Writing Blog Number 2

20240621 Plotting Techniques Part 2

Plotting Techniques pt.2

The final thing I asked my email people came from a few WdCers:
What different plotting methods are there?

Now, I’m a pantser, so when I teach plotting I use very basic methods, so these come from links I was sent, and different suggestions from those I emailed.

This is part two of two about some plotting methods and techniques.

Let’s finish this!


6. Work Backwards
This is one I got this one from a book (Story-Writing For Teachers and Students, Scholastic, 1996) and it worked very well in my classes with students who knew where they wanted to go but struggled to get there. None of those I emailed mentioned it, but it definitely worked for my classes.
         It is simple – start with the climax. Write down what is going to happen in the final battle, and the characters involved.
         Then go back to what led to this and fill in gaps in the plan between the two.
         Do it again, and again until you get to the beginning.
This works well for short stories, not so much for longer works.


7. 27-Chapter Method
Attributed to Kat O’Keefe
This was a technique advocated by two publishers and two editors aand one author as being ideal for getting a novel “just right.” It is also called the 9-in-3 Block Method, and probably has other names as well.
         Simply put, it splits the story into the standard 3-act structure, but then divides each act into 9 sections (or blacks), and each of these sections contains one plot point.
         In Act I, the character starts in their own world, there is a complication, often the character refuses to acknowledge anything is wrong.
         In Act II, the change has to be admitted to, the character needs to acknowledge it, there is some exploration, there are some skills or knowledge learned.
         In Act III, everything learnt previously comes to the fore as the character faces the final trial.
What this relates to is that each of the three acts has a three act structure of their own, almost self-contained in that regard.
That is a simplified version, but many swear by it because of the way it does not leave anything out. Oh, and it does not mean your book needs exactly 27 chapters; that’s just the maths.
To quote a website I have now lost: “It is the best method for a writer who feels the need to plan out exactly what is going to happen, when it will happen, and why it will happen.”


8. Fichtean Curve
Attributed to John Gardner
This is also known as the Dorsal Fin of Doom.
         The action starts with a crisis, and then follows a series of increasingly more intense crises before the final crisis, the ultimate climax, which then leads to a quick falling action and the denouement.
         If looked at in visual form, it has the shape of a shark’s dorsal fin with a bunch of bites taken out of the front edge.
         This is a very simple structure, and results in a series of linked action scenes, but with each one a mini-focus instead of the big picture focus being over-arching. So there is an overall goal, but there are also a series of smaller goals to be attained, all adding to that climax.
(Truth be told, this is how a lot of my own fiction is written, even if pantsed.)


9. Freytag’s Pyramid
Attributed to Gustav Freytag
This method dates back to the 1800s, and involves a clear 5-Act structure for a tragedy, in the strict unhappy ending sense.
         Introduction: Build the world
         Rising Action
         Climax: Things change for the worse
         Falling Action
         Catastrophe: The disaster that ends the story.
As can be seen, this method puts the climax right in the middle because the character losing it all is the central theme, not the action. Of course, middle is relative. Rising Action and Falling Action do not need to be the same length, and Falling Action is often much shorter.


10. Romancing the Beat
Attributed to Gwen Hayes
This was recommended to me by an author, and is used exclusively for romance tales, particularly novels. However, it can also be used to plan your romantic sub-plot in any other story.
As Hayes puts it, it involves 4 Acts (or phases), and each of these should have 5 story-beats, making a 20-beat story. However, for sub-plot, the 4 phases on their own can be quite effective.
         The four phases are:
                   1: Start with the MC, introduce the love interest, set the scene in which the romance should blossom.
                   2: The couple get to know one another, get to know their lives, but do not enter a full-on relationship.
                   3: Doubt comes in (from one or both), a conflict appears, there is a break-up (to end the phase).
                   4: The MC goes into a mental downward spiral, something happens that brings them back together, they realise they need one another, external conflict is closed off, and there is a HEA/HFN ending.


These are ones I have heard of in the past and have seen on videos and stuff. However, there was one extra that two authors recommended in passing, which is based on Eastern story-telling. I had to look this up as it was brand new to me and I have no idea if it works or not, so I will leave it here as something you can look into.

Kishōtenketsu
Consists of:
         Introduction (ki)
         Development (sho): Something changes, stakes are introduced
         Pivotal twist (ten):An unexpected event happens, or the characters cause something unintended to happen. This is what the story is based around.
         Conclusion (ketsu): Related directly to the beginning.
Some consider this method “plotless” in Western terms. What that means is that there is often no conflict. It is a cultural difference, and we should all be aware that the Western dominant way of doing things is not the only way.


So, that is plotting. If that is the way you write, then I hope there is something here that can help.