Brendan Reichs and a new metaphor for plotting vs. pantsing

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books panel (left to right): Brendan Reichs, Ally Condie, Carlos Hernandez, Lee Wind (moderator), and Quinn Sosna-Spear

A great moment in the middle grade panel I moderated on the YA Stage this Saturday, Middle Grade Fiction: Magic and Mysteries with Quinn Sosna-Spear, Carlos Hernandez, Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs was a question from the audience about process that had everyone on the panel share whether they plotted things out in advance or they wrote by the seat of their pants, making it all up as they went along...

Turned out, Carlos, Quinn, and Ally all mix the approaches, and then Brendan shared that instead of "plotting" and "pantsing," he liked a different metaphor—architects and gardeners. He expanded on the idea, saying that gardeners work with what happens, while architects plan everything out.

And then, it occurred to me that for those of us who combine the two approaches, maybe we're landscape architects?

The idea got a spontaneous wave of applause from the 100+ folks in the audience.

So there you go, another way to describe process... I hope it's helpful.

Illustrate and Write On (no matter your method!),
Lee

Exercise Part One: An Eight-Part Way To Outline Your Plot

This week, we have two exercises to challenge us and enjoy, posted by Glen C. Strathy on "How to Write a Book Now."

Today, we dive into "How To Create A Plot Outline In 8 Easy Steps*," based on the Dramatica theory of story created by Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley.

With the challenge (and assurance) that the whole plot outline can be completed in less than an hour, Glen lays out eight basic plot elements.

The first one is choosing a Story Goal, and then Glen takes it somewhere interesting:

After we have chosen a Story Goal, we will build a world around our protagonist that includes many perspectives on the problem and makes the goal important to everyone in that world.

The second plot element is Consequence.

Once you have decided on a Story Goal, your next step is to ask yourself, “What disaster will happen if the goal is not achieved? What is my protagonist afraid will happen if he/she doesn't achieve the goal or solve the problem?”

The answer to these questions is the Consequence of the story. The Consequence is the negative situation or event that will result if the Goal is not achieved. Avoiding the Consequence justifies the effort required in pursuing the Story Goal, both to the characters in your novel and the reader, and that makes it an important part of your plot outline.

The combination of goal and consequence creates the main dramatic tension in your plot. It's a carrot and stick approach that makes the plot meaningful.

Check out the next six plot elements and the full article/exercise here.

No matter where you are in your work-in-progress, this may be worth trying out.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Wrong Hands "Horror Movie Plot Generator" -- or, a useful list of clichés to avoid for everyone creating scary stories

This is brilliant! (And next month there is a pre-Halloween Friday the 13th - maybe you'll be inspired!)

Cheers to John Atkinson for the Chartoon fun!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Craft: Martha Alderson (a.k.a. The Plot Whisperer) Talks Plot

Martha Alderson has a series of 27 videos on YouTube that walk writers through the steps of plotting our stories.

Each video explains what you need to do, and then gives a bunch of examples to illustrate her points.  They are a wonderful resource.

Here's the first one:



Martha's latest book, The Plot Whisperer Workbook, has just been released.

Thanks to literary agent Jill Corcoran for letting me know about Martha and her books and videos on plot!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee