Story How the heck do you plot out an actual story??

[AThiefOfSpades]

So I wanted to give story writing a shot
And I have a blurb
But I'm not sure how to plot out the story chapter to chapter
So I could use some advice. How does one plot a story chapter to chapter?

 

[Seldil]

Are you asking generally how to structure a plot, how to flesh out an idea into a full plot, or how to divide a plot into chapters.

 

[AThiefOfSpades]

All 3 of those things. I haven't written anything in so long. I feel like a sixth-grader. I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[AThiefOfSpades]

???

 

[Seldil]

I'll be happy to discuss plots with you. I'm on my phone at the moment so I'll wait till I get home to send more but generally.

1 plots follow a sort of build up, climax, resolution cycle. For longer stories you will have many mini cycles that make up a bigger one. I'll link you some references applying this to popular stories later.

2 there is alot of preference to this question.

3 I finish the story then look back and find good break points for my chapters.

 

[AThiefOfSpades]

1 Thank you so much 2 got it thanks 3 I can't write it that way due to the publishing place. Thank you anyway though

 

[Seldil]

I actually sent a pm but I decided to post some of it here just in case someone is lurking and finds something helpful in it.


1) There is tons and tons of information on plot structure out there. But really no matter what people choose to name stuff it follows a shockingly close structure. If you go to betternovelproject.com they take a very indepth look at how similar the structure of Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games are. Regardless of what you think about the books they made millions for a reason. It's also pretty cool to see how all the points in the books are within one or two percentages of each other.


2) Ok so as I said there is a lot of preference here so I will share what I do. It probably won't work for you but maybe you can gank some of my ideas.

I start with a small concept (Some people can control time and that’s how people travel through space faster than light).

From this concept I ask myself what the world would be like if this concept were true (The rich and powerful would want to control all of these people. Humanity spreads to a hundred thousand worlds.)

Then I ask what kind of people would live in this world how would the world shape them. (A pirate who learns he has this power. A soldier out to stop him who is haunted by the fact time travelers killed his parents.)

Once I deeply understand the characters goals, motives, and what they are willing to do to accomplish those goals. I take one character's actions then follow the butterfly effect through the world. Then I take everyone's response and follow the repercussions of that. And so on and so on until the story develops naturally in my head. I then out line it as fully as I can and start writing. So I really have no idea where my stories will go until I finish them and I finish them in my head before I start writing.


A friend of mine immediately writes all the epic scenes he can think of then arranges them on an outline and tries to figure out how to connect them. Both ways work just fine and there are probably thousands more. It’s a very personal process.

 

[Raptor At Heart]

I usually start somewhere - I'm always starting with the characters and theit main "structure"...

I don't plan teir lives in detail, but I do note some really important and relatively fix characteristica. Then I'll start writin one scene for each caracter that is sort of a guidelinefor his reaction.
After that I'll take one or the other, checking for mistakes and just continue with the story. Somehow I usually get a beginning and an end with pretty detailed and logically correct story in the middle.

My title usually comes last as I'm really miserable in fiding one...