# Plotting a story or How to plan out your insanity and get it done!



## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

Howdy folks!

Creating characters and stories are all well and good but will get you nowhere without a good plot from which to base your story. The plot is the basis for everything the writer plans on doing when writing a story. It's the foundation from where the writer builds his creation. 

*The idea forms*

This is where it all begins. An idea wiggles it's way into your brain and all of a sudden you feel the need to write. Here is where the foundation begins. It can come from anything. Maybe something you read or saw on tv. Irregardless of where it came from it's where the story will be built from. Once you have an idea, you need to sit down and begin the process of plotting it out. This is where the next part comes in.

*Planning the story*

Now that you have the idea, you need to flesh it out. This is a very important part. There are several means with which one can do this. Some use the tree method. Here you take a piece of paper and put your idea in the middle. From there, branch out with possible actions and ideas that will help shape the story around your original idea. Once you've done this, go back and look over each one. Brainstorm on how they will fit in with your overall idea of how the story will go. Decide which ones you think will work and which ones you think won't. Don't disregard the unchosen ideas though as you might find a way to work them in later. 

You have your basic plot outline now so go a step further. Look at each of the ideas you feel will work in the story surrounding the intial plot and add to them. Here is where you'll start getting a better idea of how the story will go. Start with each one and see what you can think of to flesh them out. Be it a simple piece of dialogue or another set of ideas, each piece will slowly start to fit into place as each idea spawns more possible twists. The important thing is to not go overboard. Decide on a set number of ideas and possibilites and work from there. It's always better to start with a small amount and as the story progresses, add additional pieces if one sees the need to. By doing this, you'll have a visual order of things and a good starting place to begin writting from.

Another method is to simply start writing from your basic idea. There's nothing wrong with doing this as long as you can keep a good creative flow from which to build your story on. Of course, one can always start using this method and once they reach a point they can't continue on, start with the previous one. I'm guilty of doing this. I simply put finger to keyboard without thought and work from there. On larger, more encompassing stories though, I plot them out so I can keep up continuity and flow.

*Write a rough draft!*

This part is rather self-explanitory! :biggrin: Now that you have your idea and your plot, begin the process of writing the rough draft. If you've planned it out, you'll find that this part is a lot easier as everything is in front of you waiting to be written. Rough drafts are an important part of writing as you can see the story progress and find any problems that you may need to fix before moving on to the final product. Here is where you may come across more ideas to add into the line to bring the story together better. This is also where you may find that some of your original plotting might not work. 

*The final draft*

You've brainstormed, you've plotted, you've spent hours on the rough draft... Now it's time to see your works come to fruition! This is where all of your hard work comes together and the monster that niggled it's way into your brain finally finds it's outlet! Taking your rough draft, rewrite everything you've put down. Why rewrite it? When you take the time to rewrite it, you give yourself more time to fine tune the story. You may find that the wordings seems off while reading it in the final draft or a part needs a little more work. 

*The last part *

Aye, there's just one more piece of work to do before you post it up. Once you've finished writing the story over do all the minor bits like spell/grammar check. With this done, set it aside. Don't look at it, don't go over it, don't think about it. Go read a book or watch some TV. Let it sit for a day languishing without attention. There is a reason for this. When you're writing(if you're like me), you get caught up in the work and sometimes may miss something. After you've had some downtime away from the monster, go back and reread it two or three times slowly. Cover every word, every line. Check the dialogue and the flow. This is where the final proof reading comes in and where you do any final editing. Many times I've written something only to come back to it later and say to myself I could have done it better if I'd done 'this' instead. Your story is now finally finished. Well..mostly...you still have to post it here for my reading enjoyment :biggrin:

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## Unknown Soldier (Oct 24, 2008)

Good advice Shogun Nate, very well thought out. The only piece of advice I would chuck in, is that once you have the idea of a story in your mind, come up with the ending first.

The number of times I've tried to write a story and then after the first few pages realised 'Hey! Where's this train wreck going?' is beyond calculable with human mathematics. But once you come with the ending, the rest is kind of easy as you're working backwards - so let's say that my Space Marine character becomes Emperor / turns to Chaos / opens a boutique / collects unemployment at the end of the story. I now need to get him there from the beginning. I can then write a series of events which take him on his journey to the inevitable conclusion. Simple non?

Other then that, I think Nate has it covered.


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## waltzmelancholy_07 (Sep 30, 2008)

Good advice Shogun Nate... Hehehe... And I agree with Unkown soldier... You really need to come up with the ending first because if you don't... You'll be surprised when your Space Marine character will confess in the end that he's gay... Hahaha... :victory:


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## Unknown Soldier (Oct 24, 2008)

How dare you spoil the ending of my story waltz - now I will have to change everything.

Those Gay Marine Chapters in full - Warning adult content!

The G(r)ay Knights
The Brown Fists
The Flaming Hawks
The Iron Handjobs
The Dark Anals
The Worm Eaters
The Gay Lords
The Raving Guards
Buns of Horus
The Salamanlovers
And of course - The Ultramarines (c'mon look at their armour - it's a dead giveaway)

Yes, I have the sophisticated sense of humour of a squashed cabbage. Apologies to everyone for lowering the tone of this thread.


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## waltzmelancholy_07 (Sep 30, 2008)

:laugh: At first... I thought you were serious... But when I finished your reply... I couldn't stop laughing... Hahahaha:laugh:... Men... I wish I had a sophisticated humour... Hehhe...


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

LOL..ok folks let's simmer down a bit :wink:. Aye, I did forget that little tidbit Unknown Soldier. I had planned on putting it in when I was typing the "planning" part but like a true dolt, forgot LOL. See..that's why proof reading is a good thing heh heh heh.

But yes, planning your ending is a very good idea. By setting that goal you know where you're going and just have to figure out how to get there. Of course, I'm also a fan of letting a story get a head of steam and see where it goes from there. A planned ending does give you something to shoot for but what happens if while writing you have a change of heart? Well all you do is change it of course but you see where I'm going I think lol. And if you don't, I mean you shouldn't let a pre-arranged ending spoil what might be a better one. Never feel that you have to stick to your ideas/plots. Leave yourself some leeway as freedom is one of the greatest parts of writing. Now this doesn't mean you should meander your way through it as in doing so you might never finish it. Goals are always good but creativity is better(in controlled amounts :biggrin!

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## Unknown Soldier (Oct 24, 2008)

Wise words as always Nate, so many great stories (and films, books, video games, etc) are let down by a weak ending. If your story runs away with you and takes you in a different direction, then groovy, but always make sure that you come up with an ending equally as satisfying as the rest of the story.

Another great staple to include is the 'cliffhanger', especially useful between chapters as it will keep your reader hooked. I also like stories with a twist or that challenge your perceptions - it keeps things interesting and can engage the reader on a more emotional level (even if that emotion is outrage). 'Hey! Why is that Chaos Lord letting the Imperial children survive?! Why doesn't he just chainsword their little heads off?!' and then you find out later on, he wasn't a Chaos Lord but some sort of shape shifting Imperial spy, etc.

So for your story - good beginning, good middle bit, good ending - how difficult can it be?:laugh:


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## Jabby (Jul 17, 2008)

This is a rock solid description for fiction. Really the hard part is maintaining the desire to write once you complete a section that has been gnawing on your brain for a while.


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