No, it's not another post about me failing at something. :PI've been working on the metal fantasy plot, but that screeched to a halt this past weekend. This is nothing new, but I still started to worry. If I had a room in my apartment for every plot I've had crash and burn, I'd have enough space for an actual library, to say nothing of the guest rooms, home theatre, gaming room, swimming pools, hot tub, gym, walk-through aquarium, and ball pit.
...oh, like you wouldn't have a ball pit.
Yes, my hard drive is littered with the scraps of stories that could have been. It's nothing new. But it's more difficult to realize that something isn't working when it's a story I really want to work. It's also difficult not to panic when it happens.
I think this is something we've all dealt with. Pantser or plotter or anywhere in between, we all know the unfortunate realization that whatever we're currently working on Does Not Work, and we have to figure out what to do with it. This is a bit easier when it's a plot instead of a story, as it's easier to shrug off a few dozen pages' worth of work than a few hundred pages' worth, but it amounts to the same thing.
So, what do you do about it?
The first thing I do is figure out what the actual problem is. I go over the work in my head, and see if I can spot the glaring issue that's keeping me from making progress. In this case, it's because the plot has no twists. It's incredibly straightforward - heroes gather, determine what must be done, set forth on their quest, and achieve what they set out to do. NASCAR races have more turns than this plot, even if those are all to the left. And that's what got me.
A plot without twists of any kind is, I believe, a boring one. And if I'm bored by my own plot, it's a damn safe bet that anyone else will be.
Rather than fret about it, I did the sensible thing and set it aside. I have no shortage of ideas and plots-in-progress, and the work I've done over the past few days on another story has been a great deal of fun. The story's heart is a race/scavenger hunt between worlds, and the characters have so many other people working against them that I might determine who's coming after them next by rolling dice. And if it works out, I get to write another interspecies romance, so yay. ^_^
As for the twist-less story, I'm not worried about it. I know that at some point, probably when I least expect it, I'll realize what I need to do differently. Or I'll come back to it, in a week or a month or whatever, reread the plot and see what needs to be changed. It's happened before, it'll happen again. (Hell, it might have happened when I was thinking about it while shaving this morning.)
If nothing else, remember this: when things stop working, they'll start again. Maybe not today, maybe not next week, but someday. What matters is that you don't let it stop you.
Next week might be something suitable for Valentine's Day, if everything goes well. Granted, I don't like Valentine's Day, and I've learned not to count on everything going well, so who knows what's going to happen. :P
Sounds like a good time for the question, "What if?" ;)
ReplyDeleteIWSG #143 until Alex culls the list again.
Trust me, it's ALL "what if?". :P
DeleteWhat Melissa said. Throw out the wildest ideas you can think of and see what fits. When you're ready of course.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are a lot of different ways I could take this. I usually go through a few different plot drafts before I figure out what works.
DeleteYou know, you could always take another plot and mix them together and suddenly, wham! Complications, twists, etc. =)
ReplyDeleteI've done that sort of thing before - throwing two ideas together has led to a lot of good stuff for me. Not sure if it'll work for this since most other ideas I work with wouldn't work in this particular world, but anything's possible.
DeleteI agree with Crystal. You could combine multiple story ideas into one. I've done that before. :)
ReplyDeleteEeyup, same here. Some of my best stuff has come from dropping characters I'd written before into a new world and seeing who they'd be there.
DeleteIf only that same thing happened with my car! :)
ReplyDeleteI do like Crystal's idea as well. That seems to be a great way to complicate things!
Trust me, I'd love to be able to highlight and delete all the door dings from my car. >_< And I am working on some new stuff for this plot that should complicate things considerably.
DeleteOk, but why not just come up with a crazy plot twist and put it in and see what happens? You know, just for fun? It might not work, but then again, it just might.
ReplyDeleteEh, screw Valentine's Day. It's a Hallmark Holiday designed to make us all feel either inadequate for not buying the one we love mountains of plastic crap, or terrible for not having anyone to buy mountains of plastic crap for. And I'm a hopeless romantic! Ignore it if you can, and if you can't, do something Anti-Valentine-y ;)
I came up with some stuff today, and it's less "crazy plot twist" and more "story restructuring". I think it'll end up working better. And someone loses an arm, so there's that.
DeleteAnd if you knew what I'm hoping to get done for next week, you might not say that. :P
I can relate! I had to scrap a story recently because something about it just felt so wrong. The main character went through something traumatic and that changed her completely and set her off doing things in the novel that she wouldn't have done otherwise. I realized that I didn't need to justify her behavior by connecting it to something traumatic. I've set the story aside for now but I can't wait to go back to it later. The fact that you realized what was wrong with your story now has probably saved you a lot of time and agony in the future. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteRight there with you on that one. ^_^ I'd originally pictured the main character of this story as more stoic and determined, but some seriously bad stuff happens to her, and it gets worse with every new plot iteration. So I need to really figure out who she is and who she's going to become over the course of the story.
DeleteThe best recommendation I can make is: Go read some books. Preferably good ones, but even bad ones will start your wheels turning.
ReplyDeleteI often find solutions to my plot problems in other books. And it's NOT EVER a matter of stealing another author's idea. It's just that when I read, my own plot problem goes to the very back of my brain where the subconscious starts to work on it without the impatient ego getting in the way.
So, I could be reading a space opera about clones on a planet of mutants, and suddenly my subconscious will scream, "Hey! The butler did it in the parlor during the seance!" Or something like that.
Hope you find your solutions!
I've been reading a lot of good books lately, and I'm thankful for that. ^_^ Nothing like two sequels in two amazing series coming out on the same day right at the start of the year. And I know what you mean about this - I can trace back some of my best ideas to things that other books inspired.
DeleteYou know the saying "when it's boring bring someone into the room and fire a gun"? Do that, only have it be one of the Main Characters, and have them shoot someone else in the knee. Then figure out why and how.
ReplyDelete(No! It was the one armed wizard!)
(Or my personal favorite: "He's an alien! An alien!!!" and of course, no one believes him. As they try to muster on through the loss of their companion, things start to get better, until the first chest burster appears, and then they're riddled with the guilt of having lost the one person who knew how to save them)
side note, I might be totally loco en cabasa. Just saying.
We all need crazy sometimes. Especially in this line of work. ^_^ But I took the advice of some other responders and tried seeing how the story would work combined with some other ideas, and it kind of exploded in my head. If I can make it all work, it'll be awesome.
DeleteAnd it's already got a plot twist. :P
Set it aside and work on making that game room happen! I'm biased. LOL
ReplyDeleteAhem. No, but seriously, Melissa is right. The 'what if' game almost always helps. :)
The 'what if' game does help; I've been playing it for the past week and have some new stuff going. Just hoping it works.
DeleteAnd the game room's not happening unless I live somewhere with more than one bedroom. :P