Organizing Your Plot

Some writers desire help in brainstorming plot elements for their stories. Others are looking for a way out of the corner they've written themselves into. Some want to test the story choices they've made. Others simply want encouragement and a renewed belief that the time and effort she puts into her story is worth it, that her story is worth it, that she is worth it, that someday someone will read her words and be moved by her story.

The exercise of listing scenes and filling in a character emotional development profile and coming up with a thematic statement grounds her and organizes her thoughts and notes and story. Slowly, the tangled mess of threads floating every which way on the surface of still water begins to weave into a cohesive container for her story.

In the past several months, the stories I hear from women writers seem to me to be digging deeper than stories in the past and reaching for more complexity, dealing with grittier themes that build to more truthful endings from real and powerful female characters.

To familiarize yourself with the Universal Story and the basic plot terms in the above blog post:

1) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master (The companion workbook is coming this summer and available for pre-order now ~~ The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories)

2) Watch the Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post. 27-step tutorial on Youtube

3 Watch the Monday Morning Plot Book Group Series on YouTube. A directory the book examples and plot elements discussed is to the left of this post.

For additional tips and information about the Universal Story and plotting a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter