Someone on the other boards suggested a thread on plotting and we've started posting there. Thought I'd spread a little of the wealth.

I'll start with a couple websites that have some good info:

Cheat Sheet for Writers You'll just have to ignore the hearts-and-lips cursor.

Ten Points on Plotting

Plotting the Novel

And one more that's not really about plotting but just writing in general... Keep \'Em Coming Back for More ... because you can have the best plot in the world but if you make a lot of common author mistakes they'll stop reading mid-sentence and pass up anything else with your name attached.

The terms A-plot and B-plot are bandied about with regard to L&C fanfiction. A few years ago I had to ask what in the heck those were. Basically A-plot means that the story is plot-driven. B-plot means it is character-driven. Here's a site that answer the question Are You a Character- or Plot-Driven Writer? .

Neither one is right or wrong. They are just different and given that both kinds sell equally well, it only proves that different readers have different tastes. I personally am more of a character-driven writer. Most of my fanfiction was about the development of the relationship between Lois and Clark. And the original fiction I'm pursuing now is the same.

Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Deb Dixon is a great book to help with plotting. It's only available at Deb\'s site but many writers consider it to be their Bible.

The following site will give you an overview of exactly what GMC is:

GMC website

Here's a process that a critique partner sent me. She's using it to help plot her book. It's called The Snowflake Process . It didn't look like it would work for me, but every writer writes differently so it may work for you.

Speaking of plots, I moderate author chats for a website and invariably the author will be asked "Are you a plotter or a pantser?" This means do you plot your book out in advance or do you write by the seat of your pants with just a general idea of what you have in mind. Lucy Monroe has written a little about the process of plotting. And I've read somewhere (sorry I couldn't track down the site) that plotting seems to be more common among authors who write plot-driven stories whereas the seat-of-the-pants method seems to be more common among those who write more character-driven pieces.

Another question I hear frequently is "Which comes first? Characters or plot? Among romance authors in the "passion" lines (meaning they are generally more character driven) the answer is usually that the character comes first. A character will invade their head and reveal him or herself piece at a time until the full story is revealed. That's what's happened to me. I had a vision of a high school nerd who had become a successful businessman as an adult and returned to his high school reunion. Bit by agonizing bit he has revealed himself to me.

Here's a short article about Which Comes First by Elizabeth Grayson.

And last but not least, from writing teacher Alicia Rasley comes the Thirteen Prime Plot Principals . I read everything I can find by Alicia Rasley. She's highly respected in the writing field and teaches online writing classes that have come highly recommended by many writers. Alicia\'s site is loaded with great information for any writer whether you write heavy plots or character pieces. She even has a free newsletter where you can get writing tips and articles by email. It's listed on the first page of her website.

I'm sure others of you have processes that work for you and would love to share.

Marilyn, actually when it comes to Lois and Clark fanfiction, I think that we tend to view A and B plots slightly different.

While the plot-driven, and character-driven ideas apply in the general sense. Here I think more people see it as the A-plot is the 'action' part of the plot. The villian of the week, crises to be fixed or averted, that sort of thing. The B-plot is generally regarded as the development of the Lois and Clark relationship within the context of the story.

Myself, I tend to write C-plots, which are hopeless jumbles of the two combined in a way that no one can make sense out of. It keeps the gentle readers on their toes.

Tank (who wonders what the D and E-plots might be?)

Well, I suggested a while ago that we have a 'clinic' on how to write plots, and here we are. Mind you, I think I asked specifically for an 'A' plot clinic, since I believe that's where a lot of L&C authors have trouble.

Tank, maybe the D and E plots are the stuff that never gets written. When I plan my A plots, for example, I usually work out a lot more background detail than I actually include in the story. I need to have that safety net so that I'm confident that the stuff I do include is plausible (well, as plausible as you can get in a story about a flying man <g>). What I find frustrating and time-consuming is the level of detail I sometimes find myself researching and planning in order to work out a cohesive A plot. Maybe it's because I don't naturally have a devious, criminally-astute mind.

I'm interested to hear how other people deal with their A plots.

Yvonne

Yvonne, I don't think you're alone in the amount of time you spend on research. Look at the FFQ posts that are on these boards. I'm on several email loops for writers and every day someone is asking for info on this, that or the other. A few days ago someone needed to know about genetic illnesses that would be apparent at birth and fatal within 5 years. Someone else wanted to know about US marriage law. Readers are notorious about wanting their facts correct. I read a book a year or so ago where the protagonist was a successful 28 year old architect. I immediately thought "NO WAY!" And why did I think that? My son is getting ready to graduate from architecture school in May. It's a 5 year program which means the average student will graduate at age 23 (my son will be almost 26 when he finishes -- he started school a year late due to a late birthday and then co-opped his last two years of college to get experience). Then there's a 3 year internship before you can sit for your boards. That puts you at 26 when you take the exams. Even if you took and passed them all at once (which is highly unlikely) you'd still not likely be successful in the generally accepted definition of the term by age 28. So the greatest plot in the world may fail you if you write that your heroine flies into Paris's Heathrow Airport.

