I can't do real plots.
Possibly that's an exaggeration, but I have to wonder sometimes. I rely on fan fiction for worlds and characters, but that's not all. Brutal series? Hunger Games plot. The Rules? Ditto. I don't really plot. I just throw people together and make them kill each other. My possible +Anima fan fiction is just a retelling, and the only roleplays I can keep up are OC tournaments, which is a pretty rigid standard plot (though it can wander off on its own at times).
As far as making do with my own ideas, it's shaky. Break Out is incredibly difficult—it's now not so much a question of "Who dies this chapter?" any more as it is "What do I reveal about the cause of The Rules in this chapter?" The Long and Winding Road is definitely no easier. I have a few definite antagonists and know there's a lot of walking, but it doesn't feel like enough to sustain a real story. Trying to throw in a chain of romantic events on top of that is so out of my element I don't even know what I'm trying to do sometimes. My original fictions don't get enough attention right now for them to have any real semblances of plot.
Maybe I'm too caught up in trying to prove myself or something when I don't feel like there's much there to prove. My readers have a history of thinking of me differently, but they don't pay money to read my things, nor do they have to worry about getting to know characters (though there are some exceptions for the latter). I don't know whether to not worry about trying to sell anything at all, given I don't have a great tendency to finish original works anyway, or to push myself to get better, however I go about doing that. Apparently I haven't been doing it right the past few years, because I can't read Unsurvivable any more easily than I can read Brutal. Maybe the 2YN course will help. Maybe I should go with more outlines. Maybe I should just listen to the advice of everyone in the world and keep writing as a secret little hobby only to keep my head from exploding from life. Maybe I should sign up for psychiatric help. Who knows?
What is plot, anyway? Introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement, right? But what is it like in the real world of novelling? I mean, people can't even settle on when the climax of Hamlet is, and that work tends to be considered decent. Is it all really just about keeping people's interest, or is it the pretty little literature class mountain diagram, or is it just whatever weird stuff you want to put on a page? Is there anything in particular that makes a plot good? Terrible? Just okay?
Eh, I'm just having one of those "why do I bother writing" days, I guess. I'll probably get over it, but advice would still help.
This isn't because of my review for TLWR, is it? If so, I'm really sorry I discouraged you. The last thing I'd want to do is make a friend doubt her own writing ability - especially a friend who doesn't give it enough credit in the first place.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm not completely sure how to plot outside of the standard Hunger Games routine, either. But don't tell yourself that you can't plot at all, because that's absurd. Even within the typical "everyone kills each other," framework that a HG story has to have, you've always branched out in different ways. No two Brutal series stories, or The Rules, or LL, has the exact same sequence of events, and not all of the events influence each other in the same way. Within a story that has a set outcome, it's always important to remember the "It's a journey (lolseewhatididthar), not a destination," mantra, and you always have implemented that pretty well. So don't just use "I usually write HG stories," as an excuse to tell yourself you can't plot.
As for stories outside of the HG-verse, which is obviously what you're working on now, just taking a couple hours to write out a structured framework is invaluable - but I guess that's not what you want to focus on right now. I'd say, instead - and this is kind of weird - but imagine your story as a staircase that goes up and down a bit before reaching the next floor. Don't see it as a flat floor, or a ramp, or a straight wall. What do I mean by this? Well, you've got to break up the flow of a story with little bits of everything. Rising action, falling action, light moments, dark moments, exposition chapters, exciting chapters. Never have too many in a row, or they lose their appeal. Too many fluffy moments will have the audience wanting more plot. Too many deaths or great discoveries will have the audience wanting a breather. Never give them exactly what they want, though - keep them on their toes, tease them a bit, give them something that looks like it could be a big revelation, then yank it away, and have it come a bit later. Or make it seem like two characters are going to have a heart-to-heart discussion, but something interrupts them. Maybe, once in a while, have a fluffy scene shattered by something upsetting, or a bit of humor found in a dark scene. All in all, it should gradually build up to a climax, but there's plenty of room for manouevering around in between there.
So, yeah, I don't know if I'm making any sense whatsoever or if I'm just rambling (I speak best in metaphors, okay? DX) Just ... however you make a plot, never let it be a straight line, and never let it be a repeating pattern. Once something big happens, i.e. a huge discovery, a death, a major battle, etc. give the audience and characters some time to breathe while dealing with what happened. Let the audience feel that they've earned the bit of happiness after struggling through a lot of dark chapters, or that they've earned the bit of excitement after there's been a lot of mandatory exposition and filler (because every story has to have at least some.) It should feel like a roller coaster, constantly going up and down, but at the same time going higher and higher.
And, again, I'm really, really sorry if what I said sent you into this funk. I know what it's like to feel that you can't write worth crap and, trust me, the very last thing I'd ever want to do is put anyone else through that. Regardless of what you or anyone else might tell you, you ARE a good writer.
The TL&WR comment? Oh, no. I did nervously go back to check what the next chapter was (it has a time-skip to get Belle back on her feet), but that's all.
DeleteOkay, how about I can't framework, then? :P
That's a great way to put it—I may never use metaphors, but I can understand others', ha. Thanks!
Oh, good. That's a relief. :) Honestly, I think that a time-skip in the next chapter sounds perfect - it gives her time to realistically heal and the two of them time to realistically get to know each other, and it sets up the previous three or so chapters as a great time for the audience to rest and get to know the characters before the action begins. Looking at it in that context, my worries about the plot seeming dragging really don't have any justification at all - and, when I went back and looked over it, I realized they actually hadn't been in the house for that long; it probably just seemed like that to me because of the wait between updates.
Delete*Sigh* Whatever you say, Journey.
You're welcome! Glad I could be of some use!
Haha, it also seemed like a long time for me because I spent so much time writing it!
DeleteYou bother writing because you love it. Don't forget love and joy!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Honestly some of it (the sequel fan fiction I'm doing now comes to mind) is really more for reviews than because it's a story I need to write, but it's easy to lose sight of the joy of it when I'm beating myself up about lack of mastery.
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