Something i need to work on

[Androxine Vortex]

I'm getting back into writing (more) since i have a little bit more free time. I know that my plot has to get from point A to B to C, and I'll have a general idea or understanding of how it gets from point A to B, but it's like i can't find things to fill in those little gaps. I end up writing things on the fly and hating it and i feel it's because it's these small sections i haven't had to brainstorm as much on so I'm just writing the first things that come to mind. How do you handle this? I'm thinking of making a hyper specific, but basic outline draft so i know exactly what is going to happen. Then go back and use good writing skills and adjectives and what not to enhance it. Do you do something similar?


And on a side note/question, i see that this makes pacing hard for me. For example, in a movie, two characters might be talking in one place and then the next scene it's later in the evening and they are out eating dinner. My plot tends to have a lot of "jumps" and i don't want to just put in boring and useless filler. Any tips?

 

[cupiscent]

For my NaNo, I planned in gradually expanding layers. I did a one-page "here is the entire book" that was that sort of "from A to B to C" approach. Then I went down a level of detail and started figuring out the big pieces of the journey from A to B - in the process highlighting things that needed more detail. For instance "P commits an act of piracy" gets highlighted, because that is probably a whole chapter once I figure out the details of what and how. Then I went down another layer of detail, and nutted out all the details. (So I figured out what the goal for the act of piracy was, and what sort of thing best suited those goals, and what would be an interesting conflict, and how things might resolve.) I ended up with a fifteen-page outline of the novel that basically covered every major scene.

Writing has been a breeze. I just consult the plan, and push on through. I am, as I'm writing, uncovering lots of bits that need to be foreshadowed and have consequences and joined up with other bits in the plot. It is still very, very rough. But I'm able to write it so much faster than usual, so I am not at all begrudging myself the editing time ahead of me.

On your side question, I don't like the boring filler either! If it serves no purpose - if it's not moving forward the plot or furthering understanding of the characters in a way that will be significant later - cut it out! Pacing of the story can be quite separate from the pacing of the events in the world - in fact, if your hero searches frantically for a week before having a confrontation, putting in that week of frantic search can slow things down a lot, whereas saying, "He searched for a week, increasingly frantic and short on sleep" keeps the momentum high as we barrel towards the final confrontation.

 

[Penpilot]

Generally there is a certain flow to a story, which is most evident in the three act structure. Understanding structure is very helpful in getting from A to B to C in an interesting manner. Each part of the story has certain types of scenes and events. And knowing what belongs where and where you are along the progression of three act structure helps guide you in your story.

Here's a link to a post I made on the three act structure.

http://mythicscribes.com/forums/writing-questions/4222-story-frustration.html#post52308


Also each scene should advance one or more of your plots, and the end of that scene should lead into the next scene.

I think in terms of scene-sequel format. Here are some links.

icefallpress: Jim Butcher on scenes & sequels
jimbutcher: SCENES
jimbutcher: SEQUELS

 

[Androxine Vortex]

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!

I am actually having a hard time finding the right way to set my story. The first major event happens in the beginning where the MC's city is overrun from an invasion and the inhabitants flee into the mountains. I'm not certain where i should start the story. I could start it in the thick of battle. Or start it maybe a day prior but then feel like nothing in that time frame would be, what's the word, very "meaningful." I want to try to use as little filler as possible but don't want it to fly through the plot.

Originally i had the idea that the main character would see a vision because he is a sorcerer of the coming attack and warn his nation in advance. I dunno... i hate being indecisive!

 

[skip.knox]

I had a devil of a time figuring where to start my current novel. It could have started in a variety of places, and I'm still not sure I have chosen the right place. I'll know more when I get beta feedback. Look around and you'll find other writers, even long-established ones, sometimes have trouble with beginnings.

The one guideline that helped me with my current work is to focus on the beginning of the MC's story rather than the beginning of the events of the novel. That still didn't get me to a clear choice, but it eliminated a bunch of other possibilities.

 

[PaulineMRoss]

I'm not certain where i should start the story. I could start it in the thick of battle. Or start it maybe a day prior but then feel like nothing in that time frame would be, what's the word, very "meaningful." I want to try to use as little filler as possible but don't want it to fly through the plot.

My rule of thumb is to start with the tipping point - the exact moment that tips the MC out of his/her normal life. In your case, I would look at the precise moment the MC is aware of something different. Does he hear a noise? Or the lack of a normal noise? Or see something unusual? Don't set the scene, just open with the out-of-place thing. "I knew something was wrong when the washerwoman screamed." Or something of that sort. You may think of a better opening later, but it gets the ball rolling.

 

[BronzeOracle]

Starting off in an intense scene is a good idea and is often (but not always) used. I've heard it referred to as 'the hook'. Think the beginning of Star Wars with the star destroyer chasing the rebels, or the beginning of the Matrix with Trinity running from the agent. Gets us all on the edge of our seats wondering what is going to happen even though we haven't seen the protagonist yet. Then comes the Act 1 backstory before the end of Act 1 crisis that impacts the protagonist, propelling them into Act 2 - eg Luke's foster parents being killed off or Neo taking the pill.

There are lots of resources on the net for structuring your story to three acts explaining what each act and plot point means for the story and your characters. I took an online course which I found a lot of help in planning my novel but that's me, it seems some writers just love to get stuck into the writing without that much planning. Also there are other structures than the 3 acts but I've found it resonates with me so I've used it in my novel.

 

[Rufanacious]

If you wanted to have your character have a vision of the coming battle - and wanted to start with the battle - and wanted to start with a tipping point - you could have the character wake from the vision (or snap out of it, or however they return to consciousness) - to find it's already beginning/upon them.

As in, a couple of sentences where they're struggling to comprehend the horror of the vision, and then the shock of waking, and then something - like the washerwoman's scream - or perhaps they go outside for air because the vision was so intense and see something, a fallen object or a bird suddenly flee - that sends another thrill through them, because it was just in that vision, it means what they just saw is happening now...

It would also be an interesting way to introduce the character because they would be participating in a battle they'd JUST foreseen. Fantastic opportunity for moments where they inexplicably know what's about to happen, and consequently kick ass. You said you wanted them to warn people, right? It could become a case of battling to get to the people in charge and telling them the nature of the invasion... good way to establish attitudes towards their abilities, too, ie. if the others are sceptical of their foresight, or such...

*...ahem.*

Sorry. Imagination rather ran away with me... (Hi. I'm new here. *sheepish*)

 

[spectre]

I'm having some trouble in this area as well. I'm preparing to really mature a story for the first time, and it started off on a whim idea that developed as I wrote one day when I was bored. It's been about three weeks since I wrote out three alternative start chapters, and since then I've been looking at smaller details in the world that might help relish some new ideas. I've been reading geography and minerology, I've been considering political establishments and religious confrontations and it's helped me develop character sense and possible antagonists and protagonists in the big picture.

I have only written out one outine of the plot thus far and it's incomplete. It's a merging of the first three intros I wrote, or parts of them and so what I mean to say is that I've found shaping the "bricks" more helpful than organizing the layout of multiple "buildings".