MA: How do you go about plotting your books TT: Wild Goose Chase was my first book so I tried a little bit of everything. I attempted to write all the way through to the end without much pre-plotting. As a result, I spent too much time mired in the middle. I took your class. I made a list of scenes that I knew I wanted in there. I write mystery, so I always need dead bodies and clues. I did a lot of this without a plan. I wrote a running outline, knowing only what was going to happen in the next couple of chapters. In my next book, Old Maid's Puzzle, I used the Plot Planner to get more scenes fleshed out before I started. With Stamped Out, I've expanded my pre-plotting even further.

MA: Are you a pre-plotter or after the fact?

TT: To me, plotting is about making decisions. The character could go down this road or that, take the bus or ride the subway, argue with her sister or get along. Each decision narrows the field of choices.
Now that I have deadlines, I'm learning to pre-plot. It's a far more efficient way to write. I know some writers are afraid that the spontaneity will be lost, but I find myself writing better when I've made some of the decisions beforehand. I save myself a lot of unnecessary writing down paths that are not relevant.

MA: What methods do you find particularly useful in plotting out your stories?

TT: I like to mind map. I like to use my large roll of butcher paper with the track so I can see the highs and lows. I also make charts, and lately have been making collages of the faces.

MA: Do you consciously develop thematic significance?

TT: It's serendipitous for me. My titles are taken from the names of quilt blocks. I start with that, and the theme often emerges. Wild Goose Chase is the story of a woman who doesn't know what to do with the hand she's been dealt so she wanders, trying to find the answer. Afterward, I found a poem from Mary Oliver about wild geese, that described my theme perfectly.
The second in the series is called Old Maid's Puzzle, and it is dealing with the problems of older quilters. The puzzle of how to grow old gracefully.

MA: Are you a character-driven writer or action-driven? TT: Character-driven. I'm always being reminded by my critique group to make my protag more active. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that this is not what I would do in real life. Our characters, must be larger than life would do. Action really begets change, though, so I'm focusing more. On that. MA: Plot tips to share? TT: I'd have to say just do it. Waiting for the perfect time, the perfect idea, or the perfect action, is a guarantee that nothing will get written. Just thinking about your plot doesn't work. Get something down on paper. If you're stuck, get away from the computer. Go for a walk. Go to a different coffee shop. Brainstorm with your critique partners. Try writing longhand. The act of putting pen to paper slows you down and makes you think differently. Ask for help. Your book and others have helped me get over the rough spots.

©2008 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved.
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Updated 2/12/08

©2008 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved.
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Updated 1/15/08

MA: Are you a pre-plotter or after the fact?

JML: With My Half of the Sky--which I might add took twelve years--I plotted WAY, WAY after the fact. Like I said, I just started writing. I followed different ideas here and there until I discovered a thread that really tugged at me. When I had put all that to paper, I figured I was ready to send my manuscript off to agents. By that time, we had moved to the States, and I ended up in one of your classes. Your Scene Tracker helped me see holes in my plot--surprise, surprise-- timing that didn't quite match--surprise, surprise-- and action that remained static for too long. So it was back to the computer screen.
With the sequel--which I'm so pleased to say my agent Jean Naggar and readers of My Half of the Sky are anxious to see-- I have been pre-plotting as much as possible in an effort to be more efficient. I plot then write, re-plot then write some more.

MA: What methods do you find particularly useful in plotting out your stories? How?

JML: I work with children of all ages in the local schools on both fiction and non-fiction writing, and I always tell them to jot down all their ideas--every single one. Then I have them go back through the list to see which ideas go together, what story develops, what sequence evolves. With the sequel, I have started to take my own advice.:) MA: Did you consciously develop thematic significance? JML: No, definitely not. In fact it was almost uncanny how themes popped up. Thanks to your Scene Tracker, though, I became very aware of thematic significance--or lack thereof--in My Half of the Sky. With the sequel, I'd say I'm much more aware of developing themes.

MA: Are you a character-driven writer or action-driven? JML: I am more interested in characters and motivation and emotions Some of my favorite authors are Jane Austen, Pearl Buck, Anita Diamant, Joshilyn Jackson, Ha Jin, Anchee Min, and Anita Shreve. However even the most interesting character can't survive without some compelling action. MA: Plot tips to share? JML: Keep writing...and keep that Scene Tracker by your side (or on your wall).

©2008 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved.
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Updated 12/5/07

MA: Are you a pre-plotter or after the fact?

WNT:I am definitely a pre-plotter, but I am flexible so that I'm open to plot points changing and various things being added and taken out as I go along and in the revision process.

MA: What methods did you find particularly useful in plotting out your project? How?

WNT:I first wrote a very general outline, then got to work on completing a rough draft employing this basic plot. I sometimes revised as I went along if I got an idea, but I did make sure to move forward and finish the rough draft. The plot unfolded as I went along and sometimes points and scenes I'd originally planned ended up changing, or new revelations would come out that surprised me. This was part of the excitement of the process, though when I thought about it, some of these things weren't really surprises; they were lurking subconsciously all along. Ah-ha! I would say to myself, so that's why I had her do this or meet so-and-so or whatever. I continued to learn more about the character's motivations and things started making more sense, which gave me the confidence to keep going, knowing it would all turn out right in the end-hopefully! Next was the revision process, the part I personally find the most fun and satisfying. I feel like I'm molding clay, experimenting with different shapes, points of view, imagery, and language. I revised countless times until I could make the book as complete as I could. I got feedback from trusted readers and added scenes and changed the order of others to best tell the story and give it the optimum pacing that would make the reader want to keep reading.

