Since it's only October, this might be helpful. Spending October planning helps big time, and his story beat way at looking at a novel helped my current mess of a novel.
I find that I don't outline well, not in the traditional sense. I have a general idea, specific scenes or beats that I want to hit, and an ending...usually an ending....
Anywho, when I don't have that then my story flops, no matter what I'm writing for. (I declare I'm going to finish "Bald Man & The Ice Princess" one day! It has an ending, darnit!) NaNo, I've discovered, totally exacerbates the problem. And my story ideas at the moment are pretty thin on the ground! *quails. headdesk*
Ow.
Yeah, so, I'll be spending most of October in a mental handwringing fret. It'll be fun :)
Yes, Larry does use the O-word that makes so many people freak out. And yes, I do think he has been harsh on pantsers and I'm hoping his stance is softening if not the message.
But it does work, I know it because I've been following his story structure instinctively for years without having the terminology for it.
Scratching my head, I figured maybe I was misunderstanding the Story Structure concepts. I would plug the formula onto another story of mine and see that I miss one of the milestones or I put them in a different spot. Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic was picked because I had the numbers handy.
In a correctly structured story, the First Plot Point is found in the first 20% - 25% of the narrative, the Mid-Point around 50%, and the Second Plot Point at 75%. Based on the word count, 25% of Pirates falls in Chapter Ten, 50% is in Chapter Twenty-One, and 75% is in Chapter Thirty-Four. Chapter Ten is when the pirates of the title finally show up (I even made a funny that it took so long to get to them!). Chapter Twenty-One is when the Shaman forces two big secrets into the open, changing things for the characters and the readers’ assumptions. Chapter Thirty-Four is when DG finally accepts and harnesses her magic and makes taking out the antagonists possible. Bam! Story Structure right where it is supposed to be. Which also means I know how to do this instinctively, I just lacked the terminology for what I was doing. Stellar Gift of Death Post 74
The plan doesn't have to exist on paper, it can live all in your head. But my head has never remembered my baby sister's birthday straight in 27 years, so I don't trust it. *rolls eyes* If that makes me an outliner, so be it.
Also, I found this to be hilarious on the site: "Sometimes the universe backhands us into paying attention. When it doesn’t dislocate a jaw, that’s a good thing."
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-10-03 04:39 am (UTC)Just kidding. GO YOU!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-03 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-03 06:00 pm (UTC)Anywho, when I don't have that then my story flops, no matter what I'm writing for. (I declare I'm going to finish "Bald Man & The Ice Princess" one day! It has an ending, darnit!) NaNo, I've discovered, totally exacerbates the problem. And my story ideas at the moment are pretty thin on the ground! *quails. headdesk*
Ow.
Yeah, so, I'll be spending most of October in a mental handwringing fret. It'll be fun :)
no subject
Date: 2011-10-03 06:36 pm (UTC)But it does work, I know it because I've been following his story structure instinctively for years without having the terminology for it.
The plan doesn't have to exist on paper, it can live all in your head. But my head has never remembered my baby sister's birthday straight in 27 years, so I don't trust it. *rolls eyes* If that makes me an outliner, so be it.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-03 06:01 pm (UTC)