Creating plots with the tag method
Have you ever felt a genuine lack of plots for your story? Or even lack of events? In this post I’ll talk about the tag method, a great plot generator exercise.
First, write down five tags related to your story. For example, let’s say you are writing about two girls falling in love in a boarding school. Tags I can think of are:
Under each tag, create five or more related events that could happen as plot. This method will present you with many idea, you don’t need to use all of them. So, create as many events as you can think of, even crazy ones, let your creativity go wild.
Meeting for the first time
Long talks at night before sleeping
Making gifts for each other
Making sacrifices for love
Students punished for small things
Creating stories together
Writing poetries together
Creating an imaginary world of their own
Creating imaginary friends
Seeing and cataloging magical creatures
Meeting in the realm of dreams
Touching for the first time
Understanding responsibilities
Drinking alcohol for the first time
Losing the bliss of childhood
Finding a secret place of their own
Finding an abandoned garden
Exploring the gothic school
Finding a storehouse with old objects
Finding an abandoned music room
Once you are done, select your favorite ideas and rearrange them as to fit your storyline. If you are not happy with the results, try different tags or events.