Using a Plot Grid

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned pulling out my plot grid when I was revising a manuscript and promised to talk more about that later. Now that NaNo is finished and many of you have a very rough draft in place, it's key to pull out or create a plot grid.

Why have a plot grid?

1. Plotting- Gives you a bird's eye view of the structure of your plot.

I'm a sucker for a good plot. Especially one that's unpredictable. Of course, creating an unpredictable plot is another whole blog post for another day.

2. Character Appearances- Allows you to see how often and which one of your characters appear throughout the book.

3. Setting- Where is your story taking place? Are you switching up your setting? To me nothing is more boring than bouncing your characters between the school cafeteria and home. Please don't do that. At least for my sake.

So, you're probably wondering what a plot grid looks like and how to put it together. Click here for the word document that I use. If you have a mystery plot, check this plot grid out.

You can also watch my vlog on how to make a bigger version of this. Personally, I need both.



So what do you find is helpful to making sure your plot flows, doesn't lag, and isn't filled with holes?

Great Plots: Star Wars & Lord of the Rings

I'm a big, big, VERY big fan of both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings (and C.S. Lewis and Stephen Lawhead too!). So when my husband sent me this link, I had a good laugh.




Which inspired me to find this cool clip:


Thinking about these movies, makes me wonder why I love these plots so much. Here's what I came up with:
1. An unexpected hero who saves the day- but he doesn't do it on his own
2. Unusual settings
3. Fantastic world building
4. Distinctive characters
5. Unexpected twists
6. A satisfying end
7. Good verses evil
8. Heroism

How about you? Any movies you love for their plots or characters?

SCBWI LA- Jay Asher

Jay Asher- No Bookmarks Allowed, How to inject suspense into any novel
· You must make a page turner, don’t let your reader put your book down!
· He read to us the best suspense book: The Monster at the End of this Book (Hilarious!)
· Key to doing this:
1. Fill the book with Anticipation
2. Drop clues
3. Chase your character up a tree, throw rocks at them (problems) and help them find a way down
4. Chase your reader into the story
5. Don’t make it a 2 dimensional story, be a roller coaster

He tossed a ball around but then stopped and promised to throw that ball at them soon- that is anticipation

Brainstorming Anticipation:
· What does your MC want?
· List obstacles which might pop up because of that
· Can those obstacles be foreshadowed with an earlier storyline
· Like if there is a flat tire, foreshadow this
· Have three storylines like A B A C B C. The first A is when you begin storyline A’s problem but then you bring in Storyline B’s problem in before you resolve storyline A.

Then I had to go see Steven Malk for my manuscript consultation. But am looking for someone from the conference with the rest of the notes.

Check out his blog! http://www.discomermaids.blogspot.com/