In a recent post, I wrote about my first writers conference. I attended three sessions which were extremely engaging, and I promised I’d share with you what I learned. You can find my post about Session #1 here.

Now, I’ll do my best explaining the Plot Clock, taught by Jamie Morris, which was probably the most useful thing I learned during the entire conference (this happens to be what I’ve been struggling with lately).

The Plot Clock gives writers the opportunity to decide whether or not their idea for a novel is worth pursuing. Its purpose: to determine whether your story has all the elements it should.

The Plot Clock is a circle divided into four sections. Your starting point is at the top of the circle. (Move clockwise around the circle.)

Act I

• Ordinary World (the main character’s life circumstances prior to her story’s start)
• Author establishes the MC’s skills, strategies, strengths/weaknesses, need/goal
  • Establishes setting and introduces characters
• Inciting incident takes place in Act I
  • The first glimpse the MC (or the reader) gets of the Special World

Binding Point: the moment when the MC finds himself/herself committed to the Special World

• Point of no return
• Signals the end of Act I and the beginning of Act II

Act II

• Special World (the new circumstances presented by the story and through which the MC struggles on her way to making a change)
• Tests/challenges FAILED
  • The MC’s strategies/survival skills (established in Act I) may not work

Low Point Entry: the period when the demands of the Special World have brought the MC to his/her knees

• MC struggles
• MC experiences true change

Low Point Exit: MC has experienced internal change or has made a meaningful sacrifice

• Signals the end of Act II

Act III

• Continuation of Special World
• “messy middle”
• Tests/challenges PASSED
  • MC is getting stronger, developing new strategies/skills

Turning Point: the event which forces the MC to face the final battle of the Climax

• Signals the end of Act III and the beginning of Act IV

Act IV

• Climax (the “battle to end all battles,” occurring between the MC and the antagonist)
  • The MC does not necessarily have to win the battle
• Denouement (day-new-ma: literally “unknotting.” The final resolutions of the intricacies of the story and the lives of the characters)
  • Need/goal of the MC is satisfied

I believe the Plot Clock is a fantastic tool for writers. It is a reminder that the protagonist of the story is always working toward something, moving forward, even if he/she faces stumbling blocks and conflict along the way. Every character and every scene should make it around the Plot Clock. By using the Plot Clock to quickly outline a scene, you can be sure you aren’t wasting words or time because you have already identified its purpose in the story.

Thank you, Jamie Morris!

Other Helpful Articles/Links: 

(*Keep in mind that the Plot Clock has various formats – it is also called the Three or Four Act Structure)

The Plot Clock

Story Brainstorming Sheets

The Five Essential Story Ingredients

In a recent post, I wrote about my first writers conference. I attended three sessions which were extremely engaging, and I promised I’d share with you what I learned. So here goes…this is a short outline of what I was taught by Vic DiGenti in my first session of the day, “How to Write Killer Fiction – an Introduction to Mystery Writing.”

Elements of a Mystery

• Sleuth
  • Well-rounded character with human flaws
  • Give your sleuth a goal, a need, a desire
  • Characters are driven by revenge, reward, and relief
• Murder (crimes that need solving)
• Clues and characters
• Suspense, conflict, tension
• Resolution

Creating Your Sleuth

• Build a resume (name, age, birthday, physical description, etc)
• “put your characters on a couch” and ask questions
  • Who are you?
  • What do you fear?
  • What are your hopes/dreams?

Creating a Crime Scenario – the Victim

• Define the crime – who, how, and where
• Is the victim tied to the plot?
• How does the victim lead the sleuth to the villain?

Creating a Villain

• Must test your sleuth
• Equal to sleuth in intelligence/creativity
• Give the villain some humanity

Be a Troublemaker

• Make the protagonist’s mission more difficult
  • “throw rocks” at the protagonist
• Take away advantages

Building Suspense

• Remember the “bomb under the table”
• Let the audience in on what might happen
  • Suspense is created when the audience anticipates
• Turn up the sensory detail
• Bait and switch
  • Increase tension, cut away
• Use short, declarative sentences

Ask “suppose?” and “what if?” to complete the premise of your mystery.
Remember your audience.
Do your research, and be accurate!

Vic DiGenti’s Recommended Books:

Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel – Hallie Ephron
How to Write Killer Fiction – Carolyn Wheaton
Murder and Mayhem – D.P. Lyle, M.D.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating – Steven Kerry Brown
A Writer’s Guide to Private Investigators – Hal Blythe, Charlie Sweet & John Landreth
A Writer’s Guide to How Private Citizens Solve Crimes – Elaine Raco Chase & Anne Wingate
Don’t Murder Your Mystery – Chris Roerden
Writing Mysteries – Jan Burke
On Writing – Stephen King

I wanted to share what I was able to accomplish during the prompt-writing hour of the writer’s conference I recently attended. This new technique really excited me – definitely a great way to write when I don’t really feel like writing.

