MAKE PLOTTING EASIER WITH THE PLOTCLOCK – PART 1
By JOYCE SWENEY
WHAT IT IS
Plotting takes time.
First and foremost, the patented Plotclock is all made up and not real. It’s just a template, a suggested map that tends to work for most
novels that are not tragedies. It’s based on my lifetime of research as a bad plotter into the secrets of good plotters such as scriptwriters,
intensified by my time partnered with Jamie Morris, another wonderful writing coach. Jamie and I took long walks together, argued about various books over the telephone and eventually co-created the Plotclock of today…which I have to say works darned well.
But you can certainly plot a novel *without* this tool, have high points where the clock suggests low points, follow another map, etc., and you’ll
be fine. It’s just a great map for writers like me who get very lost when trying to plot a novel.
WHY IT WORKS:
I believe there’s a basic ‘story’ hardwired into all our brains. We can’t articulate it, but we know it when we see it and we respond emotionally to it. It is the story of the character we love, overcoming all odds to do the thing they must do and somehow gaining something in the end. The highs and lows
of this are surprisingly similar and predictable, hence the effectiveness of The Clock.
HOW TO USE IT:
The story should begin in the main character’s ordinary world. But the early scene/scenes in this world should suggest to the reader something is lacking. I don’t like ‘What does the main character want?’ Who cares what they want?
A better question is, ‘What needs to happen to a person like this?’ So a shy person should be propelled, lured or trapped into a story where they will have to speak up. The ordinary world should make the reader say…I like this person but I wish they would ______. And then comes …..
The Inciting Event – the thing that makes that wish come true. This new thing crosses the main character’s path and invites them into the Special World of the story. In some novels it happens pretty quickly; in others, much closer to the Binding Point. In memoir, for reasons I haven’t figured out, the inciting event tends to come first, with the Ordinary World shown in flashback. But in fiction, it seems to be better the other way.
The Binding Point – comes about a quarter into the story and begins Act 2. Since the Inciting Event, the main character has probably been resisting or avoiding the Special World (because who wants to get involved in something that might change you?), but at the binding point they agree, are lured, tricked or shanghaied into the Special World. Dorothy in Oz is an easy binding point to understand. She can’t go back the way she came, so she now has to follow the Yellow Brick Road all the way through a story to get home.
Next time: From Low Point to Denouement
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Joyce Sweeney is the author of 14 novels for young adults and one book of poetry. A writing teacher and mentor to aspiring authors, she runs writer’s workshops, critiques manuscripts, and conducts classes and seminars throughout the state of Florida. This article is just one of the ten lessons included in her Fiction Writing Essentials which starts in July and is taking registrations now at: www.sweeneywritingcoach.com.
[Editor’s note: This entry comes courtesy of Bruce Hale. Bruce has written and illustrated over 25 books for kids. His Underwhere series includes Prince of Underwhere and Pirates of Underwhere. His Chet Gecko Mysteries series includes: The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse, The Big Nap, The Malted Falcon, Hiss Me Deadly, and others. More at http://www.brucehale.com/]
