It is a truth held to be self evident that writers at the beginning of a story will always procrastinate. I’ve known writers who are stuck for years on the creation of there plot and never actually get around to any real writing. The only real way to avoid this is to force yourself to put pen to paper and start your story. I do understand, though, that you might want to have some structure to your story before you begin so here are 5 simple steps that will get your plot written down without you having to spend months doing them. If you practice this, you can get this system down to just under 15 minutes. In fact, if you manage to do it in a shorter time, why not drop by my blog and let me know.
Here we go then, your plot in 5 easy steps:
Step 1:
Write down where your story starts, you’ll need to know the following things:
a) Who is your main character
b) Where is your story set
c) what is your character doing at the start of your story
Easy yeah?
Step 2:
Decide who your antagonist is and how your hero stops him or it. You don’t have to flesh him out just give him a name for now and have some idea in your head of the shape of him.
Step 3:
Decide the point at which your main character is set on the path that takes him to the end of the story.
Step 4:
Now we put it all together. Write down your beginning and then the point at which your character sets off. Now you are going to write down plot points (or steps) until you reach the end of your story. The first point you want to create is one that makes the audience think your main character is going to reach his goal, the second makes the audience think that they aren’t. Go back to the beginning with the third (making your audience think he will reach his goal) and repeat until you reach the end. Make your last plot point one that makes your audience think your character will not complete his journey.
Step 5:
Finally put the ending at the bottom of the list and you’re done.
A little tip on using the system:
Remember that as you are writing your story you can change what you’ve just laid out if you don’t think it works. This system is flexible enough to give you a structure when you need it but allow you to break out of that when you don’t.
If you need any more help with writing then why not visit me. I post many tips and tricks about how to write [http://www.soyourewritingabook.com] as well as articles on comedy, getting published, grammar, style, poetry and structure. I have been a writer for many years now and have two books published as a ghost writer as well as having written comedy for BBC Radio 4. Come and join the fun at: http://www.soyourewritingabook.com
Leave a Reply