International plot consultant, author of the Plot Whisperer books for writers and founder of PlotWriMo, I help transform stories. As Secrets of Personal Transformation visionary, I help transform lives.
Tomorrow begins International Plot Writing Month and you are joyfully invited! Visit the Plot Whisperer blog here everyday throughout December to revision the plot of your story.
Every December for the past five years, I've dedicated the Plot Whisperer blog to helping writers ready for a major revision and for those who simply wish to improve the plot of their stories. Follow daily exercises to re"vision" and redefine the plot arc of your story. PlotWriMo is custom designed to ensure your success even during the busiest time of the year.
On your mark. Get set...
See you tomorrow! To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms we'll be using throughout December, see resources below.
*****SPECIAL OFFER
Give yourself the gift of deepening your plot and your understanding of your story, your characters, and who you are as a writer. Sign-up for the virtual Plot Whisperer Workbook Workshops to get you writing smarter and faster and more joyfully with a deeper understanding of plot.
~~~~~
The following resources help you prepare for PlotWriMo:
Resist the temptation to rush through writing the end just to finish your story. Use wisely the few days that are left to you this month (keep in mind you can continue writing in December to finish your fast draft all the way to the end while at the same time taking part in PlotWriMo). The beginning quarter of your story informs the end and the end informs the beginning. Forget all you've written of the middle for now. Focus on the how the beginning and the end thematically support each other, how the beginning foreshadows the end and how the end satisfy the intent you established when writing the beginning of your story.
Examine who the character is portrayed to be in the beginning. What could she not do then and what she must do now at the end? How has who she presented herself to be in the beginning changed or transformed and into what?
See you December 1st and the beginning of PlotWriMo to re-vision your story.
NaNoWriMo Schedule:
11/22 -- 11/28 Write the End 1/4
11/27 -- Write the Climax
11/28 -- Write the Resolution
11/29 -- 11/30 Catch-up
***Give yourself the gift of deepening your plot and your understanding of your story, your characters, and who you are as a writer. Sign-up for the virtual Plot Whisperer Workbook Workshops beginning January 2014 to get you writing smarter and faster and more joyfully with a deeper understanding of plot. ~~~~~
PLOTWRIMO begins in 5 days and 18 hours. Dig out that old story you threw in the bottom drawer of your filing cabinet. Finish up the draft you're fast writing now. Come with a wisp of a story idea. Beginning December 1st, follow the exercises on the Plot Whisperer blog to re"vision" and redefine the plot arc of your story. PlotWriMo is custom designed to ensure your success even during the busiest time of the year.
Begin 2014 ready for a powerful rewrite. ~~~~~
The following resources help you prepare for PlotWriMo:
Write One Complete Draft at a Time: Benefits of Writing a Novel or Memoir from Beginning to End before Going Back and Starting Again
by:
Martha Alderson
(originally posted by: Brian Klems at The Writer's Dig)
7 Reasons to Write an Entire 1st Draft before Going Back to the Beginning
1) Rather than stop and start over again and again, when you allow yourself to write a rough first draft from beginning to end, you actually finish a draft all the way through.
2) Until you write the end—the climax—you do not have a clear grasp of what comes earlier.
3) You accomplish what you set out to do.
4) Once you have a skeleton in place, you are able to stand back and "see" her story in an entirely new light
5) Until you write the entire story, you do not know the end.
6) The less time you devote to making every word perfect in the first couple of drafts the less painful future cuts and revisions will be. Because you haven’t invested hundreds of hours going back to the beginning, you’ll be less reluctant to cut the customary thirty-five to one hundred pages that almost always get chopped from the beginning of the manuscript. The more of yourself you give to making every word perfect before moving to the next scene, the more emotionally attached you become to the words. Cutting your work is never easy, but the more you can endure the chaos of ugly prose, gaps, and missteps in the early drafts, the better.
7) One of the greatest benefits of writing a truly awful, lousy, no good first draft is that it can only get better from there.
Stay alert for the internal antagonist -- the belief that going back and starting again is beneficial -- that strives to prevent you from achieving an external goal (finishing your story).
Push forward. The further you put yourself out there with your writing the more vulnerable you feel. It is risky to follow the energy of your story out of your comfort zone. Always, the choice to delve deeper into the Universal Story represents a leap of faith and a belief in the journey’s potential for growth.
