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Fictional Narrative Basics - Plot
Unit Completion Date: End of Week 5
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Nonetheless, there are a few good exercises that can help you develop the plot of a story early on. A little forethought about the dramatic situation before you write your first draft can help you to find the most compelling series of events to carry your story forward. In my own writing, I've found I have a tendency to write four pages or so, then discover that the story should really have gone in a different direction. I go back and start at page one again, and write through to page six or eight before the same thing happens. Usually, I'll do this six or eight times during the first draft, and I've learned the hard way that a little thinking ahead can reduce the amount of this early wandering around.
The title exercise from What If? is a good method for doing just such advanced plot work without tying yourself down to a rigid pre-plotted story that lacks surprise for you as the writer. Look over the story generation exercises that you completed for the "Beginning" section of this discussion unit and find one of your own story ideas that you'd like to work with but for which you are unsure what actually might happen next. Then read and complete Exercise 46 in "What If?," "How to develop and finish stories" on page 130 of What If?. This exercise will not be posted to the course site, but you should put a copy in the "Plot" section of your craftbook.
Keep this exercise in the back your mind as you write your first draft as a tool in case you find yourself stuck. If you're not sure where to go next, stop and write out a few options.
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