I have purchased and read your book “Blockbuster plots pure and simple” and I still don’t understand. I’m starting with a basic logline for a plot and don’t know how you come up with scenes if you don’t even know what the story is about. It would seem to me that in order to create scenes or follow the plot planner portion of the book you need to know more about how the story is going to unfold than you know when you just get the idea. It feels like there is a step missing between the initial idea and being able to come up with scenes.
What am I missing?? Please help!
Thanks,
Muriel
Dear Muriel,
Often, with a firm understanding of the Universal Story form and the natural trajectory of a story, writers can better come up with scenes needed to create a story.
If character most intriques you, start with the character emotional development profile (info can be found in BBP, on the website, and in entries below).
If dramatic action ideas bubble forth, start with the action.
Study the three biggest scenes in a story: The End of the Beginning, The Crisis, and the Climax (in the second half of BBP — Plot Planner portion of the book — also, the blog has info on these three critical scenes below).
See if you can visualize any of those scenes in your story.
How do you get your character from the beginning to the End of the Beginning?
What events are you interested in exploring, writing?
Do you plan to use any true historical events?
How can those events work into creating one of the three major plot lines (examples are in the book and below)
or….
Start with whatever you’ve got. Write that in scene. Then ask yourself: because that happens, what happens next…. Write that scene. Then ask yourself again — if that happens, what happens next?
Hope this helps.
I’ll put the word out for other writers to give their ideas as well.
Great good luck.
Sincerely,
Martha
Gotta just start.
Somewhere.
Anywhere.
Look at the scene tracker headers for inspiration.
The middle is the hardest. Always. Try and think about where your hero has to end up–not necessarily in the actual story, but where HE think he has to go. And then think about goals and obstacles. If he sets a goal for a scene, and he fails (which he has to for most of them), what is he going to try next. What is the new goal/plan.
For example, say your detective is trying to solve a crime. His first plan is to interview a witness. When he gets to the witness’ house, he finds her dead–no interview. What might he do next? He might search her house, see if there is a clue about why she was killed. He might go back outside and talk to the neighbors and see if they saw anyone going into her house. Or he might hide in the closet and eavesdrop when the police show up.
Again, what is your hero’s plan in any given scene. When that plan is finished, whether successfully or not, what’s his new plan?
Try going from there! And good luck!
Every comment I’ve read here is correct because there just isn’t any one way to get from point A to point B. This is all more art than science. Tools can help you focus but they can’t take remove the step of getting into your story and your characters. Let your creativity and imagination flow.
Personally, I jump ahead to a point/place I know I want to reach. I call it a goal point. Then I get my character into my head (or get into my character’s head) and figure out what must happen to reach my goal point. Sometimes I even work backward from my goal point.
Isn’t what Muriel asked what writing is all about? Wedding imagination to plot and structure understanding?
Kendra says it’s more art than science. Yet, knowing the science of writing (plot and structure) frees up the imagination.
At least it does for me.
Helpful post and comments.
Hey Muriel.
Plot, in my mind, comes down to one thing: what does your protagonist fear most?
You, as the author, have to drive her toward that fear. What actions she takes to escape is what we call plot.
If she fears abandonment most, abandon her. How does she respond? Abandon her again, though in a harsher way. What does she do? Abandon her again and again until she has no more evasive moves and has to face that fear. There’s your climax.
Once you know your character’s greatest fear, I have no doubt you’ll be able to move through Martha A’s plot process successfully.
Good luck!
Congratualations Muriel! You are right where you need to be, at the beginning. You have a story to tell, a seed kernel of an idea, a trip to take, and, well, how to get started and where to head is a natural starting place! What is that story about? Just settle in and do a little fleshing out to get a sense of what is calling to you in the first place.
Martha has wonderful questions about what the hero or heroine wants, why, and what stands in the way. Good place to dig, and find out whatstory you want to tell, why, and what stands in the way. We are never far from our characters’ dillemas!
Have some fun with this, and you’ll be on roll with the book’s guidance once the jouney is underway.
WW
Martha (Engbar!),
I really like that. I usually look at it as what does she NEED most, but that’s all pretty much based in fear. I have a tendency when I’m writing to shy away from the complications, the “bad stuff,” and I have to push myself to keep throwing it at my hero. It’s the only way they’ll be able to change, grow, etc!
Becky
OOh, glad I found this blog. 😀
I let my characters tell me the story line by what they whisper in my ear. I know the story premise and the ending and let the characters fill the rest in.
Hugs, JJ
Great hearing from each of you!!
Thanks for leaving your comments.
Such fun to hear about everyone’s process.
Sincerely,
Martha Alderson