Home
>
Writing
>
Plotting By Personality - Work With Your Natural Instincts

Plotting By Personality - Work With Your Natural Instincts

What's the best way to plot?

Quick answer: the best way to plot is whatever works best for you. After all, we're all different. Interview any group of a dozen writers and you'll find they all have different times of the day when they're alert; different belief systems about the world; different preferences in food and films. So why on earth would we all agree on the best way to plot a story?

Personality Types

To find out the best way of plotting for you, first (a) think about your usual approach to problems then (b) try a few different methods. It's not certain that the 'best' way for you will dovetail with your personality type, but it's likely. If we work on the four basic 'types', we find that people tend to gravitate to being:

Extraverted or Introverted [this refers to how you receive stimulation - from within yourself (introverted) or from external sources (extraverted)]
Sensing or Intuitive [your usual method of taking in information - via the five senses (sensing) or relying on instincts (intuitive)]
Thinking or Feeling [whether you make decisions based on logic and objectivity (thinking) or on your personal, subjective value systems (feeling)]
Judging or Perceiving [how you deal with the world on a day to day basis: organised and purposeful, with a liking for structured environments (judging) or flexible and comfortable with open, casual environments (perceiving)]

Is this set in stone? No, of course not. We all function across the entire spectrum - but you're likely to find that you have a natural preference. If you can identify your personality type, you can work with your strengths - and thus find the method of plotting your stories that works best for you.

If you tend more towards being introverted, intuitive, feeling and perceiving, then you are likely to prefer a more flexible form of plotting. You would probably feel comfortable with cluster diagrams, branching, and scribbled notes with lots of arrows and extra little boxes.

Cluster Diagrams

You can use these for the basic plot, for characters, and for settings. Draw a circle in the middle of the page. Write the name of the story in this circle. (Any working title will do.) Around it draw more circles- as many as you need for things such as the catalyst for change, the character's initial problem or goal, obstacles to be faced, final challenge for the main character, darkest moment, secondary characters, ending.

There's no point in my prescribing how many circles you need- after all, this is your plot. You're the intuitive, feeling type - you don't want me to say 'you have to put this here and that over there'. Watch your plot grow in front of your eyes.

Branching

Branching is very similar to the cluster diagram. You begin with the story, then draw 'branches' (lines) out from the box in the centre. These branches will represent the main thrust of your story: the same basic 'ingredients' as used above in the cluster diagram: characters, problems, obstacles, and so on. Off each of these main branches you draw smaller lines or branches - and along those lines write the specific problems encountered, the various characters in the story, and so on.

Both cluster diagrams and branching will let you see the shape of your story in a pictorial way. Many writers find they can get a much better overall sense of where their story is going when they can see it all as a diagram, rather than as a list of points.

Plot outlines

Perhaps you feel much more at home in a structured environment. You are extraverted, and tend to think about things and make judgements. In this case, you could feel much happier with a detailed plot outline, with each step carefully planned. You may need to 'write out' the plot so you feel you know where you're going.

The Gary Provost Plot Checklist

There are many basic plots you can use, but one of the best I've seen is the one advocated by the late Gary Provost. His plot outline, in the form of a checklist, is as follows:

Inciting incident (what event sets the plot into motion?)
The prize (what is it your character wants?)
The strategy (what does your character decide to do in order to get what he/she wants?)
The conflict (who are some of the people who are working against your character?)
The stakes (what will be the consequence if the plan does not work?)
The bleakest moment (what happens to make things look hopeless?)
The lesson (what does your character learn about himself/herself, others or life?)
The decision (what does your character do because of what he/she has learned?)
The hole (In what way does your character need to grow emotionally (although probably unknown to him/her)
The back story (what is it that is haunting your character as the story begins?)

Answer these questions and you have a story. The value of this checklist is that you can use it either to formulate a plot OR as a backup, to check that you have all the plot 'ingredients' in place if you use a different method.

Happy plotting!

Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/.

eco-friendly cleaning service Bannockburn ..

In The News:

The Federal Trade Commission says criminals are posing as IRS agents, law enforcement officers, or other officials, often over the phone or online, to steal thousands of dollars at a time.

AI phishing scams now use voice cloning and deepfake technology to trick victims, but Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals warning signs to watch for.

Inversion Space unveils Arc, a reusable reentry vehicle that can deliver up to 500 pounds of cargo from orbit to anywhere on Earth in under an hour.

Red flags like processing fees, urgent countdowns and requests for full Social Security numbers expose fraudulent settlement sites targeting consumers.

Comprehensive analysis of Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps examines usability, routing accuracy, data handling and features across the top navigation platforms.

Expert analysis reveals whether wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connections are safer for home internet use, plus practical steps to secure your network from attackers.

Australian construction robot Charlotte uses sand, crushed brick and recycled glass to 3D print fireproof, floodproof homes with reduced carbon footprint.

Cybercriminals are using fake invitation emails to trick recipients into downloading malware and stealing personal information and data.

Flying drones could help retailers fight a 93% increase in theft rates as Flock Safety promotes airborne security systems to track suspects and deter crime.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence Newsletter brings you the latest news on the emerging technology every Saturday, highlighting top stories.

Hacker group Radiant stole data from 8,000 children at Kido nursery chain, demanding ransom and directly contacting parents with intimidation tactics.

As 18 states implement bell-to-bell cell phone bans, creative students use Google Docs, iMessage on MacBooks and Post-It notes to stay connected in class.

A sheriff's captain says deputies often spend hours writing reports between calls, but Axon's AI program, Draft One, helps them save crucial time in the field.

Sora 2, OpenAI's new video-generation app, can create AI-generated videos based on a singular prompt. The results are both mind-blowing and terrifying.

iPhone and Android users can reduce Wi-Fi calling battery drainage through settings adjustments, background app limits and stronger Wi-Fi connections.

Work email scams are becoming harder to detect as criminals use AI and spoofed addresses to trick employees into opening malicious attachments and links.

From her Arizona living room, Christina Chapman ran a covert hub that helped North Korean operatives infiltrate U.S. firms, netting $17 million in stolen salaries.

UC Santa Barbara researchers developed a soft robotic intubation system that achieved 100% success rates for experts and 96% for paramedics with minimal training.

Scammers exploit probate filings to target grieving families with fake fees and debts, Kurt "Cyberguy" Knutsson reports.

Automotive giant Stellantis becomes latest victim of widespread Salesforce breaches affecting companies like Google, Cisco and Adidas this year.

A woman from Washington reunited with her missing Maine Coon cat Louie after 11 days using Love Lost, a free AI-powered pet recovery platform.

Expert cybersecurity tips help Mac owners remove malware infections and strengthen defenses with antivirus software, password managers and system updates.

Meta's AI chatbot training rules bans sexual roleplay with minors and block access to child abuse material as regulators scrutinize its safety measures.

Online banking users face a new threat: web injection scams that overlay fake pop-ups to steal logins. Here’s how to spot them and protect your accounts.

Meta introduced Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger while launching a School Partnership Program for U.S. educators to report bullying within 48 hours.

Plotting By Personality - Work With Your Natural Instincts

Writing