Comments | sboydtaylor: I want to learn how to PLOT

sboydtaylor

I want to learn how to PLOT

May 25, 2012 12:58

I've always been a seat-of-the-pants writer -- sure, I have a general idea of where I'm going, but things usually change dramatically. I don't understand how some writers can write out an outline and have it come out being anywhere close to useful -- it seems impossible to me, and it makes me jealous ( Read more... )

Comments 7

j_cheney May 25 2012, 13:05:04 UTC

I watched all 10 seasons of Stargate. They do have the formula down.

mindyklasky May 25 2012, 13:59:22 UTC

My plotting took a giant leap forward when I took a workshop from a screenwriter. (His name was Michael Hauge, but I don't think *he* was the key to my success; rather, thinking in terms of "acts" and inner character development matching outer action was what got me over my plotting hump.)

I'd suggest, therefore, that you look at some of the writing materials out there about "how to write a screenplay." For me, that's more successful than studying existing media that may or may not have gotten it right...

dotar_sojat May 25 2012, 16:31:33 UTC

Outlining is a tricky business. Mostly, that's where all the "fun" of writing is. YOu can let ideas run wild, and if you decide you don't like them you can go back and change them and it isn't a huge investment in time or energy. If you're 1/2 of the way through a novel and decide that it would be better if there were only two hobbits instead of four, well, that's an aweful lot of work.

BUT, speaking of work, once you have an outline that you are really happy with the fun's over, and from there on out it's just the work of putting words on paper. The whole project can kind of lose its luster at that point.

Tricky business.

qaexl May 25 2012, 18:28:44 UTC

So ... you want to play some Go games with me? :-D :-D :-D

-Qaexl

qaexl May 25 2012, 19:22:50 UTC

A bit more specific: in forcing myself to "read" the Go board, it somehow has allowed me to better program.

All last year, I have also been working on reducing my stories to three sentences. Then to a single sentence. The outline is much easier after that.

-Qaexl

sboydtaylor May 26 2012, 01:00:03 UTC

How long does it take to learn to read a Go board? And how do you learn? Coz I'm game, but I am impatient ;)

qaexl May 28 2012, 04:30:45 UTC

It took me two years to get to this point.

It took a friend of mine's five games with me to develop to my skill from scratch.

I guess if you're impatient, this clever plan will fail ;-)

-Qaexl