plotting exercise: replace "and then" with "because"
Hi friends,
I thought it would be nice to add a little accompanying exercise to the post about what the heck plot even is:
Katja
This is for you if you want to strengthen your plotting skills and practice weaving connections between the elements of your stories.
Below, you will find a few sets of events. Your job is to pick one and write a short synopsis from it. (As a bonus task, you can also write the story.)
Your main task is to find/create meaningful connections between these events and anything else you add to the story.
Example
Amalia packs her belongings.
She drives to a remote town.
She talks to a local barkeep.
A woman reveals a secret to her.
Amalia confronts a big fear.
She drives back home.
As you read that, your mind was probably already starting to weave connections between these sentences. Great. Use that, challenge it, mould it, and dig deeper.
One tip is to replace “and then” with “because”. This will automatically invite you to think of connections and causation.
Another great thing to do is to ask questions and try to find answers in the material you already have, especially the “why” questions.
In the example above, we can see that “a woman reveals a secret to Amalia”.
Before jumping to the “who” and the “what” of this sentence, can you ask: WHY does this woman reveal a secret? Could this be connected to the conversation Amalia had with the barkeep? Could it be connected with her drive to the town? Or anything else that we know about Amalia so far?
Instead of going with "Amalia talks to a local barkeep and then a woman reveals a secret to her" we can go with "Because she talks to a local barkeep, a woman decides to reveal a secret to her".
Thus, we have immediately established a connection between the barkeep, the woman, and the secret - without even knowing what it is!
For any new information you add to the story, try to find a connection to what you already have.
Be specific and get into details. The sentences are intentionally general and it is up to you to give them depth and meaning. Remember, these are just random pieces of information. The entire point of this exercise is to find the plot that will tie them together in a tightly woven whole.
Have fun and let me know how it goes!
Prompts
Michael organizes a party.
An unexpected guest shows up.
This guest accuses Michael of a crime.
A secret is revealed.
Two people fight.
Michael apologizes to the guest.
Lily quits her job.
A stranger gives her a present.
She realizes she has made a mistake.
She fights with her friend.
She takes a trip to a lake.
She burns an old letter.
Peter suddenly comes into a lot of money.
He goes to a club.
His ex-girlfriend contacts him.
He receives some bad news.
He loses an important document.
He reconciles with an old friend.
Sarah volunteers to work at a festival.
Someone steals her keys.
She talks to employees and volunteers.
A man delivers surprising news.
Sarah threatens the festival director.
She realizes she has been wrong about something.
Jacob receives a mysterious letter.
He calls a friend.
He visits the library.
A stranger threatens him.
Jacob realizes something about his friend.
He makes a difficult decision.
Try it out, find connections, and have fun!
