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 Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:12 pm
The PAC - Plot Arrangement Crisis
Also an official discussion of plot Yes, I created the term myself and I'm rather proud of it to be honest. I'm having one at this precise moment in time and it's driving me nuts!
Not only am I having a word count battle within myself (because I'm afraid publishers won't be interested if my work is longer or whatnot), but that isn't really the main issue.
The main issue is that I need to think of ways to make the plotline of my work more intriguing, and how to arrange it all. There are parts that I think may need to pushed up into the same chapters, others that I feel may need to come earlier or later, as well as working out a system that fits because different groups of my characters are all over the place (yes I know I need to bring them together but it's not feasible for them to meet as a big group - at least not yet), and the real underlying plot is very complicated.
*Sigh* Yes it does include magical devices and such, and I need a reason for these things to be in different places and I'm not even sure what some of them actually need to be. There are certain events that need to take place in particular areas of the world, and I need reasons for them to actually happen.
Usually inspiration doesn't elude me, but when it comes to this side of it I'm really not sure what to do. It's not that I haven't got the frame of mind to write because I have, and I know what I want to happen. I just don't want to end up with masses of plotholes because to be honest plotholes really aggravate me. cry
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:17 pm
Did you let other people read your writings? Perhaps they can give you a fresh insight upon things.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:09 am
Eyalan Did you let other people read your writings? Perhaps they can give you a fresh insight upon things.
My ex (LazarusOwenhart - still a great friend of mine) helps me with certain ideas I'm writing, and whether or not they're good, and I occasionally send him little snippets that he comments on.
It's more in my mind that I'm having the trouble. I'm confusing myself.
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 3:40 pm
I understand the need to vent, but we can't help without something to stand on. I personaly envy you. I wish I had a solid enough story to actualy do something. I just sit with my thimb up my a** and write snip its that get saved for the fireplace.
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Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 11:13 am
That was weeks ago you realise? smile
And the thread isn't just about me.
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Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 12:19 pm
I never bother to check the dates on these things, and nobody else has spoken up about PAC problems making you the star. Still I hope you solved your problem.
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 4:53 pm
Hmm nor do I check the dates,I hope you solved the problem but if not...
That has/is happening to me.I know what I want to happen but I don't know when or why or even where. There are plotholes everywhere.I need to fill the space in between events so that they make sense and they are intreaging. I find that other people can usually spark my imagintation.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:36 am
I've just completely revamped the beginning of my plotline. My problem arose with different characters, locations and events all having to correspond with one another, and the way I'd planned them was making it difficult. So, I've altered some of the ideas and it now fits really well. I'm now working on linking it together and re-writing pieces to set everything in a much more accessible plotline.
Still, the PAC lives on, as now I have quite a few gaps to fill in later on as I write. I'm thinking about them, but I'm not as far yet as to really need the thought on it too much.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:32 am
Isn't it amazing how changing a few things can make everything diffrent. The Atlantean Elves were original the Moon Elves, and by changing them I've opened up a whole new depth to their charicter, as well as helped to understand how the world would view them.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:40 pm
Yeah definitely. All I did was change what the main character was and what he was doing, and where another two characters were in conjunction with the protagonist and several other events also now slot into place very neatly.
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:13 pm
I have made this the official Plot Discussion thread. Mainly because as more Writers come in Plot is a commonly discussed novice topic as well as a fun conversation for more experienced writers. Sorry Mel for editing your thread, but I only made it sticky and changed the title. This will keep from loads of Plot threads comming up that repeat the same information.
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Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:56 pm
I hadn't noticed...until now. *Looks a tad sheepish.*
Fair enough though, it's a good idea.
Anyway, I've made some alterations to my plot that I believe to work better than the previous arrangements I had. I recall mentioning that major events weren't a problem, but that the in-between bits of getting to those events is the trickier part.
Well, with some random tweaking and a long time of thinking about how this and that would be done, I came to a conclusion and it seems to work far better than the original plans did. I'm sure many of us have done that before.
If anyone's interested in hearing a bit about the before and after with regards to the changes, I can put my ideas into a format that's comfortable for me and you guys can comment and/or make suggestions. How does that sound?
Of course, you're welcome to do the same as this isn't just about my own work.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:04 pm
I think that would be neat! I'd love to see yours and share mine, and see those of other folks too!
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:37 am
Originally, the main character was going to start off at the Castle where he lives with his Uncle and two siblings. Yes, his parents are dead. The family are nobles, and the man himself trained at an academy to be a swordsman. The story begins about 6-8 months after his graduation, and he's a professional mercenary/bounty hunter.
His cousin was going to be married, but lives in the tropics, and the intention was that he made his way over there for the wedding. However, he has dreams two to four times a week about something that happened several millennia ago - which connects to his destiny. He is also sought after because of this destiny.
The pirate I have mentioned time and time again, along with his closest friend, are meant to get caught up in this somehow. The main character however, hates pirates with a vengeance - even though this one's rather a good guy. I was trying to find a means for them to meet and have to work with one another. The ones who seek him have briefly been in contact with the pirate and his friend before. It was intended that they were going to gatecrash the wedding party, and then he was to be the one to more or less become the chauffer.
In trying to do this, writing it became too long-winded, and I wanted to get the plot moving a lot earlier on than it was. So I've changed it so that there are two jobs the main character picks up in a certain location. One requires him to travel to a particular spot on the map, and the other requires the capture of the pirate. It just so happens, these two places are on the same piece of land. The pirate is still ONE OF the main characters and is still going to be a major part of the plot.
After the protagonist has turned him in, he leaves to continue to travel to the location of the "other job" which has been left by those seeking him. During this time, the pirate is beaten, thrown in prison, and left to starve before he is intended to be hanged. Once rescued, he'll be in a poor state, but he will end up (with his ship and crew), at the same place the protagonist ends up at a bit later on - by a matter of days really,.
I thought that perhaps doing it this way was more feasible and understandable what with the two professions clashing, getting the plot moving quicker, and having characters meet up earlier rather than later. Please note that there's also more characters in the cast out there, so I have to vouch for them as well, and get some of them to meet up somewhere along the line as well.
Think of my plot a bit like a large spider web. You have a central point and everything else is peripheral to it and they all link up in one way or another. The main character is generally the central point.
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:02 am
*grins* Can I just say I find it ironic in a good way that your plot resembles a spider web to you, given the other discussion? Shows guts on your part that you can deal with the metaphor! *applauds*
In any case, it is an apt metaphor. All good plots should be like this, because too straight-forward a story can tend to be boring. This doesn't sound boring--this sounds like something I look forward to reading. You may end up with a few comparisons to other pirate movies/stories, but the obvious answers are these: a) after a while there are things in EVERY genre story that are common to the mythos, because without them it's not a pirate tale, now is it! and b) you have a lot of unusual, excellent plot devices going on here, and that will spin the story out in its own way.
I like the training academy bit too, will there be flashbacks to that at all? I can see fans wanting a book about the main character's years there, and perhaps his back-story concerning how his parents came to die, and what it was like growing up with the family in the Castle.
The whole thing sounds very neat! Have you done a lot of writing on it yet? You can start submitting the ms. to publishing houses once you have a plot layout (which you have) and the first three chapters done.
I'll post one of my current plotlines later today; I have to get some work done for my day job. Sorry it took me so long to respond!
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