Plot rears its ugly head

[clarentine]

I'm working on a rewrite, and have once more discovered what a blind spot is. I'm plugging along, cleaning up prose, polishing and tightening, getting that body language in there for the kinetic readers in the audience...and it occurs to me that, no matter how nice and clean my prose is, if I haven't gotten the blinking plot markers into the story, it won't matter.

Period. Full stop.

So how am I going to figure out where the plot markers are thin, or non-existent, and just exactly what markers need to be where anyway? I'm going to resort to the only tool I've ever found that works for me: a scene by scene table charting the entire novel. It's an incredibly time-consuming tool, but once I've got the damned thing on paper I can trace and color-code the progress of the plot and, more importantly, I can see where I need to drag the plot to the surface. I can see it, I should say, because I can print the dratted thing and lay it out in front of me.

matociquala talks about holding an entire story in your head - and how sometimes she can't - and truepenny has also addressed this subject. I'm finding that, the more I (hopefully) grow as a writer, the harder it is for me to feel the breadth of the plot in my head. I look at the latest rewrite-in-progress and I quite literally cannot hold the image in my mind's eye all at once. Little bits and pieces, yes; I know what is supposed to come next, and why. But the full thing...eh.

There is a reason for the title of this journal.

Anyone have a tool that works for them in tracking plot threads?

Comments

[rhia-hilldancer.livejournal.com]

funnily enough, i just ran across this today:

http://www.tiddlywiki.com/

at your service, *g*
~alisa

[katfeete.livejournal.com]

I've been using this for a few years now. It's like putting things on index cards, only you don't get the bazillion eraser-marks problems so much, and you can shuffle a lot, and you can color-code for plots and such. It's the best method for me so far: YMMV.

[jmeadows.livejournal.com]

I can't hold a whole plot in my head at once, either. I hold sections. :)

Mac or PC?

[docdad2.livejournal.com]

I use a program called "Notebook" From Circus Ponies. I think that it was nearly free because I was a student when I purchased it.
Others use colored note cards with colored ink - cards for characters - ink for plot points for that character and then paper clips for scenes/chapters.
Sounds complicated to me - but they swear by the system.

[clarentine]

Hmm. How does this thing work? I don't know that I want to spend a lot of time learning a new program; it's going to be time-consuming enough to make the plot chart to begin with.

But I thank you for the suggestion. *g* Clearly, I am not the only one needing help organizing things. (I see that autopope is a user.)

[clarentine]

Interesting. I like the notecard idea. I've also heard of people using colored post-its on the wall--anything to see the spread of the plot. I definitely need to find a tool that works.

Re: Mac or PC?

[clarentine]

My current system uses lots of columns in a Word document. I can highlight it on the screen, or on the page once I print it out. I *have* learned to note the major turning points, though I generally don't worry about chapter breaks; that's a job for my subconscious.

I have friends who swear by colored post-its tacked to the wall. *g*