Contriving a Plot

[Foles]

I'm interested in how other authors think up their stories. Do you wait for the plot to simply come to you, or do you sit down and think about how things should go? (This is all in the prewriting stage, of course, where you are thinking of the actual story.)

I find that (normally) whenever I sit down and try to work out what should happen next, or in between two events, when I come back later, everything looks too predictable and contrived; nothing feels natural.

Normally I just let things come to me, which makes for an interesting plot, but then I sometimes feel like the intellectual aspect of the book is lacking- like it just doesn't make the reader think about anything; it's just an emotional joyride. Which isn't always bad, I guess.

So like I said, I'm interested to see how you all come up with plot details.

[Lith]

The answer is yes. I mix and match the pre-written and spontaneous. And then I start the process over again, re-working the spontaneous to be more consistent with theme and little details, and if I think of something even better, then I revise.

[ctg]

Like Lith, I use different methods for plotting actions. I can plot while sitting on a bus, watching outside from the window, or then I plot while I start with new chapter and take it from there. BUt I try to think about the plot in grander scale then just one chapter, so that I don't miss opportunities that I have presented in earlier chapter, or in chapters that are to come.

[Kissmequick]

I start with a plot outline. But it generally goes out of the window when I start to write, because writing it makes me think of new and weird things to put in there, extra ways to screw up my MC's life. The more I get to know my characters, the more I write about them, the more they say 'No, I'd do this!'

If that didn't happen, THEN I'd be worried about a contrived plot.

[Ursa major]

One thing you might try is to come up with a particular (and, one hopes, interesting) situation**. You can work backwards to see how the situation might have arisen; you can work forward and see how it is resolved, or what it may lead to. You would be amazed how much (detail, complexity, amount of story) something like this can lead to.



** The scene doesn't have to be complex and it can be inspired by anything: a place, music, a person you've seen on the street....

[Laerten]

I also use both plotted and spontaneous scenes. I will come up with several key scenes (I read these referred to years ago as 'candy bar scenes') that have to happen to progress the story to its eventual conclusion but will develop the scenes in between as I write them. I will know what has to happen, say in three chapters time, but I will try to see where my story goes naturally to get to that point.

[the_faery_queen]

short stories i plan, because they're short tghe plot needs to be fairly tight, so i have to wait for an idea and then make an outline then write. it's why i have so few short stories
novels i just get a start, start writing and see where i go. ideas come to me the more i write, i fit them together like a puzzle, loosing what makes no sense later on. i do a lot of changing, but i tend to let it grow and shape itself. i have found that the books that writers claim they plan, or don't let their characters dictate, tend to be the ones i find boring, that seem really anal. i saw robin hobb at a book signing and she said how when she was writing parts of the farseer she sat there and thought, i have no idea what this means. and that tends to be what i do.

[Lenny]

I don't actively go looking for plots, but rather just let them come to me. 99% of the time it's a strange dream, which I write down and re-jig a bit to get a basic outline, and then I just leave it. Eventually something will hit me (usually when I'm in the shower... don't know why, but a nice long shower really gets the creative juices flowing!) and I'll add it in. The only problem is, I seem to be buried under 40-odd very sketchy plans for different stories, with very little actual writing to show for it.

[Xwing Mom]

My plots tend to be visual...ie. I see them in my mind's eye playing out like a movie scene and then have to put them down on paper. Generally I start with the last line of the novel and work backwards. But I have discovered in actually writing the chapters that sometimes my characters take over and have things happen that I never intended. Or I find I'll need to add a scene to make another pivotal scene work better.
In one instance, to expand on a character's skills I had to add a nice little scene where she boobytraps another character's room. It wasn't in the original story line, but worked nicely in moving along the character tension.

[Talysia]

In the past few instances, my stories have all evolved around a set of characters. I get my characters, and with them comes their circumstances, and after that the story/plot develops in its own fashion. I do a fair bit of worldbuilding and planning, so that adds elements to the way the story evolves.

That said, though, I do keep a notebook and pen with me wherever I go, to jot down any story ideas as and when I get them. I get inspiration for plot devices and such whenever I'm out walking, especially if it's in a historic place or a rural/natural setting.

[Stormpirate]

My plots and / or scenes tend to just flash to me. I get a basic outline of an idea, and then I start flipping it over in my head, asking questions, what ifs, that sort of thing. I might go ahead and write it out as I'm thinking of it, changing things here and there. Some may start as an idea and stay in my head until I've fleshed it out abit. It depends on how confident I am of the idea.

[chrispenycate]

If your characters are anything like as headstrong as mine, make sure you know exactly how it's going to end before starting writing. That way you just might be able to herd them back into line when they've deviated too far…

[Rider of scaled wing]

Well, i personally don't have a real 'plan' per-se as far as coming up with a baseline plot. usually things just randomly spring to mind. My current project hit me in the middle of a gameplay session on a certain online title. it started small, then built up (Mostly with my mind wandering when i was trying to sleep) but eventually those mental meanderings just started to coalesce into something more. once i hit that point i actually put real waking effort into it, and it's become a serious project -my first real one- and an enjoyable one at that, at least when the writer's block takes a leave of absence. :P

[ctg]

Originally Posted by Rider of scaled wing

(Mostly with my mind wandering when i was trying to sleep)

You should use that on your advantage, as that is the buzz you need to do your art. Maybe you are one of those night writers. I am saying this because when I get the buzz, I cannot stop myself from writing (and sometimes it causes family arguments).

[Tansy]

I tend to write a short scene and then imagine how the characters got there, what is their back story etc I usually find that if I plan something out too far the characters assert themselves and it all ends up a bit different to I imagined