By editors Safiya Tariq and Elena Lodge
Have you experienced the obstacles of a plotter? Let’s find out:
You have a magnificent story for a novel and question, where do I even start?! With ideas overflowing, your efficient solution is to write a plan. Every idea is now down on page; how it starts, how it ends, key moments of conflict, the climax, the characters and their internal conflicts and motivations that drive them. Great! Soon, all the blanks are filled, chapter by chapter, scene by scene. But wait – in order for this pivotal moment to occur, you need to tweak a detail in an earlier scene. So, you rework your plan, again and again, and you don’t feel prepared enough yet to begin the writing process. Finally, after eons of meticulous planning, the story can come to life, and you begin writing. Whilst writing however, the story feels… flat. Sticking to your plan, the plot feels predictable and reading it sounds robotic.
This is a common obstacle that plotters can find themselves facing. There’s nothing wrong with being a plotter. There are different methods that you can use to relight the spark in your story!
Here are 5 tips that you can use to help your story feel as spontaneous and exciting as it did in its conception:
Start Writing!
Take the leap into writing. Whether you’ve been planning for a month, or a year, there’s no wrong time to start. In fact, writing can be a good source of inspiration to expand upon your ideas. Your plan can continue to be developed alongside the writing process. They compliment each other. If you get stuck in the planning process, begin writing those first chapters and see if you can now find an avenue through it. Finding your rhythm with writing is exciting and if you feel enthusiastic about your story, the readers will feel it too.
It can be intimidating to put your plan into execution. But prolonging the planning process risks diminishing your motivation and passion for your ideas. It is inevitable for your story to go through changes once you begin writing it. Waiting to finish every detail of your plan could take an indefinite amount of time and may result in your fantastic book never coming into fruition. Don’t undermine your potential.
Remember, it’s your world and we’re living in it! There is no right or wrong, go forth and conquer!
Ask ‘What If?’:
Read through your plan. At different stages ask the question: What if?
Imagine you’re writing a passionate workplace romance with all the simmering tension forged in their forbidden attraction.
What if, instead of the hero and heroine sharing an intense and fiery glance, the hero, overcome by desire, reaches out and touches the side of her face in a moment of forbidden passion.
What if the inciting conflict wasn’t just a misunderstanding between the hero and heroine, overhearing half of a compromising conversation in the office. But instead, was caused by a true flaw in your character that they can work through and develop as the story progresses, that will help to bring your characters together again in the end.
Contemplating multiple options for a way a scene takes place will help to avoid predictability in your story. What are unexpected pieces of dialogue or behaviors that your character can exhibit that will keep readers on their toes. At the beginning, middle and end of your plan, consider alternate options. There are infinite possibilities for your characters and their conflict, make it fun! Challenge yourself to find unique ideas that spike the drama and excitement of your story. Why not be as outrageous as you want, and you can always pull back and adjust later if you need to!
Don’t Force Your Writing to Conform to Your Plan:
After all the effort you’ve put into your comprehensive plan, it’s no wonder that you’re attached to the story you’ve created. Whilst you definitely should be proud of all your hard work, you are not bound to the ideas that you’ve established. Whilst writing, you will be constantly checking your notes to make sure you’re setting up the story just as you’ve planned. But if you ever get an inkling that there is a more intriguing or provoking path to go down, explore it! This will cause you to have to change elements or even large chunks in your plan. Though it will be annoying to have to tweak your plan, it will benefit your story in the long run. Your story will still feel fresh, new and exciting for you.
Choosing to stay dedicated to your plan whilst your excitement for your book begins to fade could be counter intuitive. Even a small change could make the world of a difference in making sure your writing stays feeling spontaneous. The plan you have is no doubt absolutely marvelous, use it to maximize the potential of the story, not limit it.
Try Writing Your Story Un-Chronologically:
A risk that comes with being a plotter is that once your plan is converted into writing, it may read methodically; this happened, and then this, and then this, etc. If you want to keep a spontaneous energy in your writing, try starting from a random point in your story. Whether you start in the middle and fit the jigsaw pieces around it or work back to front. You could be inspired to add new ideas that hadn’t crossed your mind before. Bring the setting and characters to life. Add a unique, detailed description that adds depth to the character or setting, like a stone pillar in a manor with carvings of peonies. The heroine could be staring at it, remembering her late mother whose favorite flower was carved into the stone after her passing. This also adds a layer to the person who had the pillar made, was it a grieving husband, or a guilty one? Things that may seem inconsequential at first glance can actually pique a significant amount of interest in your reader when extracting the full potential from it. Slowing down and focusing on poignant, vivid moments will help the pace of your story to ebb and flow instead of being monotonous. When you’re unbound by the building blocks that brought you to a scene, exploit the creative liberties available to you. There are no rules as to writing!
Try a Prompt:
If you’re at a complete loss for ideas, whether it be about your character, setting or plot, why not try a random prompt generator for inspiration. Randomized prompt generators online have short, vague suggestions that can get your creative juices moving again. A personality generator has given me the prompt, ‘your character is considerate and keen to help others.’ Using this to develop my own idea, my character’s helpful nature could be a flaw that causes them to be taken advantage of and betrayed by their friend/family, leading to a dramatic moment of conflict. My character will now go through development in their personality that causes them to act cold and angry. This will lead to outlandish scenarios where they act recklessly, not realizing the people they hurt around them. There is inspiration everywhere: movies, television, books. You don’t need to spend an agonizingly long time trying to come up with an idea. Chances are, the best idea will come to you at the most random time. And if all hope is lost, there is always a random prompt generator to inspire you with just a few words.
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As you’ll no doubt know by now, writing can be just as fulfilling as it is challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. As a plotter, you’ll already have all the pieces in place to get your words down on paper. You’ve just got to take the leap and see where your story takes you. After all, it’s your story! The key to spontaneity is to remember just that. If you’re tempted to take a slight detour from your original plan, just do it! It might not be what you’ve planned, but it’s still your story, so the rest will follow.
