Plotting The Next Book: A Kiss and a Dare
Plotting The Next Book: A Kiss and a Dare

Plotting The Next Book: A Kiss and a Dare

I am a “Type A” plotter.  I need every detail planned out scene by scene before I can write a word.  I may not know my characters well, but I do know what happens to them.

One thing I learned from my last manuscript is that I need a way to understand if I have enough conflict between the characters. That was a weakness in my last manuscript and with the way I plotted the first book. The other thing I learned is that I have to speed up the process. I cannot take months to come up with the exact story idea and plot. I need to be able to produce a manuscript in a timely manner if I’m to write for a living.

To accomplish this I’ve returned to First Draft in 30 Days by Karen S. Wiesner. In her book, in 30 days you have a detailed outline.  I’ve also decided to start with a synopsis or proposal. I’m hoping this will give me an overall plot to use as a guide as I break down the plot into acts then chapters, then scenes, etc.

I also create a cast of characters for each story including setting, names of houses, etc.  This helps me keep up with everyone and the correct spelling.  I am terrible at names!

My goal is to have this piece of work done by mid-May. It’s  more than 30 days, but with my day job, holidays and trips, I will be lucky to get things done before then. I hope to start writing scenes in May and have a decent proposal to pitch when I go to Nationals in June.  Too ambitious? Probably.

— amy

%d bloggers like this: