Plots, It's all just a big plot anyway.
"Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing."- Margaret Chittenden.
"Plots"
"Go figure," One of the biggest stumbling blocks I ran into when I first courageously took up pen in hand, (or was it key in finger?) was the mystery of plot. Oh sure, I've read jillions of books. I presumed that cooking up a good plot would come easily to me, after all, I'd read a ton of books and in some cases, had the plot figured out long before I got to the last page. Well, wrong wrong wrong. Looking back my approach to writing now reminds me of a (paraphrased) saying by Jim Bishop.
I wrote three or four short stories (read as attempted to write). It finally dawned on me as I wallowed in the mire of disjointed and nonsensical plots I had concocted, that help might be just as close as my keyboard. I limbered up my trusty key finger and surfed to see what I could find. One of the best things I found was a 10 Point Plotting Checklist. I don't know who came up with this or I would give them credit for it. It's the best checklist and the meanest critic I've yet to run into.
1.A main character actively and emotionally involved in resolving a conflict?
2.A conflict important enough to hold the readers interest? Introduced early?
3.Age appropriate features, including length, characters and situations?
4.Sufficient motivation for the protagonists? Is it clear to the reader why the outcome or the story is important to the main character?
5.Several varied scenes that provide forward motion to the plot?
6.A logical basis for characters behavior, as well as a natural cause and effect sequence of events?
7.A unified plot that does not wander into unrelated territory?
8.Chronology that will be easy for the reader to follow?
9.A believable and satisfying climax brought about by the main character?
10.All crucial loose ends tied up by the end, including those introduced in secondary plots?
As I mentioned earlier, this checklist is a mean critic. I can't count the times I've merrily been typing along, pleased at my writing skill and story telling prowess, only to turn to this checklist and find I've missed an important step. Oh well, back to the old drawing board.
News Flash: One of my favorite publishers has a new blog that they've started recently. Sarah M. Gibson writes the blog while Jared D.Vineyard edits it and provides many of the tips. Can't beat that, where better to get tips than from a publisher. They'll be adding new tips from time to time so do check it out. I added tips one and two in my last blog. Here is the beginning of tip #3:
"The tips so far have been about character. Of course, you can't truly know your character without knowing the places that they come from. Where a character grows up helps shape who they are, whether it's tough inner city streets of New York in the 1980's or the large home of a rural farming family on an alien planet int the year 3085.........
Want more?? Just go to: J.D.Vine Publishing and click on "blog" or use the link at the bottom of the page.
Well, that's it for this issues Rant n Rave section, on to Tidbits.
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I made a comment a while back about reading ones story aloud to check for errors and to see if the dialog was realistic or stilted. Some of us(read as me) feel a bit silly reading out loud, even in an empty room. I've just downloaded and new free program called "Natural Readers" that seems pretty good. I got the lead on this from The Hamilton Writers Guild in Hamilton Ohio. No, it's not the mechanical disjointed voice of most software readers. I'll be trying it out over the next week or two and will report on it at my next posting.
Now, on to Last but Not Least….
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Did you know? That Charles Dickens favorite pets were birds.
"I didn't know that!" CNN posted this interesting tidbit: A number of pets graced the Dickens household over the years, including all manner of dogs, cats and ponies. But Charles' favorite pets were his two ravens, both known as Grip. Dickens was particularly devoted to Grip I, going so far as to write the bird into his 1841 mystery novel, Barnaby Rudge. This same talkative bird reportedly was the inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem, "The Raven," published four years later. Upon Grip I's demise, Dickens had his beloved bird stuffed. These days, Grip can be seen at the Free Library of Philadelphia's Rare Books Department, where he stands guard over the Poe and Dickens collections.
Well, that's it for this time, see ya later gater…..Aelf
My Writing Friend: writingfriend@earthlink.net
Nick Daws Writers Circle: Nick Daw's Writer's Circle.
Wridea: http://www.wridea.com/
J.D.Vine Publishing: http://www.jdvine.com/
Tennessee Writers Alliance: http://www.tn-writers.org/
USA Patriotism, Poetry: http://www.usa-patriotism.com/
Poynter: 30 Writers Tips
Auto Crit Automatic manuscript checker: http://www.autocrit.com/
Word Web download : Word Web
I’ll be adding to the above list as time goes on and I find more newbie friendly sites.
Copyright © 11/18/07
posted by Aelf at 7:47 AM
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