mood: unbelieving
pandora/ipod: "these boots are made for walking" by nancy sinatra
I know, right? I'm talking about writing? Is there something wrong in the universe? Are the planets spinning off their orbital planes wrecking havoc throughout the cosmos? Are pigs flying?
Yes. No. Yes.
But it has been awhile since I talked about the actual process of writing as opposed to the copious amounts of social oddities permeating my life. So, inspired by my YARebels vlog this week, I thought I'd talk about PLOTTING.
No, not plotting to rob a bank or take over the world. I mean plotting a novel.
And this is the part where I realize I have very little practical advice to give on the subject. But bear with me: I'll try to loop this back around into a coherent thought at some point.
If you've watched my vlog, you know that I do a lot of mental plotting while stuck in mind-numbingly boring situations. It's a defense mechanism I developed as a child to keep myself from going insane when I'm trapped somewhere dull - a long car ride, the dentist's chair, mass (don't kill me, Mom). I'd daydream, which became story plotting long before I ever thought to put theoretical pen to paper. I've always been very cognizant of character motivations - they're actually what influences most of my plot choices - and it's almost a mental exercise to put characters in a situation and then figure out how they would react to the environment. The plots sort of form from there.
OMG is that the worst explanation of how to plot in the history of the world? I think it might be.
In more concrete terms, I do tend to think in Three Act Structure, with a set piece and mini climax in each act building towards the denouement. Mostly, I keep it all in my head until I have a pretty clear idea of how I want the first act to unfold, then I scribble an incredibly crappy outline and go from there. But yeah, I do tend to keep things in my brain until they're mostly fleshed out. It's almost like I don't want to write anything down until the idea is more concrete. I'm sure I lose a lot of good ideas in the process...especially with the rapid encroachment of old age.
Wow. I'm not sure I made a real point in here at all, other than that I have the WORST PLOTTING PROCESS EVER.
I'm going to stop talking now.
Daydreaming during Mass? LOL. My friends and I used to have thumb-twiddling contests and do that little "here's the church and here's the steeple" bit with our fingers.
ReplyDeleteMea culpa.
I totally know what you're talking about with the daydreaming thing and putting characters in situations and seeing what they do with it, I do the same. :D So you did make a point!
ReplyDeleteI, however, could never ever hold everything in my head and then start writing. I have to write down every little piece of dialogue or scene or information that comes to me while I'm in the brainstorming/plotting phase - and the ideas often come to me in the shower. Cue rushed shampooing, wrapping towel around myself and racing to my notebook (this has happened once or twice... or more times. *coughs*) Otherwise I will not remember a thing. My memory SUCKS. Like really really sucks.
I know. I'm totally going to hell. But we had Irish priests with the most God-awful brogues at my parish. And they droned on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and...
ReplyDeleteCarolin, I can picture you getting soapy water all over your notebook! You need like a dry erase board in the shower. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I get a lot of my plotting brainstorms while I'm blow drying my hair. Again, 20 minutes with nothing else to do = brain time.
Haha. I try not to rush THAT much. But yes...
ReplyDeleteHey, the dry erase board would actually be a great idea!
I plot via the daydream, too.
ReplyDeleteWriting as a defense against the prison of dullness. So true. And a good reminder of why one should do dull things from time to time.
ReplyDeletei like to imagine everything first- like you... but then the trouble comes when i try to put it on paper. all of a sudden weird things start to happen that i hadn't planned... i need to practice understanding the character motivation stuff that you talked about! because they like to go crazy once they're turned loose of the confines of my mind...
ReplyDeleteHaving read your work, you're an awesome plotter.
ReplyDeleteNadine, you're making me blush.
ReplyDeleteAspiring_x, I'd suggest maybe reading an actor's handbook. I've had a lot of acting training which is why I think a lot about character motivation. The basic idea is WHAT does he/she want, WHAT is in obstacle preventing them from getting what they want, HOW do they get around it. A great place to start.
During sermons, my brother and I used to keep tally marks for each time the preacher said God, Jesus, Father, Holy Spirit, and Holy Ghost. At the end of the sermon, we didn't have a clue what the message was, but we could tell you who won the tally.
ReplyDelete