#WritersGuide

◦ Plot & Scene Development

                                         The Basics of Writing Fiction 

                                         Plot and Scene Development 

        Building your plot is important. You don’t have a good story if you don’t have an entertaining plot, even if the characters are interesting. Before I get into creating a good plot, I want to speak a bit about how good characters play a huge role in this process. 

Characters --

        You want a variety of characters in a story. They all need to be different, just like how you and I are different from the kid that lives across the street and the kid that lives across the world. We all find different things humorous, we all have different personalities, we all have different families and pasts, and we each have a unique story and place in this world.

      You want characters that butt heads, you want characters that get along, you want a character that may be jealous of the main character, and you may want one that doesn’t quite fit in. But you don’t want a ton of different character types in a story. Pick a good few to stick with and use them to your advantage. Don’t go crazy on characters. The reader can only handle so many names and faces. 

Getting the Scenes Just Right --

        Some of you might describe yourself as a person that has stories and scenes constantly playing in your head like a movie. When you’re in the car, you might look off into the distance and imagine different scenarios. It’s not an uncommon thing, and it doesn’t make you a freak. A lot of great writers have this ability, and it’s an advantage that writers have. I know this because I've been to a lot of seminars from published authors that explain this very phenomenon.  Even if you don’t do this, I’m sure you imagine all sorts of things about your characters during the day.  I do the same thing, so I know quite a bit about writing them on paper and getting them right. As the events play in my head, I jot down some small details in a notebook. 

        First, I get down the details. If a character comes home from work, I may write down that he comes through the back door. I don’t write this in a way that I’d write it for the final draft, I just make notes. 

        After I go through the whole scene in my head, writing down the details and movement of the character, I focus on the events. Is he home late from work? Is he tired? Did he just get home from a late night at a bar with a black eye from the guy he tried to fuck over? All of that comes to play here. I just jot those details down one after the other in order.

        Lastly, I focus on how the character feels. If he’s tired, then I’ll write something about his work day that made him tired. Maybe he didn’t sleep well the prior night because him and his wife were fighting and she left the house. I can mention this here and have him look back on the event. When I do that, I go back and repeat step one.

        It may sound a bit confusing, but let me show you.

Actions: Fred walks in the house from the back door. He peeks through the kitchen’s archway and into the living room, where he lifts his head to see over the couch. Seeing nobody there, he goes up the stairs and lingers at the top. He hears a woman’s laugh and a man’s voice coming from one of the rooms. He walks up to the first door and leans his ear against it. He tries to listen, but the language is too muffled. He tries to turn the knob, but it’s locked. The voices stop and he backs away. He waits for the door to open, and when it doesn’t, he reaches for the door once more. When his fingertips touch the brass knob, the door is jerked open and Ren’s face appears. She asks what he’s doing home so early, and Fred can’t help but babble like an idiot. He looks past her to see Eric sitting on the bed, buttoning up his shirt. When he looks back to Ren, her cheeks are flushed and she’s rubbing her elbow with her free hand. Fred makes an excuse to leave and he runs down the stairs and back out the door.