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Martha Alderson

Plot Consultant

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Time Out to Create a Plot Planner

February 5, 2013 By Martha Alderson

Beginning with Prompt 6 in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing, you’re asked to plot the scenes you write above or below the line on a Plot Planner for your own individual novel, memoir, screenplay.

In an attempt to write purely from the Writing Prompts and without relying on the visual aide for as long as I could hold out, I kept delaying plotting out my scenes on a Plot Planner. The very rough and messy Plot Planner I’d sketched out when deciding to undertake the challenge to write a novel from beginning to end using the PW Book of Prompts no longer served me — rather than keeping my mind organized, the rough plot planner confused and cluttered my imagination.

Finally, unable to calm the chaos, I took out time to create a plot planner using the smallest post-it notes to plot out the scenes I’d written from the prompts and added the vague ideas I had for each of the 4 Energetic Markers.

One color for the front story, a different color for the backstory wound, another for the romance plot, one for theme introductions, the Plot Planner quickly turned into a fluttering display of vibrant colors, gave me a sense of order and control, for now.

Today, I write.

Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot allows for a more loving relationship with your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing.

To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:
1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises in The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook

Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Previous Post: « How to Create More Dramatic Action in Your Novel, Memoir, Screenplay
Next Post: Finding the Through-line, the Primary Plot »

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About Martha

Martha lives at the beach along the central coast of California and draws inspiration from the surrounding nature. When not at the beach, she writes women’s fiction and is exploring what it means to leave a lasting legacy. [Read More] about About Martha

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