Yuffie's Writing How-To's

How to PLOT pt. 2

Some people love to pants (make up as they go along) novels and some people like to plot and outline ahead of time. Creating a loose outline before you dive head-first into your novel might be beneficial for some, but it might limit the creativity of others. Figure out which type of writer you are (pantser or outliner), and don't let anyone tell you that one is better than the other. Both have pros and cons, and some writers work better one way than another. Keep doing whatever works for you!

If you're interested in a different way to plan out your novel ahead of time, or if you're just plotblocked and stuck, feel free to try this method:

Rather than think "this happens, then this happens, and then the character does this, this, and this. But then this happens, so the character does this...", you can think of it in terms of "I want my character to get angry. I'll accomplish that by _____ happening." "I want my character, who believes in ____, to get exposed to the opposite opinion. This can be accomplished by _____ happening." "My character needs to feel conflicted about a certain viewpoint, and I'll add to that conflict by making ___ happen."

When some plot event occurs or your characters do something, think about how it molds them as a person. Rather than have characters that change because of a story, you can have a story that changes because of the characters. (This is basically the definition of a plot-driven vs. character-driven novel, as I see it.)

This model molds the story to your characters, instead of molding the characters to your story. Note that either way is perfectly acceptable! If you have trouble thinking of what should happen next in your story, this thought process (think how you can manipulate the story to change things in your characters) might be one way to drive your plot forward while simultaneously making your characters grow and change and question themselves and the people around them.