MA: Did you consciously develop thematic significance?

WNT:It was both a conscious and subconscious process. In the revision process, themes become more apparent to me and I revise them accordingly and give them more focus.

MA: Are you a character-driven writer or action-driven?

WNT:I start out with the character, and the story unfolds into a narrative of events, whereby the character changes and comes to some sort of realization. Along the way, of course, there is lots of action as well.

WENDY NELSON TOKUNAGA graciously said: "Taking your class several years ago was integral in improving my craft as a writer and I want to make sure you know that this has been an important part of the success I've finally attained. My agent got me a two-book deal with St. Martin's Press! "Midori By Moonlight" will come out in trade paperback sometime between Jan-April 2008. It's so exciting and it's hard to believe this has finally happened."

Wendy was born and raised in San Francisco. Her short stories have appeared in The Abiko Literary Quarterly Review, The Plaza, and Yomimono, among others, and she is the author of two children's non-fiction books. She lives in Half Moon Bay with her Osaka-born surfer-dude husband Manabu Tokunaga and is currently in the MFA in Writing Program at University of San Francisco. Her debut novel, MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT, was published by St. Martin's Press in September 2008. The book draws on Tokunaga's extensive experience in studying the Japanese language and culture; living, working and playing in Japan; her cross-cultural marriage, and explores the theme of why some people feel the need to trade in their native culture for a new one.

©2007 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved.
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Updated 11/5/07

The Booster was the first story I ever wrote (the first anything I ever wrote!), and I never went to school for writing, so I didn't know anything. I remember having a major breakthrough at that time. One day I said to myself, "Hey! Wow! Stories have a beginning...a middle... and an end. Cool!" I then started labeled three envelopes and stuffed ideas into each one. This wasn't brain surgery, obviously, but I was educating myself about plot in the only way I knew how.

I also did a ton of mind-mapping. I jotted down anything that occurred to me: lines of dialogue, character traits, scene locations, whatever. My messy notebook was a treasure of unbaked ideas I could turn to. I do that for every story.

MA: Are you a pre-plotter or after the fact?

JS: I think both. I definitely start with a scene or a moment that appeals to me and work outward. The problem with that technique is that eventually (say, 200 pages later!) you have to make a story happen; you have to bring it to a close. I'm constantly writing then plotting, then re-plotting then rewriting. I plot when I'm lost and I need a birds eye view again. 'Plotting' can be as casual as jotting down a few notes on a Post-It.

MA: What methods do you find particularly useful in plotting out your stories? How?

JS: I'd have to say that my very best plotting method is bike riding. The truly, absolutely, magical plot moments are the ones that fall down on you like snowflakes from the sky. Mine fall while I'm riding.

The non-magical stuff is so simple but always slippery. Remind me again: What does my character want? What gets in her way? What does she do to overcome the sh*t that has fallen in her path? I try to fall in love with my characters then throw stuff at them that they absolutely can't handle because of who they are. How they get through it is always a surprise to me as well.

For instance, in The Booster, Jillian is a sophisticated compulsive-shoplifter who cares more about things than she does people. She has a million secrets that keep her isolated from the world. She meets Shelly, a dorky, unsophisticated girl who blurts out every embarrassing secret the minute Jillian meets her and shoplifts for completely different emotional reasons. Shelly is essentially the sh*t that gets in Jillian's way (and vice versa). But what happens to them is the story.

The epiphany I've had writing this third book is that usually something happens right in the middle of the book that turns the train completely around. The circumstances change drastically and now the character has to take an about face. Stories often fall apart in the middle. Before you toss out your story -- try hitting an iceberg. The sinking ship is where it gets good!

MA: Did you consciously develop thematic significance?

JS: I don't and I've never known a writer who does. I think things start reappearing in the story: imagery, words, concepts. In the rewrite you can tease that stuff up to the surface. I really think it's your readers who identify the themes of your story before you do. I'm always surprised at the thematic significance someone sees in one of my stories. I never set out to do any of that.

MA: Are you a character-driven writer or action-driven?

JS: My first two novels started with a character and a circumstance without knowing the specific story that would take place around them. I guess you might say this is character driven in the purest sense.

The novel I am working on now started as a story -- a yarn already woven. I then created characters who fit the parameters of the story. I thought that might mean it's an 'action driven' story but what I'm realizing is that it's still all about character. Starting with 'story' was just an interesting way to develop character.

Most writers I know and read are character-driven: emotional development that occurs along a path of time and events. I think of an action-driven story as one where the characters themselves are much less important than the motion and movement of the story. Girl stories verses Boy stories? Maybe. My favorite stories have one foot in each camp. The Great Gatsby for instance -- certainly character driven, certainly action-rich.

