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Writing from Scratch #5
The Inquiry Plot
The problem of an inquiry plot involves a question that needs answering for its solution. The classic is Whodunnit? But any who, what, where, when, why, or how style questions can provide the problem for an inquiry plot. Traditionally, try-fail cycles in an inquiry plot come in the form of following clues which can lead to more clues (or questions) or end up being red-herrings that have caused a set back in solving the riddle.
Let’s look at the classic mystery “A Night of Fright is No Delight,” Scooby Doo! Where Are You? Season 1, episode 16. (I went a little overboard on this one, but it’s just too fun!)
If you haven’t seen this classic episode, then a quick background is that the gang has been invited to spend the night in an allegedly haunted house for the chance to receive a part of an inheritance along with four other possible heirs.
The Question: Who is the Phantom Shadow?
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Writing from Scratch #4
The Milieu Plot
The problem of the milieu plot involves a problem of location or setting. The character is often either in a place they need/want to escape from or not in the specific place they need/want to be in. The try-fail cycles will involve traveling away from or to the location. Gulliver’s Travels, The Great Escape, and The Hobbit contain milieu plots.
The Lord of the Rings contains one very large milieu – the problem of getting the One Ring from the Shire where its been hidden for a number of years to Mordor where it can finally be destroyed. We can further break this down into smaller milieu plots. Let’s look at one: the problem of crossing the Misty Mountains. (And we’ll use the events as they occur in the movie, since more people have watched that than read the book)
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Writing from Scratch #3
Flash Fiction: A Simple Plot
The first writing prompts we’re going to tackle will be flash fiction pieces. Flash fiction is a complete story written in under 1,500 words. We’ll be aiming for 250-500 words at first – that is one or two pages double spaced written in Times New Roman 12 pt. font.
The type of flash fiction I’ll encourage you to write will be Eighteen Sentence Stories*, and each of these sentences will have a very specific job.
The first Three sentences will provide the main character, the setting, and the genre (which clues the audience in on what kind of story they are about to read).
The main character should be introduced via an action that reveals their attitude at the start and with one defining job or trait that relates them to the plot. For example, a character may be both a father of three and a pilot. If the problem of the plot will deal with the kidnapping of one of his daughters, then “father” or “father of three” will be the defining job; if the problem of the plot will deal with the starship he’s piloting falling under attack, then “pilot” will be the defining job.
The setting should be introduced via a grounding sensory detail. The lingering scent of cookies left to burn when the parents received the ransom note. Or the pressure of being pinned back into the pilot’s seat under g forces.
The genre should be introduced via something specific and unique to the story. A ransom note is not specific or unique; a ransom note scrawled on the back of a picture that went missing off the fridge the week before is. A space ship is not specific or unique; a living space ship with a giant brain in its core that the pilot must psychically link to via the tentacles that suction onto his temples is.
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Writing from Scratch #2
What is a Plot?
Different people mean different things when they use the word “plot,” and they are all correct, if not as descriptive as they could be.
Some people mean a story structure, like the 3-Act Structure; some people mean a plot archetype, like an underdog sports plot or a heist plot; some people mean the negative to positive or positive to negative trajectory of the main character, like Rags to Riches; and some people mean “to plot” as in “to outline.”
Throughout Writing from Scratch, when I say “plot,” I’ll be referring to the definition I’ve already hinted at: a plot is a problem and its solution. Plots of this nature can be very long if the solution takes a while for the character to arrive at or very short if the solution is solved without much trouble. In a story with multiple plots of this type, the plot that has its problem first introduced and last solved is what I will call the Long Plot.
Plot-Problems
There are four umbrella types that plots of this kind fall under – all based on the type of problem the plot has. And these are called the MICE* plot-problems.
Milieu
Inquiry
Character
Event
Over the next few posts, I will be diving into each in turn.
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Writing from Scratch #1
Welcome to Writing from Scratch!
I’ve been writing a long time, and sometimes it feels like I lose the trees for the forest. Writing from Scratch is a chance for me (and you!) to get back to the basics of storytelling.
If you’ve never written a story before, if you’ve never felt like you could come up with one that would be worth writing, my hope is that if you follow along with me here, you will have the confidence and know-how to come up with an idea, build it into a story, and share it with the world.
These posts will be little, easy-to-digest nuggets. At the end of every post, look for a prompt and share your response in the comments!
What Is a Story?
A story can be defined by what it contains: at least one plot, character, and setting, and a style through which it is told.
Story Bits
To begin, let’s take a look at the second smallest unit of a story – the sentence. A sentence is a set of words that conveys a complete thought. And communication is fractal, meaning each part shares the same pattern as the whole. A story and its components, therefore, will also convey a Complete Thought.
