Link plot elements from the
Beginning to the scenes at
End. Link the plot elements in the
End to the scenes in the
Beginning.
Refer to the Character Profile:
How does the protagonist show her
flawed self in the Beginning or, in other words, how does the protagonist's flaw appear in the beginning?
How does that differentiate from how she acts at the End?
Are there elements in one of the scenes in the Beginning that can be refigured or echoed at the Climax?
Are all the plot elements in the End foreshadowed / introduced in the Beginning? How?
(***Click on
Create the Beginning portion of your Plot Planner similar to the End of your Plot Planner you created on Day Eight.
To review, so far, you have an index card or piece of 8 1/2 X 11 piece of paper or whatever works best for you as the Plot Planner for the End of your story AND a smaller version for the Beginning and Middle where you had plotted at least one or possibly two scenes from the Beginning section and at least one or three at the most for the Middle from Day Five.
Today, you are to expand the Beginning portion to its own index card. Simply draw a line that travels from the left to the right with a gradual ascent that ends at the End of the Beginning.
Welcome to Day Twelve of the 4th Annual International Plot Writing Month . As you are finding, this month is completely different in tone and approach to the process you recently used to complete your project's first draft.
Now, rather than give into the mysterious and mystical process of allowing a story to develop, this month is devoted to a more methodical analyzation of the ideas and scenes you have already processed. Whereas the first draft often relies heavily on faith and patience, this month, we ask you to take what you have created and revise it into a form that is satisfying to a reader.
The magic that came in draft one is for you the writer. The deepening that comes in subsequent drafts is for the reader.
Check off what you have accomplished.
Click on green highlighted plot concepts for further explanations via video:
1) Managing NOT to read your manuscript
3) Print a hard copy of your manuscript and insert in a binder (managing NOT to read your manuscript) -- Day Two
4) Made a list of scenes you remember in your story -- either as
plot points or just a list of the events themselves --
Day Three
5) List themes touched on in your story -- Day Four
THE END: PART TWO
People who know me are not surprised I start at the
End. I've always done things a bit backwards. I have three reasons for beginning this way:
1)
The
End never gets the attention the
Beginning does. Often by the End, writers are exhausted. The raw emotion having survived the
Crisis leaves you drained. Like the protagonist, you are tough enough to go all the way into hell and face your biggest fear or worst ordeal (the Crisis in the Middle). After that, to write about the journey back to share the gift -- not running home crying, -- returning a victor and faces the ultimate
antagonist at the
Climax, which often turns out to be herself, feels like it's all too much.
Drained from writing an entire draft and having lost energy for the story, the End is vague and underdeveloped.
(Please note: I'm using two different words to mark two different moments of highest intensity respectively:
Crisis , which occurs in the
Middle at about the 3/4 mark in the story
AND
Climax, which occurs in the End (1/4) one scene or chapter before the last page of the entire story)
2)
The
Climax is the crowning glory of the entire story and, thus, deserves focused attention.
In real life, a person who suffers a
Crisis has lost everything. After that, you either triumph over your fear and greatest antagonist at the
Each of us dreams of being lifting to great heights. So does your protagonist. We imagine our dreams from the safety of our own habits and routines and within a framework of mutually agreed upon rules and customs. Comforted by the known sameness of our lives, we wait for something outside ourselves to lift us up, always waiting...
Not so for the
protagonist of your story. She has to move from the ordinary world of the
Beginning into the murky
Middle. The very definition of the main character of the story as the one most changed by the
Dramatic Action. From the great height of the Climax of the book or screenplay, she prevails to lead the way for others to follow.
The
Climax is the moment one chapter or scene before the very end of the story when the protagonist does something she could not have done anywhere else in the story because she first had to
rediscover and learn the skills needed to shine.
What we are doing here at the 4th Annual International Plot Writing Month is dry compared to the magical and mystical process of writing a first draft. Processing your story through your intellect and analyzing it wipes away befuddlement and leads to clarity of character goals and motivation which in turn helps to create convincing expression and emotion.