MA: Plot tips to share? JS: I wish I could share some spark of genius. I'm always a beginner at this. I study great books, dissect movies and screenplays, read books on the matter (Blockbuster Plots, just an arm's distance away at this moment!), buy worksheets and planners (Scene Tracker, ditto!), subscribe to newsletters. Heck, I'm embarrassed to say it, but I even study MY OWN stories to see what I did right and how.

Because we are human, we understand how stories are told. Sit in the chair. This is my only advice. Sit in the chair until your ass is as fat as your seat. Sit until you are done.       Read more about Jennifer Solow ©2007 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved. This article and all documents on this website are copyrighted material. Any use of content requires prior written permission. For more Tips on Plot, sign up now for the FREE monthly BLOCKBUSTER PLOTS eZine

      

Updated 10/11/07 PLOT INTERVIEW with Guest Author Anjuelle Floyd       I had the honor of interviewing guest author Anjuelle Floyd about her new book, Keeper of Secrets... Translations of an Incident. I asked about her writing process with a focus on plot.       MA: Your novel has many viewpoint characters. How did you go about plotting out the project?       AF: My collection of eight interconnected short stories, Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident, is a linked novel with 8 viewpoint characters. There's one protagonist in each story for whom we see how the inciting event has influenced their thinking and actions concerning their dilemma.       For me plotting is about discovering and establishing what each major character/protagonist in my story or novel wants and then setting about to connect this desire with an icon, if you will, or a symbol, an object that appears in the story and around which the transformation occurs and is reflected.       No, I don't start out that way. I tend not to plot out my stories prior to writing the first draft.       Generally a story comes to me in an image or idea, most times an image. I know the beginning, and the climax and I have a good sense of how it ends. These things always change over the time of writing, re-writing, editing and revising. What becomes clearer is the plot.       And this is where your book, Martha, on plotting has been and is so helpful. It taught and now reminds me that there are always two levels to a plot. The first level is that of action, basically what my protagonist does in the face of her or his dilemma and what her or his actions beget--i.e. causality. One thing happens, the character responds externally, another thing happens, and so forth.       But then there is the emotional plot, if you will, the internal plot that accompanies actions. The external plot must be in place for this to occur. You book stresses this. The external plot is the action above the line. The internal is that below the line, the character's feelings, and thoughts, sensations. A story or book cannot exist on just one. And while action, plot centered novels and stories may appear to, the good ones do not.       The thing that connects the two aspects of plot for me is the symbols in my stories, around which the action takes place, for which the protagonist yearns, or that holds specific meaning for the protagonist. Each of my stories in Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident has a metaphoric symbol, an emblem, that embodies the nature of the protagonist's conflict and that has shaped the character's belief system. This symbol reflects not only where the protagonist is in their thinking and consciousness at the outset of the story, but is the object that reflects the character's change or around which the character’s transformation takes place at the climax of the story. This climactic moment is what author Chris Abani, Graceland, Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail, calls an avataric moment.       An avatar is an incarnation, a 3-dimensional image that can embody, personify, or manifest a concept, or idea. Literary avatars, symbols, metaphors can symbolize an entire memory, or experience. It can remind us of an entire section of a work that gave the back-story of the character's life.       I like to think of avataric moments as those moments when after the character has met a series of irrevocable actions [choice actions that cannot be taken back,] decisions made when facing an external obstacle in the plotline, the character in having acted physically, or spoken, and driven the story forward, now undergoes a transformation, both against the backdrop and along side the avatar or symbol that represents the protagonist's not only dilemma, but journey and now ultimately their change or shift in consciousness and conscious action that not only leaves them thinking and feeling differently, but physically altered.       Each one of my stories has an avatar. For Raven Clarke in Dancing Siva, it is the icon of Siva dancing. For Lahni Irete' in Keeper of Secrets, the namesake story, it is the knife. A psychiatrist and Buddhist, Dr. Reynard Williams' avatar is in The Object of Compassion, the Buddhist icon, Green Tara who signifies not only Reynard's emotional wounding, but ushers in his healing, both physical an psychological.       I cannot stress how Martha's emphasis on the external aspect an author's plot drove home to me the inherent necessity for a clear plot if the story is to not only hang together and make sense, but have meaning. The plot (external) sequence of events-this begets that begets this, etc. is essentially the clothesline on which you hang the clothes of your scenes and then chapters.       Now more specifically Martha's check list helped me to see that first, each scene must have a purpose--that is either revealing information necessary for understanding the story, but also propelling the plot. The farther you progress in your book when back-story should have been dealt with, the scenes need to focus mainly on propulsion of story, plot.       Martha's checklist of what every scene needs to contain to even be a scene was especially helpful in writing short stories. You don't have an hour and a day to hold the reader with short stories. You have to get in and get out fast as Gabriel Garcia Marquez says, "With a novel you can win by a decision, but a short story you have to win by a knockout." It needs that kind of punch. Now there are variations on the kind of punch you deliver, but reader satisfaction requires an epiphany of some sort. This epiphany comes from a well-plotted story. And I have by no means mastered this art. But I know what it takes. And it takes clear and concise plotting.       