For this story, I’m trying out a spreadsheet method of plotting. Now, since it’s a first draft I didn’t plot TOO much, since I still like that discovery feeling. I’m basically using some standard plot beats to get this done.
There are many plotting systems (almost too many), from the Hero’s Journey to Save the Cat, to the ones for romances. I’m using a combination of Save the Cat and Hero’s Journey. I started off by plotting my main emotional arc with Rachael Stephen’s Plot Embryo. I like the one page plotting device because it gets straight to the heart of the character. I started writing with just the main points to get me started with the draft.
However, I find that my I start to get a bit off track in the middle of things. Not so much that I forget the plot and where it’s going and what needs to happen to get there, but I lose track of which scenes are really necessary. I end up either overwriting or missing a couple important tension builders. Maybe it’s because I don’t use the Plot Embryo correctly? Maybe it’s because I see things in my mind as a linear story played out like a short TV series? Who knows.
Either way, I have the general scenes that need to happen to get me to the end, as well as where they should be. Let’s hope this helps me stay on track during November.
Happy Writing!
Rachel
Subtle Stories 