Turning points keep your story moving in surprising and organic directions to more fully engage the reader and audience and satisfy universal expectations.
I spoke about Turning Points in Step 11 of the wacky
Plot Series posted on YouTube.
I move with less resistance and greater joy if I follow the energy. The energy has taken me to presenting the information caught on the video camera rather than post the words here.
So, rather than read plot tips, stop by and watch them.
The steps are presented in an organized format from Step One to Step Thirty-Two. We film Step 12 tomorrow.
Feel free to randomly click on any video. The 5 to 8 minute presentation will leave you energizes and with a new sensibility of your story.
This is all new to me. Hope you'll follow me into the great unknown...
Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay?
As you write forward toward the Climax of your story, a little voice in your head whispers the need to go back and fix what you now know is awful, horrid or simply not working in the beginning. Over and over you silence the voice, stumbling to the End of the Beginning, the Halfway Point, the Crisis, the Climax, the Resolution.
It's difficult to resist the pull to go back and start again.
I'm feeling the pull big time right now. I followed the energy to do this wacky
YouTube Plot Series. If you ask me how it happened, I'd have to say it came exactly like a new story. Inspiration hit. Helpful people lined up. I jumped in with both feet and very little, if any pre-plotting.
I know, I know. Flying by the seat-of-my-pants goes against my grain as a plotter but I knew if I didn't just start, I'd find all sorts of reason to back down and never do it.
Now approaching the
End of the Beginning of the
Plot Series -- everything needed for a plot has been introduced. All the story elements are lining up and in place. A surprising and wonderful subplot appeared out of nowhere and thus, we introduce the
Santa Cruz Traveling Mystery Tour (a night at the Darling House in Santa Cruz is the grand prize). One more step, and we jump in and actually get to the plotting -- as a verb.
Time to get organized. Meeting with my partner in crime, we're plotting out all the locations for the background and Traveling Mystery Tour, dates to shoot, etc. Will be nice to have a plan, a plot planner, a map, a guide to keep us on track while we're busy following the energy.
Still, I so want to go back and re-shoot Step One. Don't get me wrong, the content of the first step is good, great actually. But, I'm hiding in a bush, a dog is whining to be with us, I'm speaking slowly, feels almost like slow motion language... Plus, we hadn't come up with the idea of shooting the videos with local Santa Cruz landmarks in the background. The list goes on.
I like to advise writers to follow the energy. Whatever you have energy for, you'll bring a freshness to it. Thus, if the energy keeps pulling you back, should you go? Hmmm... I still say resist and find a way to create positive energy for the writing even when most difficult.
If you go back now, you may never find your way back.
And so I resist going back. Might as well keep my focus forward and see what comes.
I can always go back and re-shoot later.
Onward and upward -- my wish for you and to find the energy to keep writing forward to the end and my wish for the
Plot Series, too.
Oh, and I nearly forgot to men
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 9/14/2010
Blog:
Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers
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For a story to have meaning, the dramatic action forces the character to grow and change at the least, transform at best.
Each of these threads = dramatic action, character emotional development and thematic significance runs through every great picture book, middle grade fiction, young adult and adult novels whether genre or literary, all memoirs and screenplays.
All other plot lines are determined by age and type of story. However, one other plot line is in most stories, other than picture books and middle grade fiction = romantic plot line.
Turning points keep your story moving in surprising and organic directions to more fully engage the reader and audience and satisfy universal expectations.
Hi Martha,
How would you define what a plot point is and how many should a story have? I have seen so many story models dictating 5, 8, 10, 12, 22...
I'm so confused about how I should structure my story. I know that there should be the inciting incident, the crisis, and the climax, all of which are significant, but I'm so confused about what other plot points/elements should go in a story?
Any help is appreciated.
Thx