Articles On Writing

The writer, who doesn’t have the time to plot, always finds the time to rewrite.
Sound familiar?
I’ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into writing my story that I wouldn’t bother with plotting.
Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It’s your map, which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can happen….
 Our stories aren’t focused
 We lose our way
 Our characters don’t come to life because we don’t take the time to develop them
 We get stuck
 The story strays from us
And all this happens when we haven’t figured everything out first.
Your plot is the foundation of your story. It’s the skeleton, which will hold your story together. Your plot is there to work everything out first – to see if it can be worked out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements that make a story.
Plotting is the difference between writing a story for yourself and writing one for an audience. Writing for ourselves doesn’t require too much strain because we only have ourselves to please. It’s when we have to please our readers that the hard work begins.
If you are aiming to sell your stories, plotting is a must.
Have you plotted your story before writing it?

© Nick Vernon
Source: ArticlesFactory.com

It should.
A theme is a one-line explanation of your story.. Every story should have one because our stories are about something.
When I say should, I mean that this isn’t always the case. Especially so for beginner writers, who may not know, that the theme carries the story. Or even those who’ve been writing for years may not be aware of the importance of a theme.
And a theme is important.
A theme is what will keep you on track as you write the story.
What happens if you write without a theme in mind? Two things…
1. You stray from the subject
or
2. You write more than one story.
Let me give you an example of a story written with a theme in mind…
The theme to a story I once wrote was, ‘Vanity Leads To Destruction.’
Very briefly, this story is about a female character that believed herself to be so beautiful, in the end she lost everything.
Writing this theme on a post-it note and sticking it on my computer, I was always reminded that my story had to revolve around this theme. Having a theme helped me stick to the story I had intended on writing and not stray from it – not even a little. It also helped me to focus only on what was essential to my story.
So according to my theme, ‘Vanity Leads To Destruction’…
• Every action my character performed was to show her vanity
• Her goals sprung from her vanity
• What motivated her was her vanity
• Her words (dialogue) showed her vanity
• How she handled situations showed her vanity
• The interaction with other characters showed her vanity
• The conflict was a result of her vanity
• The highest peak in my story, the climax, showed an intense moment of whether her goal would be met (whether her vanity would work for, or against her)
• And the ending? The ending showed how she was led to destruction because of her vanity
By following my theme, everything in my story was precise.
If I showed my character not being vain in any instance, then I would’ve strayed from my theme.
Does your story have a theme?
If you didn’t consciously write with a theme in mind, then your story won’t have one. Chances are, your story isn’t focused. But then again there is the other possibility… At times we fluke things.
Perhaps without consciously knowing, a theme is running through your story.
Check your story to see if this is the case. If it is, are you sticking to the theme?
If you find that some parts of your story are straying from the theme, those parts will need to be changed to accommodate the theme.
Now the other possibility…
You don’t have a theme and none is running through your story. That’s okay. We can still save it. Read through your story and see what it’s about. Then come up with the most appropriate theme to it - A theme that makes sense yet won’t mean too much work to change the story.
Rewrite those parts that don’t accommodate the theme.
It is easier if we come up with a theme while we are at the plotting stage. It saves all that rewriting but not to worry… You won’t make the same error again in your next story!

© Nick Vernon
Source: Free Guest Posting Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

You are plotting the story. You write down what will happen, what problems will arise, what obstacles you will place so the character won’t reach his goals immediately, what he’s going to do to overcome these problems etc…
So all these things will be happening to your character since it’s his story we are telling.
Does it make sense then to have your character in mind as you plot these things?
It does. Because it will depend, based on the type of person he is, how he will face these problems, what he will feel, what he will think, what he will do.
Different types of personalities make up our world. Some people worry too much, so whatever problems come along, they will worry with the same intensity. Other people view the lighter side of life. Minor problems do not affect them as largely as major problems. To some challengers are welcome - they thrive on them. To others, challengers are viewed with fear and uncertainty.
As you’re plotting the events of your story they have to correspond with the type of personality your character possesses.
What happens when you plot without thinking of your character?
He will act ‘out of character.’ He will do, say, think, feel things that don’t suit his personality.
For instance…
If your character is a worrier and you place him in a situation where he doesn’t worry, then that’s making him act according to how you want him to act in your plot.
You’re manipulating him to suit your plot - You’re not writing with his personality in mind.
As you plot the events in the story, simultaneously build your character.
Cross-reference what you have written about your character and the situation he is in. Do they correspond?
© Nick Vernon
Source: Free Guest Posting Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

When an idea comes to us for a short story, we either think of a story line first or a character first. Whichever we think of first, and later on build, we have to make sure the plot and the character suit each other.

Example one – We think of a story line first.

Your story is set in a rural area. A company opens a factory and employs workers from that small town. The residents welcome this, as there aren’t many jobs going around. The management takes advantage of that fact and exploit the workers.

Using a technicality in the system, perhaps listing them under different job titles in their books, they pay them less than they are entitled. Your main character sees this injustice and leads the workers to rebel against the management.

Now in a plot like this you will need your main character to posses certain qualities. Like…

Leadership
To be able to lead the people to rebel.

Convincing
The workers are from a rural area. Some might be uneducated and not aware of their rights. The main character has to convince them that what the management is doing, is wrong.

Persuader
Living in a rural area, jobs are hard to find. Most of the workers will view the company as their saviour. Their thinking will be that receiving little money is better than none at all. The main character has to persuade them that being in a rural area the company needs them as much as the workers need the company.

Strong Personality & Confident
We need a strong character that will see things through to the end. We don’t want someone giving up when things get tough. He will also need to be confident that he is doing the right thing (not to make things worse for the workers) and believes in himself (knowing what he’s doing is right).

Strong people skills
To be able to speak and relate to people on all levels.

Negotiator
To negotiate a solution with management and workers.

Public speaker skills
To be able to address this mass group of workers, in a voice that is confident, persuading, authoritative etc.

So these are the qualities we will need our character to have.

Now let’s see if we can make him believable. Remember he lives in the same rural area, so what makes him different from the rest of the workers who are willing to settle for less?

I could say he recently move to that rural area from the city. He used to work as a union leader and wanted to get out of the rat race. But having fought for workers rights his entire career, he can’t stand now to see injustices and comes to the decision to fight for them and himself.

So this character would suit our plot because we need someone like him for our story.

Example two – Thinking of a character first

We notice a man on the street. Something about him triggers our interest so we decide to write about him in a short story. So at this point we will build the character first and then work a story around him.

Let’s go back to where we saw him…

He’s walking briskly along a busy street. He’s in a hurry. He’s dressed in a three-piece suit, which indicates he might be a businessman. He’s got a stack of documents under his arm; a briefcase in his left hand and his right hand is occupied by holding the phone to his ear, which he’s shouting into.

Let’s observe him closer…

He’s in his mid thirties. He looks authoritative. Perhaps he has his own business. Why is he shouting into the phone? Perhaps one of his employees made a mistake, which has cost the character a lot of money.

What if this employee made the mistake on purpose? What if he’s secretly working for the opposition, planted to destroy the main character’s company? What if the owner of that opposing company is the main character’s own brother? Etc…

So as we analyze this character and ask questions about him, our plot begins to unfold.

Plots and characters have to suit each other.

When we have finished plotting and are ready to write the story, they shouldn’t be ill-fitting pieces of a puzzle – They should be a perfect match.

Does your plot suit your characters and vice-versa?

© Nick Vernon

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