Plots and Plotting

by Diana Kimpton

  Mankind is saved.

  That gives us the basic structure of our story. Now it’s time to fill out some details and, to do that, I’m going to look at each step and think about what needs to happen before it.

  Before Jane can translate the message, she has to find it or be given it. If she gets it as part of her job, she’d just tell her superior what she’s found and that would be the end of the story. So she needs to get it some other way – maybe one that means the existence of the message itself has to be secret. Enter Seb – the geeky guy. Let’s make him give her the message.

  But why does it have to stay secret? Time for a bit of brainstorming that helps me decide that this future world is authoritarian. Knowledge is strictly controlled, and independent historical research is banned. Having discovered the message hidden in an ancient artefact (not sure what yet), Seb is unwilling to hand it to his bosses without discovering what it says. So the step outline becomes:

  Seb accidentally drops an exhibit in the museum while he is cleaning it. It opens and he finds a message inside. But it’s not in English.

  Seb starts to take it to his boss but hesitates. He looks at the message again. Someone’s gone to the trouble of hiding it. Maybe it’s important to keep it secret.

  He takes it to Jane and asks her to translate it.

  Jane won’t do it. There’s a law against independent research and she doesn’t want to get into trouble.

  Seb persuades her to change her mind. (Don’t know how yet.)

  Jane discovers that the message contains information that affects the future safety of mankind.

  Jane alerts important people.

  Mankind is saved.

  As you can see, I’m adding problems and dilemmas for our two characters as I add steps. Will Seb hand in the message? Will Jane be willing to take the risk of translating it? As the characters struggle with those questions and make their decisions, they start to grow in my mind and become more real.

  You’ll notice that step 5 is rather vague. That’s because I’ve currently no idea why Jane should change her mind. But I’ve put the step in anyway to show that it’s needed, and I’ll work out the details later, once I know more about Jane. I often put in vague steps like that when I’m step outlining – even putting “stuff happens” reminds me that there’s a space in the story that needs to be filled.

  Step 6 is vague too and I can’t go much further without deciding some more details about the message. So it’s back to brainstorming and Mind Maps for a while, before I decide that the information it contains reveals how the ruthless elite who rule the world can be defeated.

  Wow! Sudden inspiration. Suppose it’s not a written message at all. Suppose it’s an extremely old mobile phone that’s still working. Seb doesn’t understand technology, but he knows Jane does. She’s in charge of the security at the museum and runs all the alarm systems. That would avoid the need for the message to be in a language Seb can’t understand, and it also gives Jane a skill that may be much more useful in this story than an ability to translate ancient languages.

  If I'd already written six full chapters, I’d be unwilling to make such a drastic change, but trying a different version of the step outline is easy. So I save the original, just in case, and start again.

  Seb accidentally drops an exhibit in the museum while he is cleaning it. It opens and out falls a mobile phone or similar electronic device carefully wrapped in a special film that’s kept it in remarkably pristine condition for something 200 years old.

  Seb starts to take it to his boss but hesitates. This is worth a lot as scrap and it wouldn’t really be stealing as no one else knew it existed.

  He runs his fingers over the keys and is shocked to hear it bleep. How can it be working after all this time and why was it hidden in the first place? He wants to find out more about it so he takes it to Jane and asks her to try to make it go.

  Jane won’t do it. She’ll get into trouble working on unauthorized electronics.

  Seb persuades her to change her mind. (Don’t know how yet.)

  Jane gets the phone working and discovers it contains a different version of history from the one she’s always believed was true. The elite who rule the world are ruthless – they are going to wipe out the ordinary population when they have outlived their usefulness.

  Seb and Jane are determined to overthrow the elite. They set out to find others trying to do the same.

  The elite realize they know too much and try to kill them.

  Seb and Jane finally join with the others and take part in a rebellion.

  The elite are overthrown.

  Now I need to think much more about what Seb and Jane are actually going to do and, in order to do that, I’ll need to work out more about them and the world in which they live. Step outlining is not a continuous process. It’s interspersed with brainstorming sessions, character development, world building and thinking about the many other issues involved in creating a good story. But the step outline itself keeps those creative activities on track and lets us see how the story is developing.

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  Research

  After I’d written the previous section on step outlining, I read it to my writers’ group to test their reactions. One of the members works in a museum, and she immediately told me that artefacts are so carefully examined that anything hidden inside them would have already been found. In order for Seb to find a hidden device or message, it would need to be inside something that had only just been handed in or maybe something he discovers elsewhere. She also told me that many objects are handed to museums after the owner dies, so I’m now wondering whether Seb should be someone doing house clearance rather than a museum employee.

