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Hey guys!
Got started on a visual… I’ve put maybe a few hours into this if you count my online document. It looks small since I have the smallest handwriting of anyone I’ve met. The middle is still clunky, but the end of Project Lovedream is plotted in a neat little bow. Obviously the protagonist would be screaming at me right now to change it, but no, this is finalized. 😂 The satisfaction is awesome.
I just want to encourage everyone and their mothers to try a bulletin board or post-it notes. There’s so much to learn by visually representing your plot.
This thread is for visual outlining tips, or asking for help with any kind of outline strategy.
If you don’t know where to even start, I recommend researching the Three-Act story structure, Save the Cat, or just Freytag’s Pyramid if you’re a minimalist. Or or or if you like simple episodic formats, this still works, I promise 😊
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Some tips I found helpful:
– Color code two outlines: one for inner plot, one for outer plot. On my picture, blue is the character conflict, and red is the outward actions or huge plot decisions that affect the world/action moving forward.
– Research Act 2, or whatever the middle of your outline will be, more than the other parts. There are structures you can use for the middle which make it easier. I can link articles if anyone needs them.
– Think about the beginning status quo is different from the end status quo, and make sure to focus on those necessary changes in your notes. Whenever I get sidetracked, I go back to the status quo plan.
Hoping this will be helpful to anyone, or at least interesting for people who do it differently XD
Does anyone have different opinions? Advice? Methods they want to share?
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This is amazing! I’m very OCD and the organization is giving me adrenaline XD
I’m currently transitioning from pantsing to plotting as I get into series, so this is really helpful! Thank you!
Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.
Nice! Reminds me of how we attacked problems in my Web Development & Design courses. This was more focused on design and problem-solving, but some similarities exist. Throw up all the ideas on a wall, and get them out of your head so that you can think a little more. That helps you to think a little more about the places where ideas are developed. We could then easily see what area needed the most development and focus on that. We also had a main goal we would decide on right at the beginning, something that summarised what we had to do. A one-sentence summary of your plot or the goal for your book could help with that. Letting it rest for a night after you have created this outline can help you see things differently and come up with new ideas.
Another visual outlining tip I have to share would be a brainstorming session. This is for when you are stuck on something in your story. Grab a bunch of sticky notes. Set a timer (10 minutes maybe). Now write down every idea that pops into your head. (It is best to do this at a time of day when you know your thinking is more productive) Don’t dismiss anything, even if it seems ridiculous and dosen’t seem to fit with your story. When you are done, review all your sticky note (you can add to any of them if a thought occurs to you) then orrgagnise them into groups. (Maybe you are trying to brainstorm how your hero retrieves an object from an enemy base, you might have groups of ‘involves sneaking’, ‘involves cool gadgets’, and ‘involves banana peels’). You can colour code your groups. Now, the next part is important. DO NOT decide which idea you are going to use. Give it a rest for a day. Allow the ideas to mature. Then come back to it the next day and decide which idea you would like to use.
Well, that is my outlining/planning tip. I hope you find it helpful.
It looks small since I have the smallest handwriting of anyone I’ve met.
Smallprint style? I think I can rival that.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing. Your plot board looks amazing.
I would also agree that the Faytag pyramid is a good starting ground. It gets really interesting when you start thinking about the story as more of a Faytag mountain made up of multiple litter Faytag peaks.
My biggest piece of plotting advice is probably to first figure out who the central cast is and define them and their motivations. I also find it helpful to start my plotting from big moments (ie beginning, middle, climax) and then fill in the in betweens as opposed to going in a strictly linear design model.
Through darkness,
light shines brightestI have also found the concept of TV show story bibles to be a good basis for how I do most of my plotting.
Through darkness,
light shines brightest@whalekeeper ooh interesting!
This would be useful for my brother, who’s just starting his first story! Unfortunately I haven’t gotten him on here yet.
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
I don’t have room for something like this🫣 Anddddddddd I’m a horrible plotter XXD
I like the idea though!!
OCD is my main drive right now for suresies XD Hope you find this a useful point of help for book 2! If you ever want opinions on story structure or anything outline, that’s exactly why I made this.
Throw up all the ideas on a wall, and get them out of your head so that you can think a little more.
Exactly, it takes a load off the mind.
Now, the next part is important. DO NOT decide which idea you are going to use. Give it a rest for a day. Allow the ideas to mature. Then come back to it the next day and decide which idea you would like to use.
I’ve never heard that, but it makes sense since I usually tweak my new ideas the day after thinking of them.
Smallprint style? I think I can rival that.
Do you put three lines of writing on an average notebook line? XD I fluctuate between writing two or three lines.
Thanks for sharing. Your plot board looks amazing.
I appreciate it 😊
I also find it helpful to start my plotting from big moments (ie beginning, middle, climax) and then fill in the in betweens as opposed to going in a strictly linear design model.
Oh yeah, 100%. It’s kinda impossible to flesh out the rising action if you don’t know what it fulfills in the climax.
I have also found the concept of TV show story bibles to be a good basis for how I do most of my plotting.
So what’s the difference between a TV show bible versus a catch-all document? I haven’t researched show bibles enough but I want to. What’s their appeal to you?
This would be useful for my brother, who’s just starting his first story! Unfortunately I haven’t gotten him on here yet.
Whether or not he joins, good luck to him! Is he around your age?
No prob, you don’t have to be a super detailed plotter 😉 For me, I’m a detail-oriented person and this helps so I don’t lose track of the big picture. Ofc everyone plots their story in their head, and for some people that’s all they need to succeed.
You’re still welcome to use this discussion for ideas.
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@whalekeeper This is cool! I wish I had a cool name for my method – maybe I’ll come up with one
I have all these yellow legal pads (I know I’m nerdy) where I have pages and pages of random ideas, notes from literature, parallels I want to draw, specific outlines for scenes, etc. but here’s what I mainly do: I have a page for each chapter, and then have a 1-sentence description of all the important events both in the main plot and the side plots, and then if I have notes on the specific things, great; if not, I wing it. So far it works pretty well, but I will sometimes re-outline and rewrite a scene, especially if it was really bad and/or had important stuff that happened that I did badly.
In all, I wing it, and if I mess up, I go back and fix it
p.s. is the picture supposed to be small?
I ❤️ Debating Theology
I ❤️ Family Heritage
I ❤️ MedievalsYeah, it’s good to have some vagueness in the outline so you can wing it and potentially enjoy the process more.
p.s. is the picture supposed to be small?
Yessir. Everything on the board is top secret.
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Haha yes XD Thanks! I’ll definitely come back here if I think of anything specific.
Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.
Aww man…
I ❤️ Debating Theology
I ❤️ Family Heritage
I ❤️ MedievalsNo one knows the end of the story and I intend to keep it that way XD
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