How I create my Plot Mountain.

Okay, so I've been asked "What is my Plot Mountain and how the hell do you do it?"

Yeah, I sat there and stared at my IM for a good five minutes after a friend asked me that. It was highly amusing really since she herself is a beginner writer.

Now let me state this here and now: What works for one does not always work for another. Or some parts may work for one writer but not for another. It's all about the writer and what training they have had. It's also about experimenting what works best for you.

I do agree that a writer should do something in regards to their writing at least once a day. Even if it is just to jot down a name. Or a quick thought. Never know when one of those little thoughts will help in a future writing project as I've learned over the years.

Now mind you, I've been writing since I was about 12 and was writing horrible poems. I really got into it around 17, and then it became my escape when my mother got seriously sick when I was around 20.

I'm now up in my 30's okay? I'm still a baby in the writing world really. I know people who have a list of written works three miles long.

My list is about half a mile long and most of it right now is fanfiction. I found that it was a really good way for me to learn how to write. And what worked to grab an audiences attention and what didn't. I had to learn how to title a story and how to summarize it. I had to learn how to create a first chapter that captured the attention, and then build from there to make sure that it continued to keep the attention.

I'm actually glad that I started in fanfiction. It gave me a lot of contacts that still write fanfiction themselves but are published authors. A lot of their readers? Are now readers of their published stuff.

But I'm not really here to talk about that. I'm here to help break down what I do to create my Plot Mountain.

So what is a Plot Mountain?

Well, it's not really like what you're told to do when it comes to writing.

Who here was told that a good story has a Beginning, Middle/Climax, Ending? And told that it's the proper way of writing?

Pretty much anyone who has taken an English class has right? Yeah, I remember sitting in my class the first time that I had heard that and wondering just how much BS it was.

As it turned out, a lot of BS. At least for me.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, this picture will help you understand this.

Let me break down my thoughts on this graph. The Exposition is a flat plain. Boring. Nothing going on. Nothing to set you on the Rising Action path. Which looks pretty much like a straight shot the Climax. After the Climax is a slide into Falling Action with another boring plain of Resolution.

That doesn't fit right with me. Not in any way.

Let me break down how I do things.

We have The Base, The Peek, The Scenic Stops, The Scenic Hike, and The Stroll (With a Stop or Two for a Quick Snack). Let's get started.

Plot/Summary 

(The Base)

I first figure out the plot that I want to do. Usually, this includes writing out a detailed summary.

For Example: They had been pulled apart by circumstances, frozen for thousands of years while the world around them changed. Aliens that were thought of as Myths and Imagination were real. Because of one man, Humans were in the minority and seen as nothing more as slaves. 

But the three brothers were woken up to stop this. They were there to help the worlds and systems out there peace, a balance. They didn't know their own Truths though. (1)

So I have a summary or idea for my story. Good. I'll also start work on characters right about now, but we're building a Plot Mountain first.

Main Plot Point and Mini Plot Points 

(The Peek and The Scenic Stops)

What is the main Plot Point and Mini Plot Points? Well, let's do Main Plot Point first yes? It's actually your climax, the place that you want to get to in your story. 

I now have to figure out what the Main Plot Point is. 

Ex: MPP: Brother 1 starting the unraveling of the corrupt's hold on the worlds. Going against slave traders and helping to restructure/rebuild a government. Fights (physical, mental, or cyber?) against book villain. (1)

So I have my main plot point figured out now.

But what are Mini Plot Points? We'll they're the supporting actions that would get us to the Main Plot Point.

EX: 1) Finding allies (rebel/original rulers/ect).

2) Finding out a link to his own past.

3) Hunting for the man who started it all via use of his "master" and other contacts.

4) Learning about the world around him.

Now that I have some mini plot points, I can start to build up the smaller details.

The Outline

(The Scenic Hike)

What I mean by The Scenic Hike is all the little details and information that help to build up to the Scenic Stops, or mini plot points. 

Think of it like this: As you hike up a mountain, you see the trees, the flowers and shrubs. The animals and the path before you. When you stop though and over look that, you see the bigger picture of what all that builds up to. 