  This sort of information from an expert can be invaluable when you’re plotting. It not only prevents you making mistakes – it can also move your story in a different direction and make it much better. Most people love sharing what they know with a writer, and I often find that the information they provide triggers more ideas.

  You may be wondering why I haven’t suggested researching before you’ve come up with the basic idea for your story. Although it’s perfectly possible to do that, I don’t recommend it because it’s easy to get so wrapped up in research at that stage that you never get around to writing the book. It’s also a more effective use of your time to leave your research until you know what you need to find out.

  The value of first-hand experience

  Because we’re writers, it’s natural to turn to books and the internet when we’re researching. The old saying is that a picture is worth a thousand words and, on that basis, a video is worth millions because it tells you even more. But it’s always worth trying to experience things first-hand if you can as it will add extra authenticity to your writing. Books and videos can’t give you the tiny details you need to bring your story alive: scents and sounds, tastes and feelings.

  If you are writing a novel where your characters use horses as transport and you’ve never been on a horse, now is the time to try. Just one riding lesson will give you valuable background information on what it feels like to be on the back of such a large animal: how being higher lets you see further, how the horse moves his ears and head and how your body moves in time with his steps. But try to stay on board – it’s safer to research what it feels like to fall off by talking to other people and reading books.

  If you can’t go to the place you are writing about because it’s in the past or it’s a complete figment of your imagination, try going somewhere similar. Living history museums can be a useful source of inspiration. It’s so much easier to imagine life in a Saxon village when you’ve walked around one and explored its houses. Historical re-enactment and live action role play (LARPing) are also worth trying if they are relevant to your story. When I spent a LARPing weekend running through a wood battling goblins, I gained new insight into sword fighting and the meaning of phrases like “standing shoulder to shoulder” and “holding the line”. Although
the battles were fake, they felt surprisingly real so I also came away with a much better understanding of how soldiers feel when they go into battle.

  In my experience, people are surprisingly co-operative with writers who want to experience things first-hand. As a result, I’ve been backstage at Phantom of the Opera, sat in on the pilot briefing for the Schneider Trophy and taken my advanced driving test. So if you think it would help your book if you got locked in a cell, went behind the scenes at a zoo or climbed the rigging of a tall ship, try asking. The worst that can happen is someone saying “no”.

  Research in action

  To give you an example of the range of research that you could do for one book, here’s a list of the research I did for There Must Be Horses.

  I read books on horse whispering and horse training.

  I spent a weekend watching horse trainer, Mark Rashid, demonstrate the way he helps horses overcome difficult behaviour. In the process, I met a troubled horse with a troubled background, who inspired me to create Meteor, the main horse in the book.

  I bought a horse so I could practise everything I’d learned. (Okay – that was going further than strictly necessary, but I had wanted a horse all my life and here was the perfect excuse.)

  I spent a day being the learner in an equine facilitated learning session. This gave me lots of ideas for the horse behaviour in the book as well as making me feel better about myself.

  I talked to a riding instructor about what goes wrong in riding lessons when someone pretends they can ride better than they really can.

  I read books about fostering and how children cope with loss, including a collection of interviews with young people who had been fostered. This added to the information I already had from being a foster parent myself in the past.

  I reread Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery, Jacqueline Wilson’s books about Tracy Beaker and the first in Lauren Brooke’s Heartland series to give me a better insight into the market I was aiming at. (It’s always good to know your competition so you can make sure your book is different.)

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  Developing characters

  As you work on your step outline, you’ll start to see how you want your characters to behave, so you’ll be able to develop them in more depth. And when you get to know them better, your characters will suggest further ways to develop the plot. That’s why there’s no real answer to the question “Which comes first: character or plot?” The two are so closely intertwined that it’s impossible to separate them.

  It’s a good idea to keep a note of the decisions you make about each of your characters so you don’t forget them. That will avoid Seb having blue eyes in chapter 2 and brown ones in chapter 22 or Jane being fearless with spiders in chapter 5 but terrified of them in chapter 35. However, if you decide to keep your records on one of those character development forms so popular with writing courses, don’t feel you have to answer all the questions. Deciding facts about your characters too early can restrict your story choices later so it’s best to leave your options open for as long as you can.

  Age

  One of the most important decisions to make about any character is their age, because how old we are affects the way we think, the way we behave and the way we relate to other people. That’s partly because of the life experiences we’ve had, so when you decide on a character’s age, count back from the date when the story is set to see what was happening in the world while they were growing up. For example, if your novel is set in America in 1872, all but the very youngest characters would have been affected in some way by the Civil War.