I plot after having written the 1st draft, perhaps the 2nd and 3rd. I try to let my early drafts be my heart draft, what ever comes. And then once I get the story down, I begin to go back and refine, clarify and lay out just what happens, and in what sequence (plot). I did over 30 drafts on each of my stories in Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident. And the 1st four stories came out of novels I have written. So I knew many of these characters very well.       Which brings me to the third aspect of my writing, equally as important as plot, if not more--character.       As a psychotherapist I write character-based/driven stories. And my first drafts reflect this. The usually read like client notes I've taken in the first session with a client. There's dialogue and action, but a lot of digression on why she or he did this and what in their history caused them to feel this way about a certain aspect in life. I'll often go into a scene of back-story.       In later stages of refinement, way down the road, I either eliminate these scenes or weave them into the front story, usually using the knitting needles of my avataric symbol--a metaphor of change and grow, evolution of the protagonist and the story. That way I can remind the reader of this info later in the story without having to spell it out again.       For instance in my lead of story in Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident, Dancing Siva, I immediately introduce a dancing Siva. Unlike most of the icons we see, this dancing Siva is carved of mahogany. It was given to my major character by her first love, a man with whom she was living when meeting the character who became her husband. My major character's marriage to her husband, she aborted a child she was carrying by this first love. The fetus was 16 weeks.       I do give the back-story of my protagonist, Raven with her first love, and the dancing Siva is present all throughout these scenes. Thus when the reader sees the icon later in the story they know all it symbolizes--love, death, infidelity, guilt, loss and so much more.       For me it's all about character. Yet in many ways I'm saying it's all about plot--plot as driven by who my characters are, what in their past lives has shaped them into the individuals they are, and most likely contributed to the predicament they now face.       It's all in there. And again, relying on or rather writing toward those avataric moments, I'm searching in later drafts, once the story is all down, for the points of conflict in the story where my character(s) have to step up to the plate and do something physically. At the same time I'm watching for the symbols, the avatars, around which external action swirls that also gives rise to internal change.       Hence again I have to have a clear picture of the sequence of events, the scenes, what happens in those scenes, what's the goal, from whose view point is the scene being told, the rise of action, the tension, the emotional core, what is revealed both externally and internally, what is gained, and what is left unsaid to be dealt with in ensuing scenes.       MA: Are you a pre-plotter or after the fact?       AF: I seriously plot after I've written the story in its entirety. Plot for me is not just what happened, but when. Sometimes I will have written in the early drafts a scene as it came to me in the first section of the story. But later I may decide I want to revise it and place it somewhere else.       How a story comes to you is not always the best way to deliver it to your readers. It's too confusing or doesn't render enough drama. But you do have to get it down. This is why I like to wait until my entire story is written before I begin to plot it out.       MA: What methods did you find particularly useful in plotting out your project? How?       AF: Once I get the entire story written I then like to draw a line and write our what happens in each scene. It goes something like this:       Scene 1: Protagonist finds a mouse on her desk a work.       It needs to be one, no more than two lines--stating who, what, where, when. The scene I write supplies the how. And the scene needs to include all the elements I listed above, or else it goes.       MA: Did you consciously develop thematic significance?       AF: Again this is a place of discovery and unfolding for me.       I don't consciously set out to write a book about a certain theme that becomes clear to me once I get the whole story down. Theme is always something I discover once the story has been written revised and refined to the point of sending it out. It's only once it's finished and I can sit back and read it as a reader, not as a writer that I can see the theme. And then that's the theme I attach to it. Readers may, and most likely do, add their own themes. I like that. That's when the story I write begins to teach me.       MA: Plot tips to share?       AF: First, read, read, and re-read Martha's book, Blockbuster Plots. It helped me so much during my MFA program in creative writing.       Also take a novel or short story as she suggests and after reading it, go back and plot it out, scene by scene. I did that with a book I helped my daughter reading when she was in 5th grade. She's now a high school freshman. Doing that was so helpful. It taught me how to read for understanding of writer's plot.       I now notice this naturally as I read books. I And then experiment on what works best for you in clarifying the order in which things occur in your story. You may be a pre-plotter or one who does it down the road, like me.       In either case you need to have a good sense of what is occurring to your protagonist and how she or his is physically responding (action + dialogue.) It needs to be a mixture of both--and definitely it cannot be all thinking. Let the feelings and thoughts come in response to the physical and verbal actions aimed at them that occur as a result of their dialogue and behavior.       Lastly, read, read and read. A writer can never read enough. And bear in mind all that Martha says in Blockbuster Plots.       Read more about Anjuelle Floyd ©2007 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved. This article and all documents on this website are copyrighted material. Any use of content requires prior written permission. For more Tips on Plot, sign up now for the FREE monthly BLOCKBUSTER PLOTS eZine

