Writing a Story: Planning prt 2
If you’re going to plan, make sure you don’t tie yourself down with millions of notes about character appearance or binders full of fabric samples. Most of your knowledge can be stored in your cranial cookie jar.
This part will focus on the technical side of writing. Arcs, Plot, and Pacing are all tools a writer needs to create a story worth reading and also help control the story.
Plot
This is the spine of your story but it can never be a solid thing. Plot is flexible while you are writing. It changes and grows and you must be prepared for it. Plot is the main vein of your tale. Sit down and write down the main plot in three sentences or less
Harry Potter is an orphan wizard who attends wizard school and is pursued by Lord Voldemort as he grows up on account of the prophecy foretold.
Ethan Wate falls in love with Lena Duchannes, finding out she’s a witch and that dark forces threaten to tear their love apart and force his love into choosing evil and good.
A Song of Ice and Fire chronicles the story of a war torn Westeros where rival kings fight for the Iron Throne against a backdrop of magic, murder, fratricide, plotting and incest all the while as a supernatural force marches on the world to bring an eternal winter.
This way you can find about your Plot Points. These are the bullet points of your story. There are the pillars of a story, the support of the overall story. Subplots have already been reviewed on another post, so check that out if you want.
Arcs
A story arc is the progression of a story. The Pokémon evolution if you will. A story is not a straight line. It is round, the bitch gots curves. Throw something in the air. It begins and rises until it reaches its pinnacle and then rapidly falls. That is how a story lives. A story arc can span a chapter, a book or a series. Here are some examples.
Hamlet: Mopey Prince = Guy pretending to be mad and making stupid plans= Vengeful nutcase who causes the death of everyone.
Hunger Games: Katniss Volunteers for sister and goes to Capitol= The Games= After the games.
Pacing
Pace yo'self. Seriously. Calm the fuck down. But not too much. Timing is of the essence and is the key to good stories. A story’s events are set out according to how fast-paced you want your novel. Fast-paced screams action, thriller, suspense, slut drop. Medium paced are for longer books. Slow-paced may make a reader want to burn a book because the story is buffering.
