How to Pre-Plot a Series

You start a novel while building in your imagination and on paper an imaginary world based on myth. The characters are believable. The action incredible. You worry about your character arc and about how to integrate the important imaginary world backstory details.

Character Profile for yourself as a writer (and perhaps/likely yourself)
Strength: dramatic action
Weakness (real or simply perceived by you): character emotional development
Flaw: Prefers being in your head imagining and building the exotic world over writing
Goal: Write beyond the middle of the middle

You work out the character emotional development block, identifying and developing what is already there in your story.

To resolve the issue of how much important imaginary world backstory to include and how:
On a Plot Planner, divide the number of books you envision in the series by the 4 parts of a story.

For ease, say you plan for 4 books. One book then represents The Beginning (1/4), one the 1st 1/2 of the Middle (1/4), one the 2nd 1/2 of the Middle (1/4) and one for the End (1/4).

Evaluate this line-up for the thematic and archetypal elements of the Universal Story supporting the entire series.

Decide on the resolution of the overall series -- how you envision the entire series ending. There is no right or wrong choice. For now, just throw out an answer.

Book 4 becomes the climax that brings about that ultimate resolution

Book 3 represents the crisis of the overall story plot

Book 2 becomes a deepening of the exotic world (substitute with magical for your particular needs)

Book 1 serves as the introduction to the overall series, while, of course, also having a unique and thematically tied story plot of its own.

Understanding the overall arc of the series, helps you better determine how much and how little of the magical world building and backstory reveal is necessary in Book 1. Best rule of thumb: only as much as the reader needs to know to inform that particular scene and successfully read forward curious and confident.
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Take the PLOTWRIMO Pre-Challenge:

You have 1 Month, 1 week and 4 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.
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The following resources support you in your pre-challenge:
1) Plot your story step-by-step with the help of

The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories

2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
named BEST BOOKS FOR WRITERS by Poets&Writers. The author provides insight on how to create works of fiction with powerful stories and focuses on how to devise a Universal Plot, plot lines and subplots, compelling scenes, and character transformation.
 
3) Refer to The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing

for writing prompts for scene #1 to the very The End, one prompt at a time.

4) Watch the Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. Scroll down on the left of this post for a directory of all the steps to the series. 27-step tutorial on Youtube

5) Watch the Monday Morning Plot Book Group Series on 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:

Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook (we hope you "like" it)

Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Plot Whisperer on Pinterest 

***** Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot reinforces daily writing practice and allows for more productivity in your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing.

Today, I write.

From Protagonist to Writer

She's brash about her character's violence and flippant about the character's flippant coping strategies. At moments, I sense the writer is acting the character.

To convey the truth about a character often takes stepping into the protagonist's shoes, be they flip flops, stilettos or boots to get to know her inside and out well enough to convey her truth. Often that takes exploring the dark side of ourselves.

By the 3rd draft, a writer slips on her own shoes and plots a point to the violence by revealing the truth about the character's coping strategies in scene through cause and effect. A powerful secondary character feels sympathy for the protagonist. He helps the reader, too, to feel sympathy rather than repulsion for her. The character may talk about killing everyone flippantly as a coping mechanism. Who she is is uniquely her. Her feeling are universal. Arrange the scenes to show the true cost to the character herself as she moves from denial to acceptance.

She enters the end, fully conscious of who she is and with a plan to get her where she thinks she has to go.

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 (Now also as a Kindle edition)

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

Thinks Like in Fireworks!

Terrific comment from a writer I work with -- she thinks like in fireworks with ideas going off in all different directions. No wonder she has difficulty pinning down her story. It's as if in every writing session she embarks on yet another story. Yet, it's obvious that her themes remain consistent throughout. Based on that we begin our work.

For her, the process is not about generating scenes. For this writer, her process involves analyzing what she does have. We begin with key scenes at energetic markers: 

• The End of the Beginning
  
• The Halfway Point
  
• The Crisis
  
• The Climax

Since she has revealed to me all the defining traits of a classically right-hemisphere dominate writer, such a task of analyzation brings up all sorts of resistance from her. 

As we work our way through the maze, her next toughest assignment is to hone in on her story and begin to commit to one route over another. She searches for assurances that the process will lead her to a publishable book in the end, which is impossible to determine until she reaches the end of the process and finds out what her story truly is all about. So, rather than commit, she continues to flit from one idea to another. 

No amount of reassurances from me or anyone else about believing in and relying on the beauty of her writing brings her peace. Such a belief has to originate from inside herself. Something in her back-story seems to be preventing this. And, just like with the protagonist, as this writer writes her story, she also embarks on a personal, emotional and spiritual journey to determine how her back-story negatively affects her front story and writing life.

No wonder writing a story from the beginning all the way through to the end can take so long and become so difficult.

Even so, and setting aside her dream of publication, I still believe to my core that the process of writing and the self-discovery writing brings us are worth the time and effort. Always... 

How does your back-story negatively and positively affect your front story and writing life?

Click on green highlighted plot concepts for further explanations via video. Each time a concept is referenced you are directed to new information.

To watch the entire Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? go to my YouTube channel. Currently, there are 26 Steps -- only one more to go. A directory of all the steps is to the right of this post. Enjoy!

Return of the Sacred Feminine??

Images on the news often portray an imbalance. That the old world order, the patriarchal world of rules and judgments and wars and control needs a bit of balance. Only trouble, the sacred feminine stays lost or hidden, is out of reach.

Yesterday's plot consultation gave me hope of the sacred feminine reveal, return, and balance restored.

Ah, the joys of being in on the birth of greatness.

Thanks for inviting me...

Be brave.

Dig deep.