Updated 9/5/07 Three Plot Threads        Plot involves the intertwining of at least three threads: Dramatic Action, Character Emotional Development, and Thematic Significance. Imagine that each of these threads begins behind one of three open doors, each of which is waiting for you to cross over and step into a story.        Some writers start a project by choosing the door of the Dramatic Action thread. These writers tend to thrive on the excitement of what happens in the story. The first draft of a Dramatic Action writer is full of excitement with lots of conflict, tension, and suspense, twists and turns, chases and confrontations, and usually contains little character development. Often, a reader's comment of this first dramatic action draft is: "Why should I care?"        Other writers choose to grasp the thread of Character Development, preferring to explore the different aspects of a character; what makes him or her tick, her feelings and emotions, her loves and hates. The first draft of a Character Emotional Development writer tends to be full of insight into the human psyche, with very little happening in terms of dramatic action. Often, a reader's comment of this first character emotional draft is: "When is something going to happen?"        Fewer writers choose the Thematic Significance thread to begin with. These writers usually have a message they wish to impart but not much of an idea of characters or what will happen.        AN EXAMPLE, Using a Character Driven and Thematic Driven Memoir The memoir, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, embodies all three of these threads and, although the character travels in the story, which can lend to dramatic action, the memoir is primarily character development-driven (I use the term character and protagonist even with a memoirist in order to make the reference less personal and to remind memoir writers to develop their character to show change and transformation).        As the protagonist attempts to achieve her goals (outlined below), she also, on a much deeper level, undertakes an intensive spiritual investigation. As a seeker, her focus is on the search for Truth or meaning, and thus, makes this book almost equally a Thematic Significance driven memoir as well.        The book is made up of prose writing much more than scene, in that the author spends lots of time describing Italy and India and Bali, the three places where the three segments of the book unfold. In much of the book, the author also discusses her thoughts. Because of the subjects she described ~~ the history of meditation, descriptions of the Ashram, and the like ~~ are fascinating and extremely well-written, and most readers like to learn something new through reading, many will not object to the telling nature of much of the narrative.        On the other hand, when she does write in scene, the descriptions and discussions have depth and impact.        The memoir is character-driven and thematic significance driven, and the action, when in evidence, is secondary. Her character emotional development and search for resolution and God over time carries the significance.        The BEGINNING        The Beginning of Eat Pray Love functions in an introductory mode as all good Beginnings do. The protagonist's dramatic action goals are clearly outlined: 1) to spend one-third of the story in Italy learning the language, 2) one-third on her Guru's Ashram in India in meditation, and 3) one-third in Indonesia with a medicine man. Her character emotional development goal is clearly implied: 1) undergo intensive self-inquiry, 2) recover from her recent divorce, and 3) find balance and God in her life.        The Beginning of the story takes place in Italy with a goal of learning Italian. This section functions on a sensory level with lots of eating great bread and pastries, drinking wine, and meeting terrific men. Of the three sections, Italy is the least challenging for the author, which is fine because this is where we find out her issues: she has had a spiritual crisis, which ended in a divorce and followed by an unfulfilling relationship.        In the Beginning, and into the Middle of the memoir, the protagonist freely shows her flawed self, which, at times, comes across neurotic enough that if her writing wasn't so great, the reader might not stay with her. However, the more flawed the character, the greater the final transformation is possible.        The Middle        In the Middle third, the protagonist travels to her Guru's Ashram in India and spends her time there mostly in meditation. When she is in scene in this section, it is often with Richard from Texas who is a hoot and a compassionate mentor.        The more she has to devote to meditation, the more frustrated she becomes, which is an effective means of revealing more and more of the depth of who this person truly is. Take note: Although the project only covers one year in her life and the author has several memories of the past, there are only a couple of instances where she actually goes into a flashback.        The Middle is the territory of the antagonists and the bulk of this character's antagonism comes from her own mind. She can't concentrate. She can't meditate. She can't let go of the past. She engages in useless longings.        In her search for God, "you revert from what attracts you and swim toward that which is difficult." The more difficult her journey becomes, the more flawed we see her character. Still, as challenged as she becomes, she never gives up or gives in.        The Crisis        The Crisis occurs when she climbs to the top of a tower at the Ashram and asks to be shown everything she needs "to understand about forgiveness and surrender." Up until this point in the book, we know she has been craving a resolution to her dissolved marriage. She would have loved to have an actual conversation with her ex-husband, but knows that will never happen due to the ugliness of the divorce, which had turned them into "two people who were absolutely incapable of giving each other any release."        Once she drops into mediation "to my surprise, I did an odd thing. I invited my ex-husband to please join me up here on this rooftop in India... And he did arrive." What happens after that, as she finds out what she needs to about herself and her part in the past, she is given the release she desperately craves.        The END The End is the section where the character now shows whether or not she truly understand her flaw and her part in what's not working in her life, to become transformed at depth.        The Climax The Climax occurs when the protagonist commits to helping a woman with a child of her own and two orphans she has taken in. Up until this act, the protagonist has been completely self-centered. She has obsessed about her life and flaws and worries.        At the Climax, we see that the wake-up call that came at the Crisis has ripened into the new personality deep enough to help another. This action is the perfect metaphor to show character transformation. We have a definite sense that the protagonist would not have been capable of doing what she does for this family if she had not experienced every single thing she has undergone previously ~~ the definition of the Climax.       The Resolution In the end, the protagonist finds love, and satisfies the thematic significance statement: A spiritual journey is challenging, but with passion, and dedication can transform and overcome hurt enough to love again.        Whether you're writing a memoir, screenplay, an adult, young adult novel or picture book, these three plot threads play a part. Depending on your strengths and focus and interest, some threads may be stronger than others, but they each will contribute to the overall effect. ©2007 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved. This article and all documents on this website are copyrighted material. Any use of content requires prior written permission. For more Tips on Plot, sign up now for the FREE monthly BLOCKBUSTER PLOTS eZine

Updated 8/15/07 The Deeper the Meaning, The More Lasting the Project        Every story that becomes a classic has at least three universal plot threads:        (1) Character Emotional Development        (2) Dramatic Action        (3) Thematic Significance        Many writers develop one plot line at a time. The plot line you first choose to carry through the entire first draft is usually directly tied to your strength; strength determines preference (Take the test).        Whether you begin with the Character Emotional Development plot line or the Dramatic Action plot line, most writers put off the Thematic Significance plot line to the end.        By your final draft, you have at least a vague idea of the deeper meaning of your story, what you are trying to say and the ways you have attempted to communicate that meaning through your story to your audience.        Crystallize the meaning you are attempting to convey into two specific universal themes and improve your chances of creating a classic blockbuster project.        Two Kinds of Thematic Significance        When a character is changed at depth over time, a story becomes thematically significant.        1) Character Emotional Development Thematic Significance        In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Nick serves as the narrator. Of all the characters in the story, Nick is the only character in this story who is changed by the Dramatic Action, thus making Nick also the protagonist. (The definition of a protagonist is the character most changed by the dramatic action in the story. Unlike The Great Gatsby, if other characters are changed by the dramatic action in your story, then the protagonist is determined as a matter of degree and significance of change.)        Some might point to Gatsby as the protagonist, alive in the beginning and dead in the end. What counts with thematic significance is not the change from alive to dead, but how the dramatic action creates a long-term emotional change in the protagonist.        Nick sets his own thematic significance in Chapter 3 when he states that he is one of the few honest people he has known. Since he is the narrator, the reader is curious to know if he is reliable, or not. Does Nick have a clear sense of himself from his time in the war as he thinks? Or, does he have more to learn about himself before he can accurately judge himself? In the end, Nick understands he has only begun to live up to his initial assessment of himself as stated in the beginning.        A thematic significance statement for Nick's character emotional plotline could be:        Only with maturity and assuming personal and moral responsibility are we able to accurately judge ourselves and others.        Hands on:        1) Who is the protagonist of your story?        2) Write down a Thematic Significance statement that encompasses the emotional transformation your protagonist undergoes from the beginning and throughout to the end of the story.        3) Infuse your story with the theme through details and comparisons, metaphor and simile.        2) Dramatic Action Thematic Significance        The Great Gatsby, as with all classic stories, deals with universal themes. Along with Nick's personal thematic significance, there is also an overall meaning or Thematic Significance for the entire story.        A thematic significance statement for The Great Gatsby as a whole could be:        Ambition for money and another man's wife leads to destruction.        Hands on:        1) Write down a Thematic Significance statement that encompasses the meaning of the overall story. In other words, what do all of the scenes and dramatic action together add up to mean in the end.        2) Infuse your story with this theme through details and comparisons, metaphor and simile.        When a story embodies universal themes for the characters themselves and through all of the elements and details of the story itself, a story becomes lasting.        Refer to Blockbuster Plots Pure & Simple for more tips about each of the three universal plot lines and how to incorporate each one in your writing project and have fun doing it. ©2007 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved. This article and all documents on this website are copyrighted material. Any use of content requires prior written permission. For more Tips on Plot, sign up now for the FREE monthly BLOCKBUSTER PLOTS eZine

Updated 4/3/07 CHARACTERS MAKE THE MOVIE Last year, reviewers consistently complained about a lack of character emotional development in the movies. At the same time, Hollywood reports a slump in box office sales. Are the two related? Perhaps. Even the top five moneymaking movies for the summer of 2006 were without significant character emotional development. "Although he slams into stationary objects with his customary zeal, Tom Cruise [in Mission: Impossible III] is off his game here, sabotaged by a misguided attempt to shade his character with gray." Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES Storytelling involves more than lining up the action pieces, arranging them in a logical order and then drawing conclusions. Yes, dramatic action pulls moviegoers to the edge of their seats. And yes, conflict, tension, suspense and curiosity hook moviegoers. Yet, no matter how exciting the action, the character's emotional development provides fascination. Any presentation without a strong human element increases the chances of losing audience interest. "The Da Vinci Code...a couple of crashing boors..." Amy Biancolli, HOUSTON CHRONICLE In many cases, movies rely on the star power alone without taking the time to develop the characters in the story itself. Moviegoers may feel an emotional attachment to the star. Ultimately, however, unless they feel emotionally identify with the main character as a character, moviegoers will detach from the film. Plot Is More than Dramatic Action Plot is made up of three intertwining threads: 1.) Character emotional development 2.) Dramatic action 3.) Thematic significance In other words, the protagonist acts or reacts. In so doing, he or she is changed and something significant is learned. When Stories Get Stuck Stories get stuck because one or more of the three key elements has been ignored: 1.) Concentrating on action only, forgetting that character provides interest and is the primary reason people go to the movies and read books. "Without the first film's textured relationships, [X-Men: The Last Stand] becomes just another episode..." Colin Covert, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE 2.) Organizing solely around the character and overlooking the fact that dramatic action provides the excitement every story needs. 3.) Forgetting to develop the overall meaning or the thematic significance of their stories. When the dramatic action changes the character at depth over time, the story becomes thematically significance. "This second film [Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest] is pretty much all thrills, special effects and nonstop action -- but with virtually no cohesive or compelling story line." Bill Zwecker CHICAGO SUN-TIMES The Power of Character In a compelling story line, the characters grow and change step-by-step in reaction to the dramatic action. This growth is not meant to be merely on a physical level. Often, in their zeal of showing off high-tech special effects, moviemakers and screenwriters forget the power of character emotional development. The challenges the characters face must create emotional affects, the deeper the better. An effective way to keep track of these incremental steps is with the use of a Scene Tracker. A scene tracker asks you to fulfill seven essential elements in every single scene, with the biggest being on the character emotional development. Take, for instance, The Crisis The crisis is an event written in scene that works like any crisis in real life. The crisis serves to shake things up in such a way that the protagonist has to act. The crisis takes on dramatic proportions when it serves as the highest point in the dramatic action plot line so far and, at the same time, forces the protagonist to rethink life as they have always thought it to be. This, in turns, changes their character emotional development at depth. When one scene has such a dramatic effect on both plotlines, the scene serves as a double whammy. This effect is best found toward the end of the Middle or nearly three quarters of the way through the project. If, however, the crisis involves only a high point in the dramatic action without something equal or comparable happening within the character, the story loses its heart. "Calling a summer movie 'action-packed' is supposed to be a compliment, but there's nothing so tedious as nonstop excitement." Stephanie Zacharek SALON.COM Sometimes, the crisis takes the form of two separate events written in two separate scenes. In this case, one scene hits the highest point so far in the story for the Dramatic Action plot line and another scene affects the character emotional development plot line separately. These two high points can either occur close together for maximum effect or further apart. Viewers expect and deserve the dramatic action and the character emotional development to build to a fevered pitch toward the end of the Middle. By then, they have been sitting for over an hour. Without some sort of release caused by this sort of big moment within the character, the story becomes just another action drama with explosions and chases and fights. The crisis can be written softly and quietly or as an all-out war. Either way, and whether it comes separately or together, the crisis involves the character on an emotional level in reaction to the dramatic action and ends the long haul of the Middle (a whopping 1/2 of the scene count of the entire project). "[Poseidon's] intensity is strictly physical, the intended emotional impact submerged in a numbing onslaught of death, danger and derring-do as a bunch of mostly annoying, self-centered passengers fight their way to the surface." Sheri Linden HOLLYWOOD REPORTER Until this trend of ignoring the power of the character emotional development ceases, chances remain high that the movie box-office grosses will continue to dip even lower. ©2007 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved. This article and all documents on this website are copyrighted material. Any use of content requires prior written permission. For more Tips on Plot, sign up now for the FREE monthly BLOCKBUSTER PLOTS eZine

