Saturday, September 13, 2008

Plotting Help

My biggest plot helper is to sleep on it.

It's amazing...you give the muse the problem as you go to sleep, it might take awhile, but when you wake up one sunny morning, the answer comes to you.

The plot had all the elements in it...I just didn't see how it would work until I slept on it.

I like to plot using a spreadsheet. Having read Lew Hunter's 'Screenwriting 434' I started to plot using steps. For a screenplay you need roughly 40 steps. Blake Snyder's 'Save the Cat' agrees, and with each step you need to have it further the plot, and conflict. Without conflict, the reader gets bored.

I also use Christopher Vogler's 'The Writer's Journey' which details the twelve steps of the hero's or heroine's journey through story.

And finally there is a neat little spot on the internet that has plotting, conflict, twelve steps of intimacy, romance plots, character archetypes, editing and the five minute pitch.

If I need more help, I'll ask the ladies on this blog...LOL

1 comment:

J L said...

How right you are -- I do my best writing in the morning, and I swear it's because the ideas percolated in my brain all night!