You have 1 Month, 1 week and 2 days to get a draft written in time for PlotWriMo. Beginning December 1st, follow the exercises on the Plot Whisperer blog to re"vision" and redefine the plot arc of your story. PlotWriMo is custom designed to ensure your success even during the busiest time of the year.
Begin 2014 ready for a powerful rewrite. ~~~~~
The following resources support you in your pre-challenge:
1) Plot your story step-by-step with the help of
5) Watch the Monday Morning Plot Book Group Serieson YouTube. Scroll down on the right of this post for a directory the book examples and plot elements discussed.
For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, visit:
You have 1 Month, 1 week and 2 days to get a draft written in time for PlotWriMo. Beginning December 1st, follow the exercises on the Plot Whisperer blog to re"vision" and redefine the plot arc of your story. PlotWriMo is custom designed to ensure your success even during the busiest time of the year.
Begin 2014 ready for a powerful rewrite. ~~~~~
The following resources support you in your pre-challenge:
1) Plot your story step-by-step with the help of
5) Watch the Monday Morning Plot Book Group Serieson YouTube. Scroll down on the right of this post for a directory the book examples and plot elements discussed.
For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, visit:
Last year, to celebrate PlotWriMo's 5th birthday, I offered a free Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Write a Compelling Storyevery week during December to the person who tweets the most messages using the hash tag #plotwrimo for that week. I enjoyed the campaign and appreciated everyone's help getting the word out so much last year, I believe I'll do the same giveaway this year, too.
PlotWriMo came about to help writers who take part in NaNoWriMo and find at the end of November they are left with a whole lot of words that do not always add up to much. International Plot Writing Month now includes any writer interested in seeing your novel, memoir, screenplay in a new light, who needs a boost and a restored belief in your story to once again be productive writing, wants to deepen your craft of writing and creating dramatic action, compelling characters and thematic significance and longs to stay connected to your writing life even through the chaotic holiday season.
PlotWriMo annually spans the entire month of December for writers who have a draft of a novel, memoir, screenplay and are wondering, now what? Every December for the past five years PlotWriMo on the Plot Whisperer blog has been dedicated to answering that question for all writers ready for a major revision.
PlotWriMo is a chance to revision and redefine the plot arch of your project before actually rewriting the manuscript. (This also works for writers without a first draft. Whether you merely have an idea for a story, a few chapters or scenes, just tweak the assignments to make them work for wherever you are in the process.)
Writers follow the blog from all over the world everyday every December for plot tips and tricks and inspiration beginning Dec. 1st to shape their words into a compelling story.
No writing is required. Instead, you'll step back and consider the overall structure and plot of your story, push aside the words and analyze the characters and dramatic action and thematic significance you have written to craft the project into a coherent piece worthy of publication. Brainstorm for an effortless draft two in the new year.
Have an idea for a novel?
A draft of your screenplay?
Think you've finished the final draft of your memoir?
Wondering, now what?
Everyday, a manageable new assignment tailor-made for the busiest month of the year.
Day-by-day, scene-by-scene, step-by-step tips and tricks and inspiration beginning Dec. 1st.
No writing required.
Craft a draft of your work into a novel, memoir, screenplay in a month’s time.
Who: Anyone who has written a draft of a novel, memoir, or screenplay and is now ready to craft the project into a coherent piece worthy of publication.
Why: The first draft of any writing project is considered the generative phase. The muse is often responsible for much of the generative phase. The writer acts as a conduit and allows the inspiration to come through onto the page. The generative phase is all about getting the words on the page.
At the end of the generative phase, a writer is often faced with a manuscript full of holes and missteps, confusion and chaos. This is part of the process in that editing in the generative phase risks stifling the muse, which often results in stagnation.
When a writer completes the generative phase the real work begins—crafting the words into a coherent story. This is where International Plot Writing Monthcomes into play.
Many writers, when left with pages and pages of words, are often at a loss as to how to take their writing to the next level. Rather than shove the words about on the page, join the Plot Whisperer as she takes you through the process of crafting what you have into a viable story.
6) Watch the Monday Morning Plot Book Group Serieson YouTube. Scroll down on the right of this post for a directory the book examples and plot elements discussed.
For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, visit:
