Week 4 – What to Do – Plot or Characters?

At this point if you are a pantzer, you will probably start writing.  But if you are a plotter who needs a little direction, this is when you will probably need to decide whether to plot or create your characters.  Most of the how-to books suggest one or the other.  I usually do a combination of both; it depends on where my idea came from.  If I start out with a scene in my head, I usually take it the next step and find out how I got to that scene and where it needs to go.  I’m not suggesting you plot out the whole story here but plot enough to give yourself a little foundation.  I then start thinking about the characters.  What kind of character could get into this kind of a situation? 

If your spark of an idea comes from a character rather than a situation, now may be the time to work on developing this character and a few more.  Again, I’m not suggesting that you delve into total character development.  Maybe develop the protagonist and the characters immediately connected.  Then start looking at what kind of a story you’d like to share about this character.  What does this character have to tell?

Since the story, I’m working on started with a scene.  I wrote a draft of how I pictured that scene.  I then took the characters in that scene and started developing them.  I use a template that helps me to describe their physical appearance.  Then I start answering questions about their current situation, where they live, what kind of clothes they wear, what their occupation is, anything that helps me get to know the character better.  I then look at the past and try to create some history for that character.  What happened to them that brought them to where they are now, type questions.

I will get more in-depth with both plotting and characterization but this is where I stick my toe in the water to test the story.  I bounce back and forth between the plot and character, working on each character and storyline as it comes to me.  This practice helps me to determine if I have a story or just an idea.

 What do you do at this stage?  I would love to share your ideas with readers.

Your Assignment:

This week take your original idea and test it by developing the scene or characters to help you determine if you do have a story or just and idea.

 Next week – developing characters.

 Happy writing,

 Virginia

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