The Meme

lilfluff‘s topic was: Plotting methods that have worked for you, or that have intrigued you.

Plotting methods that have worked for you, or that have intrigued you.(12)

Okay, so you may have noticed my two favorite formats are “serial that just keeps going” and “500-words-or-less.” Neither one of these rely heavily on plotting, the flash fic even less so than the serial.

Needless to say, plotting is something I’m working on.

When I work on serials and long stories (that would mostly be Rin & Girey), I tend to outline chapters on four (Steno-book-sized) lines each, and then draw plot arcs along the side. “This is Shahin’s recovery.” “This is someone chasing Girey.” It works… okay. Writing to the outline is another skill I’m working on <.<

For “Monster Godmother,” I found that if I put the story in 100-to-500-word chunks, it made a lot more sense to me. So the outline looked like

[intro:250]
[flashback: 100]
[First scene:250]
and so on.

When I did Nano, inventrix had just introduced me to beat sheets: here. I’m still pondering them, but they don’t work well with my flow and tend to throw me off. “Wait, what, they’re supposed to be having a defining moment here? But I’ve got that scheduled as a dramatic pause!”

(I like dramatic pauses.)

And on the “intrigues:” I’m contemplating this: The Snowflake Method, recommended by clare_dragonfly.

So, what about everyone else? How do YOU plot?

Bonus link: 25 Ways To Plot, Plan And Prep Your Story

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