It was great to see Kristine, Robine, Buck, and Donna at the Grub Street South seminar, "Plot Sprints and Other Ways to Get Your Page-Turner Mojo Working," with novelist Chris Abouzeid (see book cover and link, right). I'd be interested to hear what they thought of the ideas Chris presented...(please comment below)
I found his points and suggestions to be very instructive. I especially liked how he made plotting seem so easy, using the example of the 104-year-old man who's going out on a date for the first time in 60 years. It made me realize that plot is the first aspect of a novel that comes to me. (Conversely, I have a good friend who discovers a character first -- someone interesting who just pops into her head and refuses to be ignored.) Some critical question or situation will crop up and I'll wonder: what would happen? Usually, there's at least one character attached to the idea, and then others fall into place according to how they fit into the scenario as it plays out. What's your experience?
Chris also offered a handout of "plot-building exercises" designed to challenge our creativity, to help us "ride the edge of your imagination," as he put it. That's what writing's all about, after all -- isn't it?
Enjoy the ride...
Hi. I found Chris very instructive as well. Especially since I am just finishing up my novel (yeah) after severely re-working the plot. I didn't realize what was wrong with my story until I took a closer look at my plot. I came to realize that I had "lost it" somewhere along the way and was being seduced by all those tantalizing subplots. Having in mind a simple plot (another seminar I attended said you should boil it down to one sentence) helped me stay focused and get to the end. And then all those wonderful, fun subplots had something to rest on.
ReplyDeleteKristine
I look forward to trying some of his exercises on my brain!
Hi, Kristine,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing up the novel -- that's huge! I hope we'll have an opportunity to read more (if not all) of your work in the near future. Which reminds me: we didn't have a chance to talk about breaking down into smaller groups at the last Writers Workshop. We'll have to bring it up at the next one (someone remind me??)...I wonder if anyone would be interested in reading and critiquing your entire novel all at once? I know I'd sign up for that. I'd love to be able to read the whole thing from beginning to end, without interruption, but we can do it in sections, if that's easier...Hope to see you next month!
Jen
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention. I'm glad to hear you and Kristine found the plot seminar useful. For me, it's always fun to get out and talk to other writers. I hope we'll run into each other again sometime.
Best of luck with your writing!
Chris did an excellent job in presenting his case that plot is the engine that drives the novel. I suppose the case can be made as well that a character drives the novel....success riding on the strength of the marriage between the two. Historical fiction may provide the vehicle for giving equal weight to each.
ReplyDeleteBefore Chris even began his talk he had my attention when he referenced Sherwood Anderson and his "Winesburg, Ohio". That was my home (the real town was Clyde) for the years I worked for the newspapers in Fremont and Pt. Clinton. Anderson was an incredible writer, mentor to the likes of Faulkner, Hemingway and Steinbeck and his name just surfaced again as an inspiration to J.D. Salinger.
Chris has given me some additional ideas to strengthen my project and thanks also for his great "plot building exercises". Gotta get back to the "what if" exercise I'm mentally working.
Looking forward to next session.
Buck
Hi, again!
ReplyDeleteSo nice to see a discussion going. I'm adding a comment from Robine:
"My comment, briefly, was that I especially enjoyed the exercises and suggest incorporating a 'what-if' exercise in our monthly meeting."
And I agree that we should give that a try next month.
To go back to the chicken and egg question of plot and characters, I am captivated first by a problem, but once I get going, the characters get stronger and wrest the story's (novel's, etc.) trajectory from my hands. One consequence of this is I always have trouble working toward a resolution of the original plot. This is a hurdle I have on rare occasions passed over, but more often the story fades and I put it the "story purgatory" pile. A constant source of frustration...
ReplyDeleteHi (Dan?),
ReplyDeleteNot sure I understand about the consequence: are you saying that the problem that initially captivates you goes unresolved (the characters can't figure out a way to resolve the problem)? That does sound frustrating...have you tried outlining? Sometimes that helps.
Right, the characters (or, perhaps more accurately, the writer) can't find a proper resolution to the problem.
ReplyDeleteI used to outline, but I stopped because it felt too restricting. Perhaps it's time to try again!
-Dan