Today is two-pronged:1) Organize
If you haven't already, print out your manuscript. Do NOT read it. Be sure to include a header on every page with your title in caps / name on the upper left and the page # on the upper right.
Don't worry about spell checking or chapter breaks. just make sure the pages are numbered.
Insert your project into a binder. [Warning: printing manuscript is a snap compared to hole-punching the pages. However, it's important to have the manuscript bound and in one place.]
Divide the total number of pages in the binder by 4. Stick a post-it note at the
1/4 mark and another one at the
3/4 mark.
Today represents the End of the Beginning of our month-long plot writing endeavor. The past week has been introductory. You're getting to know what is expected of you during PlotWriMo. You've made a few discoveries you hadn't known about your story and experienced a couple of ah, ha moments. Finding the time everyday proves challenging, but you've managed.
The other day I tweeted about how the work you do on your story during PlotWriMo is like cleaning out a cluttered closet. First you have to take everything out (the beginning). This causes quite a mess and before things get better they get way worse as you attempt to assess what to keep and what to toss. You rearrange the shelves and paint. You question your choices. The chaos begins to grate on you. You feel overwhelmed by the task ahead of you. You suffer a crisis and beg to give up (the middle). Out of the ashes of what was, you rise up and methodically restore order (the end).
Today, you decide whether you move forward into the exotic world of the
Middle of
PlotWriMo or you choose to stop this plot re"vision" work you started.
Whether you actually spend time making lists and filling out templates this month or simply reading the posts everyday, your relationship with your story will deepen. Your relationship with yourself will, too.
Today, take a look at the work you've been doing. Take a look at your calendar. As we move deeper into PlotWriMo, we also move deeper into the holiday season. You can rattle off 10,000 excuses why to turn from your story and devote yourself to your seasonal traditions. Challenge your belief system. Allow yourself to step up and honestly say that for no other reason and no one to blame, you're stopping.
Not you, you say? You game to keep at it? I promise you you won't regret your decision...
Take your time to decide. The
Middle is not for the faint-hearted. Hope to see you back tomorrow and the real work begins.
(***Click on
green highlighted plot concepts for further explanations via video. Each time a concept
The Middle poses lots of difficulty for writers for a multitude of reasons, many of which I discuss in The Plot Whisperer book.
One difficulty crops up when, having committed to writing all the way through to the end without going back to the beginning, you stumble across a terrific subplot when writing a first draft. Hopefully you resisted the pull to go back and foreshadow the subplot or introduce the unexpected element. Why? Because, if you do give in and go back, chances are good you'll overdevelop the subplot in the Beginning.
That problem then multiples when you get all attached to what you have created and suddenly are struck with the idea that perhaps you've been writing about the wrong character all along, that the subplot star is, in fact, the
protagonist. Before long you're off and writing an entirely new story or become entangled in the first version.
Now that you have successfully written all the way to the end at least one time it is the time to assess the strength of the each subplot, mull over the thematic tie-ins to the primary plot, and make determinations how best to foreshadow important elements without giving the subplot more attention that it deserves and detracting rather than enhance the primary plot.
(***Click on
green highlighted plot concepts for further explanations via video. Each time a concept is referenced you are directed to new informatio
The time you spend reading the posts during 4th Annual International Plot Writing Month and exploring the exercises is intended to provide a new way of viewing your story, deepen your passion, fuel your energy for your writing and help you come to a new understanding of the deeper meaning of your story.
Nice aricle! I like it.
I'm happy with my climax and beginning hook. My protag has her inner conflict and her two opposing goals and desires. But I just feel the middle is not dramatic enough. Trying to concoct the villain's motives that makes sense is so convoluted. And I'm still puzzling over the subplot involving her sister.(Who's there to give her someone to care about other than herself). Trying to tie the sister with the crooks somehow.
I suppose I won't figure out the new middle until I rewrite. Somehow I'm like that. The old middle was too "easy". Rushing through November to get to the end. Now I've got to plod along, cause, effect, cause, effect, throwing complications along the way.
Thanks for helping me figure that nailing the beginning and the end is most important.
Thank you for sharing this article. I love it. Keep on writing this type of great stuff.