  Of course, this is more difficult if your story is set in the far future or a fantasy world. But it’s still worth considering whether life has changed since they were small. In particular, if you’re writing a post-apocalyptic novel, would any of your characters remember the major calamity that’s happened?

  Characters in their late teens are particularly useful in novels, even those not specifically aimed at young adults. Their lack of experience makes them look at the world with fresh eyes and gives them a desire to make sense of what’s happening – both of which provide good opportunities for your readers to make sense of it too.

  Gender

  The gender of some of your characters will be determined by your plot. For instance, if you’re writing a straight romance, you’ll definitely need a man and a woman. However, you may have more flexibility with other characters and storylines, especially now most jobs are open to both men and women. But before you make your decision, give some thought to the personal pronouns he and she.

  When you use them in your book, it’s important that your readers know which character they refer to, and they’ll find that easier if the people in a scene aren’t all the same gender. Don’t become so pedantic about this that you ruin your story, but it’s worth keeping in mind when you are thinking up minor characters.

  Names

  Names are far more important to me than appearance. I find that my characters never come completely alive until I know what they’re called. But I need to choose their names carefully because I find it hard to change them after I’ve started creating the story.

  Names can come from a variety of places. Elisabeth Beresford’s Wombles share their names with rivers and other places around the world, J M Barrie invented Wendy for Peter Pan and J K Rowling used an old-fashioned word for bumblebee to create Dumbledore. Whatever my inspiration, I always try to make each character’s name start with a different letter of the alphabet. This avoids confusion and helps those who want to skim-read the names. For similar reasons, I avoid names that look very similar unless there’s a good reason. So I might use Harry or Barry but never both together unless I’m trying to be funny.

  Before you make a firm decision, try saying your potential choices aloud to give you a feel for how they sound and whether they fit your character. Also try them with other names that are likely to occur together. That’s particularly important when you’re choosing names for a romantic couple or a surname to go with a first name – some name pairs have a pleasant rhythm and others don’t.

  Using real names

  Unless you are writing an historical novel featuring characters who really existed, it’s best to avoid names of real people. Obviously it’s possible to pick on a real name by mistake, and most people won’t mind being connected with a hero. However, their reaction may be less welcoming if they share their name with the villain, especially if they also share the same profession. So, if you want to include a dishonest lawyer or an incompetent doctor in your book, check as carefully as you can that there isn’t a real lawyer or doctor with the same name. Professional organizations can be a big help here.

  I never realized the importance of this issue until it happened to me. I was reading a book about parenting children with special needs when one of the fictitious sample families turned out to have the same surname as me. Not only that, they had two boys with a chronic illness, just like I had. The only difference between the two families was that the sample one was cracking under the strain and mine wasn’t. I was surprised how strongly I reacted to what I hope was an innocent coincidence. It felt very personal and, although I didn’t complain to the author, I was tempted to name a villain after her on a tit-for-tat basis.

  I always play safe and do internet searches for my characters’ names. This isn’t just to rule out the issue above; it’s to make sure that I haven’t accidentally named my heroine after a porn star or invented a name that has a rude meaning. Obviously I have to be extra careful with this when writing for young readers but, whatever the age of your target audience, a few minutes spent checking can avoid embarrassing mistakes.

  Appearance

  Although behaviour is more important than appearance, knowing what your characters look like can help them come alive in your head. Some people use photos of people from magazines or the internet to remind them what their characters look like. Others prefer to think which actor they would cast to pl
ay them in the movie version. Another alternative is to think of someone that you know, but be careful if you do this as they may not be happy if they recognize themselves in your book.

  Personally, I prefer to rely on a mental image rather than a physical one and it’s often very vague. I once co-wrote a radio script with my son that featured a talking horse and, when we had finished, we discovered the horse in my head was white while the one in his head was black. That hadn’t affected our ability to write the story because the colour of the horse didn’t matter.

  Although a detailed description of each character’s appearance may help you write about them, that doesn’t mean you have to provide the entire description to your readers. They will develop a mental image of what your characters look like as soon as they read about them, whether you provide a description or not. So, if there is something about a character’s appearance that is crucial to the plot, it’s important that you mention it as soon as possible before the picture in your readers’ heads becomes too fixed.

  For instance, if the final crisis in your story is going to be solved by a character called Katy escaping through a tiny window, you need to establish early on that she’s small and agile. It’s no good waiting until she’s trapped before you mention her size because, by then, your readers will have decided what she looks like. If they’ve always imagined Katy as tall, they won’t appreciate being told they are wrong and they’ll have trouble believing the rest of the story.