1. Find a poem.

2. Pick out the main idea of the poem.

3. Use this main idea to create lists.

4. Build a scene during a timed writing.

This is how the steps above were used during our prompt-writing hour:

The poem “Riding Backwards” was read aloud. With this title/phrase/main idea written at the top of my page, I created two lists. The first was a list of literal ways one could “ride backwards.” (Riding backwards on a bike, a horse, riding backwards on a roller coaster, etc). The second was a list of metaphorical ways one could “ride backwards.” (One’s thoughts “ride backwards” as they reminisce, etc).

It was time to build a scene.

The three requirements: The scene must be written in present tense, the character must “ride backwards” (either literally or metaphorically), and the character must meet/come into contact with another character.

(I’m fairly certain I accidentally ignored the first requirement of writing the scene in the present tense. Which is exactly why I had no desire to share at the end).

I’m definitely going to do this again, on my own. There are so many creative poems to choose from, and you could really surprise yourself with what you’re able to come up with. This might also be something to try if you’ve come up against writer’s block. So give it a shot!

*Thanks to Jamie Morris for leading this prompt-writing hour.

I am excited to share that I attended my first writers conference yesterday. I think it’s important to be involved, and a goal of mine lately has been to join the writing community of Tallahassee. There is so much I can learn from the other writers, whether or not they are published, or somewhere in between.

I learned about the 2013 Tallahassee Writers Association Conference at a separate event earlier last week. The event, a Q&A session with a panel of authors, including moderator Adrian Fogelin, was held at my local library. (Check out my recent interview with Fogelin.)

When I approached two of the authors after the Q&A, both recommended attending a writers conference – and, lucky me, a conference was scheduled for the upcoming weekend! I quickly registered.

The conference was absolutely fabulous, and I took lots of notes, met some really cool people, and was given a tote bag. (I felt really professional, although I was the youngest attendee present. Everyone thought I was in college, which was pretty cool.)

Because my dad told me to “make the most of the day,” I decided to attend the pre-breakfast prompt-writing hour at 7:00 in the morning, which was not mandatory. In a follow-up post, I’d love to share the techniques I learned to get my creative juices flowing.
The conference didn’t end until 4:15, after I’d attended three sessions. I chose to attend “How to Write Killer Fiction!” presented by Vic DiGenti, “The Plot Clock,” presented by Jamie Morris, and “Backstory: A Fine Balance” presented by Jamie Morris and Julie Compton.

Throughout the day, I met an editor and a book coach, as well as a literary agent (okay, fine, I only stood next to her in the lunch line – and we talked about Zumba).

Needless to say, it was a fabulous experience and I look forward to interviewing several of the people I had the privilege to meet. In the following two weeks, I plan to write three posts detailing what I learned at each of the sessions I attended yesterday. So I encourage you to check back soon. 🙂

Prompt-Writing Hour

Session #1 – How to Write Killer Fiction

Session #2 – The Plot Clock

I’m really excited to be participating in the “Teens Can Write, Too!” May blog chain.

This month’s prompt is:

“What are some of the coolest/weirdest/funniest/most disturbing things you’ve researched for a story?”

I think it’s in the back of our minds – the acknowledgement of the cool, weird, funny things we Google search – but it’s something we don’t really think about until we’re asked the above question.

When I began thinking about what I could write for this post, it all came back to me.

I seriously began writing my first novel when I was 12, about a young girl who lives in a city in the sky and must journey to earth. I researched maps of Italy (boring, I know) and images of Venice to create a folder with info about the setting of my book.

Shortly after that, my search history log took a turn for the worse.

I began researching poisons (which poisons kill, and how long does it take to die? which poisons move slowly through the bloodstream?) and various weapons. (Might I remind you that I was probably only 13 at the time?)

I turned to the Internet only after I’d asked my parents. They were my first “search history log,” and unfortunately I can’t go back and delete…

“Dad, can diamonds cut through metal?”

After I’d completed my trilogy, I moved through a dragon phase. I was still caught up in fantasy novels, and reading Eragon by Christopher Paolini definitely influenced my strange fascination with dragons.

More recently, I’ve researched spies. I’ve always wanted to write about spies, so I walked out of my local Goodwill bookstore one day carrying a large nonfiction book about spies, which pictured a large gun on the front cover.

Here’s what I think: the worse your search history log, the better. We’re writers. It’s what we do.

(If you’d like to check out a recent post I wrote about a similar topic, you can find it here.)

Please visit the other blogs also participating in the chain!

Participants:

5^th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

6^th – http://deborahrocheleau.wordpress.com/

7^th – http://bloodoverithaca.wordpress.com/

8^th – http://charleyrobson.blogspot.com/

9^th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

10^th – http://nonconformistwriter.blogspot.com/

11^th – http://dearsaul.wordpress.com/

12^th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

13^th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/

14^th – http://cinderscoria.blogspot.com/

15^th – http://emilyvaneaton.wordpress.com/

16^th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

17^th – http://thespasticwriter.blogspot.com/

18^th – http://veewhoa.wordpress.com/

19^th – http://www.mandilynn.com/

20^th – http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com/

21^st – http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com/

22^nd – http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com

23^rd – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/

24^th – http://anomalous93.blogspot.com/

25^th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

26^th – http://ktlemonhead.wordpress.com/

27^th – http://dreamerheadquarters.wordpress.com/

28^th – http://paulinaczarnecki.wordpress.com/

29^th – http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com/

30th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)