That Snowflake Process site might help you, Yvonne. It appears to me to be more "A plot" oriented. But whether plot or character driven, a story will still progress through the stages of backstory, turning points, black moment and resolution.

I'm a plotter, in a pantser kind of way

When I started doing fanfic, I'd just grab a premise, start writing, and see what happened. But over time, and with me starting to write longer stories, I found that I really like having a plot outline laid out before I start. Not to mention I was getting tired of writing the beginnings of stories and then not being able to end them.

I don't do really detailed outlines, but I do want to have an overall road map, and then as I go, I might sketch out the next few upcoming scenes with more detail. It helps me organize my thoughts.

I had a discussion with my husband the other day, touching on plots -- his understanding of A-plot (in a tv-show context) is just the one plotline that gets the most attention, with B-plot being the secondary story. Obviously, we don't use the terms that way around here I'm guessing that's because when the show was on the air, the plot that got the most screen time and attention was always the villain/action/crisis of the week, with the relationship stuff not getting as much time. Jimmy and/or Perry often had their own C-plots, too, with only a few moments here and there. But in fanfic, especially back in '95, when I started writing it, the relationship stuff was *the* focus of our attention <g> So the idea of "relationship = B-plot" kinda stuck, even when the B-plot part was really an A-plot. If you see what I mean

PJ

I think the amount of research you put into something depends on the genre of the story. If you're doing, say, a conventional murder mystery, you're definitely going to want your facts straight.

If you're doing sci-fi, better get the laws of physics right or people will nitpick it to death (yeah, I know, there are some expections to the rule, but the theories should at least be sound.)

If you're doing a Harry Potter-style fantasy, there aren't going to be many facts you'll want to use, but you'll still have to work within the rules of your own universe, however illogical they may be. Even Discworld has rules.

I personally research facts only when they are absolutely crucial to the story's plot. Otherwise, I tend to just let my imagination run with the idea I had and let the characters develop the plot.

Plots are the single most important thing in story writing. If you haven't got a good, solid plot, then it's not a story. 300 pages of introspection does not equal B-Plot. In order for something to actually *be* a story, the character *has* to want something, and must move from point A to point B. This is true for both A and B plots. Wheather the character is attempting to solve a crime, carry out a crime, get the love of their life to notice them, find out a deep, dark, secret, or get their significant other to agree to marry them, you have to have a plot and significant character motivation. A piece with 300 pages of introspection and no plot is just a vignette looking for an editor to get rid of 290 of those pages.

Laura

And yet, some of us enjoy 300 pages of introspection... and, you know, we're just writing for fun here. No editors. No rules.

Trying to write for publication is fine (good luck, y'all!). So is *not* trying to write for publication. My favorite author, Lois McMaster Bujold, started out writing Star Trek fanfic, then moved to novels, and has won multiple Hugo Awards. She's said that writing fanfic is not less worthwhile than published fiction, it just has its own, different rewards. <shrug>

Whatever makes you happy

PJ

SSHHHH! Don't say that. People might get it into their heads to write fic in netspeak!

Seriously... it's nice to write without expectations and conformity.

Actually, what I find interesting is that often I find that the gut instinct I used to get me past a fiddly factoid or two turns out to be pretty accurate when I get around to researching the thing properly. Is this because I'm so incredibly old that I now have a wealth of general knowledge and experience to draw upon? Or have I been watching too much TV?

Yvonne

They already do. Have you read some of the fics on fanfiction.net? It's hard to find a really good fic there anymore. Every once in a while I find a readable fic, but it almost always turns out to be a Mary Sue. One of the reasons I love the L&C site is because of the editors' high standards.

Neither.

Yvonne, you have achieved linkage to the great Shared Unconscious. Don't try to think about it too much -- that could sever your link.

Some of us LOVE to read pages and pages and pages of introspection. I am more likely to read 300 pages of introspection than something with an incredibly intricate A-plot or something with children having major speaking roles.

I guess I'm just weird. Guess I'd never make it is a professional writer. Oh well. Too bad. Good thing I'm an engineer, not a writer.

- Laura

Ugh, I avoid fanfiction.net as much as possible. I meant here. *We* are above such things. *looks all lofty and smug, before collapsing into giggles*

The only netspeak I've seen on here has been in badfic. And I think only once.