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Spring Reading Reviews '16
This spring's list: NK Jemison, Rainbow Rowell, Stephen King, & Agatha Christie #amreading
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything here. I’ve been hard at work at my new novel, so apologies for my absences but really Sorry, Not Sorry. I have been reading though, and here are my thoughts on what I read this spring (March-May). Minor spoilers (nothing plot related) below for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemison, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, The Future of Life by Edward…
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Structuring a Series: Part IV
Structuring a Series Part IV: Follow-Up
Welcome back to Structuring a Series! This is mostly a follow-up to the rest of the blog series. If you haven’t yet read Parts I, II, or III, or familiarized yourselves with Dan Well’s 7 Point Plot Structure, now’s a good time to do it! This installment is for structuring a series that is not a trilogy. Using this structure is best for series with a serialized structure (or mythology arc)…
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Structuring a Series: Part III
Structuring a Series Part III: Planning a Series from 1 Book
Welcome back to Part III of Structuring a Series! If you haven’t read Parts I and II yet, you might want to. Or at least familiarize yourself with Dan Wells’s 7 Point Plot Structure. (No word on which one is a bigger time commitment.) Ok, so… you want to write a trilogy (or some other type of close-ended series with at least one arc running through the whole thing), BUT you only know what you…
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Structuring a Series: Part II
Structuring a Series: Part II: Extrapolating Complete Episodes from the Trilogy #writerslife
Welcome back! If you haven’t checked out Part I already, go ahead and do that; we’ll be right here when you get back. Extrapolating Complete Episodes from the Trilogy (more…)
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Structuring a Series: Part I
Structuring a Series: Part I
Last Tuesday, my writing group did a mini-workshop of Dan Wells’s 7 Point Plot Structure, which is awesome and everyone not familiar with it should go check it out (if you don’t have time to watch the whole thing just now, I’ll go over the basics in this post, but I still suggest seeing his presentation for more details). Anyway, Two is trying to plot a trilogy, which got me thinking about how…
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reaching that point in my fictional universe where my characters are getting older and things are starting to change within their dynamic/lives <<<<
they’re becoming *gasps loudly* adults with responsibilities😭😭😭
i’ve reached what i’m calling ‘the beginning of the end’ of this specific group dynamic in my universe aka the halfway point of my journey to writing book six and i’m kind of losing my mind??? i did not anticipate it being this hard???😭
over 103,000 words written and i’m still only about 60% through book 3…… that’s what i get for being a representative of the thicc book committee
it might also have something to do with the fact that i have nine main characters, tons of important side characters and plots, and lore that runs deeper than a rabbit hole but idk
just changed my already published book covers for a fourth time
ok i’m in desperate need of advice!!!
the window is currently open for character regression for one or two or my characters but idk if should do it or not???
the only reason i’m doubting is because i’m kind of scared to😭 but the opportunity is there and i do think it could be interesting for the plot moving forward.
esp for the two characters i have in mind. god it’s hard to explain without spoiling my story but how do we feel about character regression? should i just say eff it and go for it?
to paint a picture: it’d be one of those instances where a character has reverted back to their old ways because of a “straw that breaks the camels back” moment, but deep down inside, they still care, they’re just trying to cope with all the hurt they’re feeling.
help i’m inching closer and closer towards cementing a plot point that’s been planned for sometime now and i’m *dreading* officially writing it so badly omg😭
but as it is written… it shall be done😪 (i’m already sobbing profusely)
insane to think there was a time in my life where my characters didn’t reside in my head 24/7
just tried to outline future chapters and my brain nearly short circuited. my creative mind is not meant to be confined to the chains of bullet points and organization she simply isn’t
the concept of one of my characters being this super smart intuitive guy who can read a room/person with the snap of a finger, but couldn’t figure out the love of his life was keeping a scandalous secret from him is soooo😭
i love when i write out a scene idea (with plans to incorporate it into the storyline) and then i sit at my computer desk to do just that and my characters are just like:
“nah, we’ll take it from here tyvm.”
and i’m just like: oh ok! yes chef🫡
i can’t tell you how many “deleted scenes” i have in my notes app because my characters love to take the wheel from me🙄
just had a #writerscare thinking i astronomically fucked up a crucial part of a storyline in my book series…😁
one of the hardest parts of writing interconnected stories tbh lol the stress of everything having to perfectly align as to avoid even the tiniest plot hole is a lot
thankfully, i figured it out and saved myself from the impending meltdown!
that moment when everything just clicks in your writing or in a scene you’re putting together or an unexpected last minute idea pops into your mind that ends up fitting perfectly with what you wrote >>>>
the excitement that consumes my body is out of this world
does it take anyone else a good minute to get immersed into their fictional world before you can start writing for the day?
like i need to sit in front of my computer with nothing but tumbleweed passing in my brain for at least an hour before i can really lock in.
especially after a solid writing break. i need to re-read the most recent scene i’ve written at least ten times to bring myself back into the character’s mind and feelings
about a quarter through writing the first draft for the third book in my series!
it’s been my fav book to write so far because of all the storylines i have planned, but it’s also been the most complicated to write for the same reason😭
there’s just so much that has to happen — between the main storyline *and* the side plot that it’s literally making my brain feel like this: 🫠
it’s so fun yet so stressful at the same time but hey i love writing!!!!!!😁
what would be the equivalent of a “childless cat lady” for a writer? whatever it is, i am that
it’s the anniversary of two of my characters today yall🥹 february 7th❤️🧁💜🌙
(yes i’m acknowledging and wishing them a happy anniversary, no that doesn’t make me clinically insane)
happy anniversary logan and rachel, mama (me) loves you and your beautiful love story❤️❤️❤️ u definitely have not been one of my fav couples to write bc that would be so rude of me to admit!!!
i didn’t plan for the telenovela flair some of the characters/storylines in my book series have, but i actually love it so much…
not only does it feel good to represent my latin culture in someway, but it’s also just ridiculously fun to write😭
it adds a layer of unseriousness/comedy that my books need given some of the more serious issues i write about.
the reveals!!! the drama!!! the scandal!!! i’ve somehow created a coming of age version of the tv shows jane the virgin, gossip girl, and friends all at once????