That's what the outline is for. It's to plot out those little details to get you to each stop and the climax. 

I know what order, by this time at least, that I need to hit the Mini Plot Points for the story to work correctly, so now I fill in the details. I build up to the Scenic Stop. 

My outline tends to go something like this:

1. Character 1
1. detail
2. detail
1. supporting detail
2. supporting detail
3. detail
2. Character 1, 2
1. detail
2. detail
3. supporting detail
4. supporting detail
3. Character 3
1. detail
2. mini plot point
3. supporting detail

See how that works. I've discovered that programs like The Outliner of Giants(2) works well for me so that I can build my outlines and shift things around. It works well for me and I like it that way. :D Mind you, there are other programs out there that can be used. Even just doing it by hand can work. I sometimes use index cards on a ring to create some of my outlines.

It depends on the story.

The Wrap Up 

(The Stroll Down the Mountain/The Stroll Down with an Occasional Stop)

Now depending on if the story is going to be continued in another book or not will depend on how things wrap up. I usually only take three to six chapters after the climax in the book to finish things up, but sometimes I can go up to 10 chapters. Depends on the book once more.

To go back to my metaphors: this is the leisurely stroll downwards. You've seen the sights so there's really no major need to stop and really look. But sometimes you'll take a smaller side path that leads to a new mountain.

That new mountain is the next book and the sights you see on the stroll down the first mountain is what leads you to the second one. 

Pretty much, the little bits of information in those last chapters that you see are what leads you to the next book.

But if the book is a stand alone, it tends to wrap up. Not always neatly because life is rarely has a neat little bow on things, but the main plot is usually wrapped up. 

Now that I've gone over this, remember, experiment, learn what works for you, and write what draws you. 

And that is how I create a Plot Mountain. :D

Information on the numbers:

1: This is the original plot idea for Honey Drops books 1, 3, and 4 before I expanded into a 6 part series. 

2) The Outliner of Giants is free, but only up to 5 outlines at a time. 

Preparing for NaNo 20-15 Part 1

As I sit here listening to The GazettE's Inside Beast, I stare at my plot outline on Outliner of Giants and wonder just what the hell is going on in my own head.

I have something like 8 chapters plotted for this mean little plot, and I so want to do nothing more than to just open up a new file and start it. But I know that while it's in the running to be written during National Novel Writing Month, I can't do it.

I got through this every year. And I do mean every year.

It's no surprise that I'm going through this right now since it's only a few more weeks until the start of the insanity. Then again, while most people are dealing with Daylights Savings Time, I'm still on the same clock as I was last year and the year before.

The joy of living in Arizona my friends. No Daylight Savings Time.

To move on. I am sitting here going "Am I going to end up freaking out over every little detail this round?" I'm really hoping not actually.

I've decided that this year, despite the fact that I still get stuff done and ready for Nano, I'm not going to really worry about it all. I am going to sit here and plot. Plot a lot.

And work out some outlines for all of my stories.

Drink tea. All that good stuff. Because it means that my mind doesn't try to elope with my muse the moment it strikes midnight again.

What are you doing for Nano prep?

Plots and Being Torn for NaNo 2015

So I'm a little torn as to what I'm going to write this year.

I think I'll just lay this here and ask my (few) readers what you guys think.

1) Magical World
-- Magick was everywhere. They grew up in it. And most times it was used for good. Medium and Forensic Pathologist works hard to solve the deaths that cross her path. When bodies that look as if they had had magick that had come from an evil heart used on them, she is forced to work with a Magically Null cop to find the one doing the killing.

2) Mean Bunny
-- They had been cursed for their love. They looked for the souls that had cursed them. They knew that by only trapping one of those souls in their place would they finally be free. Until they...they had to feed their house. *Note: not so happy ending for the "heroine"

3) "Ancient Disease Screws the World Over"
-- It started with a mass grave sight, a disease that got real close to the flu virus, and ended with most of the world hiding behind walls.

4) Werewolf Series bk 1
-- They were just normal, every day werewolves living their lives. PTA meetings, Soccer matches, and trying to get a loan for that last little bit of land turned out to be the least of their problems when they adopt a kid with her past coming for her.

