#story plotting

[yangularoo]

More Diego/Zorro x)

[halimamis]

This-is-trash phase

Don’t worry if you think your writing is terrible. That’s what editing is for. In fact, every masterpiece has probably been through at least one 'this is trash' phase before becoming great. Consider your trash phase character-building for both you and your story.

[alittlebitofeverything89]

How do you plan out a story? Like story boarding with the setting, the characters, and other things. Moodboards? Do you have them digitally or are they somewhere in a notebook like a bullet journal kind of thing?

[fophelia1331-oldblog]

It's funny how fast I can develop wild plot lines and concepts. Like, one moment I'm struggling to figure out what happens next. Then, I'm coming up with an extremely detailed character arc and the ways it affects the dynamics with characters around them. And the new idea cannot happen until WAY later in the story and perhaps needs a sequel in order to really flesh out.

No, I don't need to figure out what this group is going to do after the apocalypse calms down, I need to figure out what they'd chat about over breakfast looooong before the apocalypse starts. (Real example from a project. Don't... don't ask for context. Please, I will sound insane trying to explain it.)

So, uh, if anyone else has this too, here's some advice. WRITE DOWN THE IDEAS. Say "That's great!" and keep brainstorming. Don't stifle the creativity, just maybe try to redirect the flow if you can. Even if all my notes are scattered and about wildly different pieces, at least I have plenty to work with when the time comes.

[ambrossart]

I've seen the screenshots you shared of your outlining/plotting process and I'm curious- what software do you use to keep track of all the story and character details?

Could you be referring to Plottr?

This one? ☝️

I've actually stopped using Plottr. It's a great app, probably one of the best out there, but I found that it was feeding a lot of my bad habits. I have a tendency to get stuck in the pre-writing stage (as well as the editing stage, but that's a separate issue), and I found that I was wasting a lot of time messing around on this app. I can't afford to do that anymore. My writing time is too limited.

So I decided to strip-down my approach.

Currently, I've limited myself to three apps/devices:

Aeon Timeline for my plotting/planning

my smart typewriter for freewriting/early drafting

and Ulysses as my main word-processor

Out of all the plotting apps I've tried (and I've tried just about all of them), Aeon Timeline is the only one I've used consistently.

It’s basically a giant database. You can use it to store your characters, locations, events, whatever you want. And you can view this data in a number of ways, including of course, as a timeline. It’s a great reference source for your fanfic, novel, or book series. I’ve been using it for years.

Aeon Timeline

Freewrite Smart Typewriter

Ulysses

[writerthreads]

How to come up with a story title

By Writerthreads on Instagram

I’ve identified a few types of story titles, and I’ll briefly describe them below:

Common saying/phrase

Eg. When the Cows Come Home, Cruising for a Bruising

Usually, the saying might describe the events of the book or mean’s something

Something with a character’s name

Eg. The Redemption of Fletcher Cheung (my old title), Harry Potter and the _______

Or literally the character’s name

Eg. Oliver Twist, Doctor Strange, Hansel and Gretel

A location

Eg. Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Secret Garden

Choose an location where a part of the plot takes place. It would help if that location has a unique name (eg. Earhart High School would be boring).

A memorable line

Eg. The Stars Are Burning (my WIP), To Kill a Mockingbird

Use a memorable or important line, or a version of it. Bonus points if it’s in the first or last sentence of the book!

Use an allusion

Eg. These Violent Delights, The Grapes of Wrath

An allusion is a reference to or a phrase taken from an external source. The title usually alludes to something in the plot or a main theme.

If all else fails...

Use an unusual word

Warning: this makes the title less memorable, imo

Use a song title or lyric

Warning: copyright?? Also it might be a bit cliched.

Now that we’ve covered the main types of titles, let me give you some advice on book titles;

Long titles

They’re hard to remember and hard to type/say, which reduced visibility. Try to shorten the title if you can :)

Make it interesting

Eg. Gone With the Wind

Titles that use poetic language, vivid imagery, or a bit of mystery tend to be alluring to potential readers.

Use alliteration

Eg. The Count of Monte Cristo

Alliteration is especially popular because it’s punchy and sounds good lol.

Anyways, this is all I can think of! Comment below your book title(s) and anything I’ve missed.

[justgregor]

writing is funny because you know by heart every single inch of your characters room, neighborhood, their childhood trauma, the scar behind their ear and how they got it, the relationship they had with their great grandma before she passed but you literally have no idea what their last name is