around for the latest news about my books, as well as author and illustrator interviews, book reviews, and articles on book promotion and the writing life.
By: Mayra Calvani,
on 10/18/2010
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Welcome to my blog! I'm a children's book author and reviewer. Browse around for the latest news about my books, as well as author and illustrator interviews, book reviews, and articles on book promotion and the writing life.
By: Mayra Calvani,
on 10/18/2010
Blog: Mayra's Secret Bookcase (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
20 Comments on "Plot Your Novel in 15 Minutes or Less!" by Claudia Suzanne, last added: 10/22/2010
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Hi, Mayra,
Outlining a book is important. Otherwise, your characters may simply hijack your book and it
becomes something you never intended. Of course, that can be good or bad. But it really is best to work from an outline. I do it myself.
Jacqueline Seewald
STACY'S SONG, coming of age YA novel soon to be published by
L&L Dreamspell
Hi, Mayra,
Outlining a book is important. Otherwise, your characters may simply hijack your book and it
becomes something you never intended. Of course, that can be good or bad. But it really is best to work from an outline. I do it myself.
Jacqueline Seewald
STACY'S SONG, coming of age YA novel soon to be published by
L&L Dreamspell
Ha! I'm not an outliner, but I did participate in Claudia's workshop at the Muse Online Writers Conference and tried this -- and it's just about the right level of detail for a non-outliner like me.
I tried it on a story I've been thinking about, a sci fi thing I may try for NaNoWriMo -- if I do, it will be both my first sci fi and my first adult novel.
We'll see, but the technique rocks.
Hi Mayra,
This simply ingenious, thanks for sharing it. I will havwe to put this into practical use.
Nicole Weaver
htp://www.melangeofcultures.wordpress.com
I'll have to try this technique! Mayra, have you used it? If so, I'm wondering how much character development you've done before you begin. My concern might be that the story might get too predictable unless your characters create a real twist.
Thank you all for your comments!
I just started using this to do a first rough plan of the plot for a proposal I'm preparing.
I have a basic idea of the characters and story but nothing detailed yet.
I think that this outline can help in helping you with the structure and rising action. It certainly leaves a lot of space for changes.
What a fascinating idea! I'll degfinitely try it. Love how it's called "the spinal column" of your novel.
~Debbie
What a good organized plan to keep your storyline on track. Thanks for sharing. I will link to this from my blog today.
Have a great day.
Wow! You make it seem really easy by plotting things out like that. I am eager to try it and hopeful that it will work. Thanks for sharing.
What a clever idea! And it's halfway between elaborate, detailed plotting, which makes me bored with a book before I write it, and no plotting at all, which results in a mess. I'll probably use this idea with fewer plot points for children's books.
This was a great workshop. I already outlined but this helps even more.
This is great, Mayra! Thanks so much for sharing!
wow - you make it sound so easy. great tips.
I love this - simple and brilliant!
parenting ad absurdum (MBC)
Your outline sounds great for a novel, but what about a picture book? Would you use this as a template for the text to see if it would work for the illustrations?
I am trying to put together a Christmas story book. I have the beginning with the problem to be solved and the final solution ending. I will have to try this idea out for myself.
I am currently reading, Yes! You can Learn How to Write Children's Books, Get Them Published and Build a Successful Writing Career by Nancy Sanders. I am blogging my reaction and results. If you would like to hear about the results in action, here is where you can read more... http://TheWriteChris.blogspot.com
What I love about this is the way that the middle becomes inevitable. It's easy to imagine that if I know how a story ends, I can get it there, even then get lost in the mire halfway along the way.
Thanks for this technique, Mayra. I want to try it to see if it makes the scenes in my story more logical (I can't imagine it won't). :)
I'm struggling with the outline for my current (and first) novel, but you make it look EASY! I'm going to try it. Thanks!
Your blog is great, too, by the way.
I teach writing and tell my students that I have never been able to understand outlining in order to use it. I just write, but this looks like fun, and may help me. Thanks for sharing
Very interesting device. I think I'll give it a go. Thanks for sharing!
I have a book idea, but I know where to begin laying it all out. Thanks for sharing this method! Now to figure out how I'd like it to end... ;)