Have You Lost the Plot?
Dear Maggie,
Have you ever had the plot of one of your stories turn in a direction you didn’t anticipate? How did you handle the detour?
Sincerely,
Tangled in Tacoma
Dear Tangled,
Yes, for sure! That can be a fun or stressful moment in the writing process, depending on my mindset at the time. I am a loose outliner, meaning before I begin writing the story, I’ve worked out the major plot arcs and sketched out the main and supporting cast of characters. I have an idea how the story should end, and I’ve thought through some of the more intense, pivotal scenes. I should be all set then, right? Well, mostly…
Sometimes, I get to a place in the story where the idea I had for the plot action simply doesn’t work anymore, or a character has developed in a different direction, and the actions I had in mind for them wouldn’t feel believable anymore. This used to send me into a tailspin, and I’d worry that my whole novel was unravelling.
When I understood there was a difference between story and plot action, my perspective changed. I think of it like this – the story is the overall idea of a novel. For example, Harry Potter is an adolescent boy who learns he is a powerful wizard, and who learns his destiny is to challenge the darkest enemy of the wizarding world. The plot is made up of all the twists, turns, and events used to tell the story – finding the Sorcerer’s Stone, the Horcruxes, making lifelong friends, learning about his parents, etc. The plot contains all the interesting bits that make the story unique, compelling, and page turning. But, the plot isn’t the story itself, only the component parts, some of which can be tweaked to better serve the story.
When I really wrapped my head around this concept, I felt a great sense of relief. I could make changes, sometimes significant changes, to my manuscript and still be true to my story. In fact, this idea allowed me to experiment with different plot scenarios without fear that I’d lose my way. My job is to use plot to tell the most interesting, dramatic, fully realized version of my story, and I might not get that right on the first pass.
Thanks for the great question!
