Deciding on a plot

Well that's not an easy question to answer! I think that writer's have their own individual methods to solve this age old dilemma. For my part I try to develop the theme of 'conflict' (in its broadest sense) into the story and that usually carries the thing along. If nothing's happening then I just plod on with the writing and hope that something turns up!

To be honest I don't really plot at all. I like to just sit down and see where the writing takes me. I've found that if I do try to write to a plot then my writing gets stilted, as if I'm stifling my creativity somehow. But that's just me :) As Scratch said - everyone is different! ......................... www.thesatanicdiaries.net Http://afteriwaspublished.wordpress.com

1. Have a walk to your newsagent 2. Buy the trashiest newspaper on the market 3. Make a cup of coffee/tea/whatever and read all the snippet-stories 4. If nothing comes of that, go and do something kind for someone. Don't let them know it was you if that's possible 5. Read a good book. Check out Wonder by RJ Palacio. Above all, try to detach yourself from the torment derived from needing to create. I've given up looking at an empty screen. Nothing's more soul-destroying. Distractions are good for the mind. They take us away from ourselves and are far more likely to trigger moments of inspiration than sitting tight at a desk. It's like constipation..the moment you forget what you're trying so hard to do, bang and the dirt is gone. However fleeting, once you have a start on an idea, it's absolutely essential to start writing, otherwise the gift will float off.

If I have created a good character and I know them really well then they will make their own plot by doing their own thing when I least expect it. For me, that's the magic of writing when it goes well, is that I don't even feel like it's me doing it and I'm surprised by what happens.

Nice quote Stan - thanks for that. I couldn't agree more with what Mr King says there. Sometimes you just need to let the story grow itself. I've been stuck on one single paragraph for a couple of days now, with no idea where it was going. But tonight I just sat down and let my mind go blank. Suddenly a couple of hours later Im 2000 words down the track and with no clue how I got there. I just gave the story a place to grow and then left my fingers to it :) The brain is a very, very strange and wonderful thing! ......................... www.thesatanicdiaries.net Http://afteriwaspublished.wordpress.com

It's true what Stan and cloven say. It's really wiered as well. This strange thing has happened to me. I started to write a story once and was just describing things and then I realised that a story was emerging, then I panicked because I had no plan. I thought 'we'll, I got this far just doing this process why can't I go further by the same method'. And then as if by another force or something the next bit appeared and I wrote a good story. And to this day I can't tell you in exact terms how I managed it.

P.S. how do you spell wiered?

That's the magic of writing Scratch :) Stephen King calls it 'finding the hole in the page'. Once you find that hole and fall into it then you're just a passenger in a trance, watching as your mind tells you a story. And it feels exactly like you described - like another force has just taken over and done it for you. It's the best drug in the world! ......................... www.thesatanicdiaries.net Http://afteriwaspublished.wordpress.com

Have a look at this and then the comment thread: http://abctales.com/story/matthewenglish16/purity I can't believe I think like jarmusch!