5) "Magical Girl" set, bk 1
-- Their kingdoms were peaceful and worked well for them. But when one kingdom wanted the princess and future ruler of another, they weren't prepared for the evil that was waiting to take advantage of it. *Note: another book with a not so happy ending but still kind of happy ending.


Any of them look interesting?

Setting up National Novel Writing Month

Wow! Hello all those who are coming around here to read what I have to say. Really.

Now that I have said that, it's getting to be that time. As you see by my counter, there are 47 days until the start of National Novel Writing Month, which lasts from Midnight November 1st to Midnight December 1st.

During this time I will work so hard to reach the goal of 50,000 words in a single month, if not more.

But before I can do that, I have to prepare for it!

What does that mean? Well, it means that I get to do a lot of things.

1) I get to figure out which plot I'm using this time.

I'm actually torn between 5 different plots that I discuss on the Nano forum thread Torn Between Ideas. The ideas that I'm torn about will be in their own blog post (and yes, I will link below that post when I get it up).

2) Pardon my language, but, un-f*ck my space.

This pretty much means I'll clean up my area. Organize, get rid of, move things around, and all around get things clear for when I start my month. This'll happen closer to November and I'll actually post pictures of my space of the before, during and after process. That'll be fun.

Yeah...

3) Prepare my muscial and movie choices.

I listen to a mix of music and movies when I write. Or TV shows. My favorites list on hulu is forever growing with shows that I want to listen to or watch while I'm writing. The same can go for my youtube lists.

I have a playlist that is ever growing that contains nearly every song that I have added to one list or another. A lot of pop, rocks, JPop, JRock, KPop, Krock, anime theme songs, and some older songs from America's 60's and 70's.

4) Make sure that I'm stocked with snackages for the coming month.

I don't like getting up for snack foods unless I need to okay? So I tend to buy easy to eat snack foods the two months before November. This year it'll just be the one month since the last couple of months I let that fall to the wayside.

Next month (October) I'm planning on hitting Sam's so I should be good.

5) Make sure I have plenty of tea and coffee.

Got a good amount of both but I think I'll get some more coffee just in case. It's starting to get cooler at night. Means coffee and tea are going to become my friends.

6) Make sure that I have plenty of water.

Easily done. Water machines, filtered, are on property.

7) Have at least 10 chapters of story plotted out, have a list of characters, character names, and generalized descriptions of other characters written out, and have major plot points noted down.

Okay, let's break this down.

A) 10 chapters plotted. I need to have at minimum ten chapters plotted out otherwise I will never get anything done while I hem and haw over what to write. So having ten chapters plotted out helps me in the long run. I will plot more as I write and the smaller details start to fill in.

B) List of characters, character names, and generalized descriptions. This means that I will have my main characters plotted out, have names for future characters, and have characters with no names but general descriptions waiting. This is so that should I need a new character, I can go over the descriptions and I can figure out who I want to use for whatever reason.

C) Major plot points noted down. This is pretty much what it says. In a story there are plot points that you want to hit. Mini climaxes that build up to the main climax.

I'm sure that you've all heard the "Beginning, Middle, and End" thing right? Or "Beginning, Climax, End". Well, to get to the Climax, or rather middle, you have to build up to it.

Think of it as a peak that you're climbing. There are stopping points for rest and there are points where you climb. That's how I see stories building. The mini-climax's, as I call them, are my plot points. I need to get to the first one, then the second one, and so on until I come to the final Climax.

I'll most likely go further into this on one of my later posts. But that's the general idea.

And I need to know what they would be. I pretty much write out a really long summary before I break it down into two different points: Mini-climax's and Building-points.

It's needed for me

8) Make sure my sanity is firmly taped down, the muse has much delightful things to keep her going, and tell my friends on facebook that I'll emerge on December 1st.

What? I need to explain this? Facebook is just as bad as tumblr when it comes to time sucking okay.

So, it's time to start prepping! First things first: figuring out my plot.

Fun times. Le sigh.

Blog Post: Plots and Being Torn for NaNo 2015