Updated 3/21/07 AVOID THE TRAP OF GOING BACK The #1 trap writers fall prey to continues to be the going-back-to-the-beginning syndrome. The more aware you are of the reasons writers go back to the Beginning over and over and over again, and tricks to get you out, the better your chances of not getting snared. Seven reasons for the syndrome: 1) The Beginning 1/4 of the project is introductory. Introducing the setting, the characters, the mood, the issues, and all the other important dynamics skim the surface. Writing and plotting the Beginning are like meeting people for the first time, we're generally on our best behavior, we wonder if the other person(s) likes us. We show only so much of ourselves as we determine how we feel about the other person. Good writing introduces a character worth spending time with for the duration of the story. Something happens of interest that builds to a moment of no turning back. Crossing that line, and the characters move from superficiality to transformation and truth. 2) The reader and movie-goers step into the Middle the moment you do. The Middle is where things get muddy and messy and dirty as the relationship develops from what you introduced in the Beginning. Scenes show who the characters truly are -- worts and all. For writers who like things nice and neat, the Middle is an uncomfortable place to linger for very long. Much nicer to go back to familiar territory and get a running start. 3) Going back over what you have already written is easier than coming up with something entirely new. 4) The Beginning is only 1/4 of the page count. 5) The Middle of the story makes up 1/2 of the entire page count, and the End another 1/4. 6) The stakes throughout the middle of the Middle are much greater than those at the beginning of the Middle or anything in the Beginning itself. The stakes at the End build even higher. 7) Bad things happen to your characters in the Middle. This is a big problem for writers who fall in love with their characters and despair at having to watch them get hurt, betrayed, lost, angry, vindictive, walked over, pounced on, or any of the other gruesome things that can happen in the Middle. Tricks to Push Through to the End Without Going Back 1) When things are going fine in real life, we do okay. In a story where everything is going fine, the characters do, too. The trick is to put characters in scenes that are not fine (hence: conflict, tension and suspense or mystery or curiosity). We learn who we are and who the characters are only under pressure, in the cauldron, when the fire is hot. Make a list of things that can happen to the character in the Middle that will force them to show their true colors. Translate the list into scenes. 2) Find the exact right Dramatic Action plot or physical journey, one that excites you to fill with challenges and trials that best stimulates the protagonist's internal transformation. Map the journey out on your Plot Planner. 3) Tell only enough in each scene about the character and their back-story to inform that particular scene. Hold back any information that is not essential. Don't tease the your audience, but don't overwhelm them either. Invite them into the story to find out what happens next, figure out what's really going on, and better understand the character. 4) The protagonist changes a little at a time from who they are in the Beginning to the transformed character at the End of the story. This transformation is at the heart of every good story. The Middle is where the character learns who they truly are and this awareness takes place over time, one distinct step at a time -- Character Development Plot. 5) The Middle is the territory of the antagonists. Choose allies and enemies to assist or block the protagonist's journey and transformation. 6) Develop an unusual world in the middle of your story. Show the reader or movie-goer an unfamiliar lifestyle, location, or culture in the Middle. By the middle of the Middle, a writer has written for a long time. Doubts grow. Energy wanes. The temptation to run back and start again grips you. Relax. Entertain your audience or show them something new and unusual. This way, if the conflict, tension and suspense slows down in the middle of the Middle, your audience will not mind 7) Stumped on how to get the stakes to continually rise? Refer to your Plot Planner. What is the exact right, highest energy moment in the story so far that will shake up the protagonist. Once the protagonist's eyes are opened and they become conscious, they are changed at depth forever. Find that moment -- the Crisis. Write that moment. 8) Still struggling? Rather than run back to familiar territory, research. The more you know about the place and the time your story takes place the more intimacy and depth you can achieve. Authentic details make the unusual new world come alive -- the world of longshoremen, boosters, gamblers, and thieves. So long as you don't drown yourself in research, or your story, either, research gets new ideas flowing. 9) Track scenes on your Scene Tracker. After only a few, inspiration kicks in. Your energy for the unknown surges high enough to push you further into the heart of the story world itself. 10) The middle of the Middle is where most writers get bogged down. Keep pushing to the End. 11) The Beginning of your story hooks the reader or movie-goer. The End of your story builds scene by scene to the crowning glory of the entire project. The Climax informs every single scene in the entire project. The more time and effort you put into the Beginning without having written the End, the harder it will be to cut scenes when the time comes. And the time will come to cut and pare and prune. It always does. Have fun. Trust the process. ©2007 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved. This article and all documents on this website are copyrighted material. Any use of content requires prior written permission. For more Tips on Plot, sign up now for the FREE monthly BLOCKBUSTER PLOTS eZine

Updated 3/17/07 Plot Tips from February's eZine Following are tips from last month's San Francisco Writers Conference. February, 2007 The moment a writer crosses the threshold into a writers conference, we enter a journey eerily similar to the Universal Story Form. When excellent, a writer's conference pours not only craft and inspiration into us, but offers opportunities that force us to stretch further and think bigger than is often comfortable. Face-to-face with the gatekeepers to our dreams, we are challenged not only by external antagonists but personal and internal antagonists even more. Ask any writer who attended this year's San Francisco Writers Conference the highs and lows of the conference, or their personal crisis and climax of the weekend, and you hear a uniquely different story. For me, the setting played as big a part of the overall effect of the experience as the sessions, the speakers, the prizes, the parties, and the books themselves. Perched atop Nob Hill, the Mark Hopkins oozes old and new San Francisco elegance and style. _______________________________________________ QUOTE; "If you want to be a best selling author, you increase your chances for success if you have written a book." Dan Millman author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior ______________________________________________ SOUND BITES: When talking to agent Kimberely Cameron about an author's work and the determination of where to begin the book: "I have to care about the character before I care about what happens to them." [Note: I liken the truth of her statement to how I feel when people I don't know try to tell me their whole life story. It's difficult to care about their drama if I'm not already first involved with them on a personal level.] _______________________________________________ QUOTE: "Definition of a stranger = the part of yourself you have forgotten." [I apologize for not remembering who said this. I have a feeling it was Michael Larsen, agent and founder of SFWC] _______________________________________________ BLOG Comments on the importance of scene selection, visit http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com I look forward to hearing your comments. Or, ask a plot question that pertains to your own writing and I'll answer it. Each time you log onto my blog and list your website or blog along with your comments, you are a source of inspiration to me and you also improve your positioning on the internet. ________________________________________________ SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS At the SFWC, two agents and one editor from a major publishing house in New York say that they would give a short story collection a try if the author also had a novel in the works. In other words, to increase your chances of getting your short story collection published write a novel, too. _____________________________________________ ADVICE "Honor your contractual obligations. They're serious. Keep your deadlines. Listen to your editor." Paula Eykelhof, Harlequin Books. _____________________________________________ GRATITUDE Thank you for your help in broadening the reach of Blockbuster Plots Tips eZine. Please forward it to your friends and family. We reach 31 of the 50 United States, Australia, Britain, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Malaysia, Sweden, Ireland, Mexico, China, Japan, Canada, Peru and Turkey. ____________________________________________ ©2007 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved. This article and all documents on this website are copyrighted material. Any use of content requires prior written permission. For more Tips on Plot, sign up now for the FREE monthly BLOCKBUSTER PLOTS eZine

©2008 Martha Alderson. All Rights Reserved.
This document and all documents on this website are copyrighted material. Any use of content requires prior written permission.