Thank you, again (and AGAIN!) for joining me for Forest Friday. What a great way to start the weekend. 🙂
I wanted to give you some visuals on what we talked about.
PLOT SNAKE
First, this is what a plot snake might look like: Red is in her room AND THEN her mom comes & tells her Granny’s sick AND THEN Mom asks Red to take some food to Granny…I keep “and then’ing” myself until the only “and then” left is “AND THEN it ends.”
Things I like about this method:
- It gives me a chance to see where possible plot holes are.
- It gives me a chance to see the plot in one go
- It gives me a chance to plot (because plot = ACTION. What are the characters doing? Am I changing up their locations? Giving them new obstacles?)
- It gives me a chance to see how long the story is (I try for 30-45 points for a full length).
MC + G + O = C
I like this formula because I can see my MC’s goals and from there, I can figure out the trouble to throw in their direction. I also like it because I can tweak their flaws (what are their personality hiccups that will stop them from taking the chance or asking for help).
ANOTHER OPTION
This one I really like as well because it reminds me that my character has a fear they must acknowledge. In reminding myself of this, I can tweak their goals/obstacles, and the situations (i.e. plot) I create.
OTHER FOLLOW-UP – PUBLISHING
To my peeps who were asking about publishing, make sure (!!) you do your research. Just because someone says they’re an agent or publisher doesn’t mean they are, nor does it mean they’ll be good to work with. The industry can attract toxic people who will want to take advantage of a person’s dreams and goals, so make sure you DO YOUR RESEARCH & HOMEWORK. Join writer’s groups, check writer’s forums, and add websites like Writer Beware and Query Tracker to your roster (they’re a great resource for finding agents/publishers & seeing what other artists’ experiences have been like).
Thanks for the fun morning, friends. Have a great spring break for those of you heading out, and a great weekend to the rest!
PS
The app I use for white-noise is called Rain Rain Sleep Sounds (it has a blue water drop as its logo.)
