Plotting the Second Half, Pt 2: The Mavens Weigh In

Yup, bad sh*t happens in Act 3

Yesterday we talked a little about issues with plotting your novel's second half. I'm using a four-act structure rather than a three-act, and I'm a little concerned with how I'm going to keep the tension in my WIP from flat-lining after the midway point. So I got in touch with two of my fiction mentors, Jamie Morris and Joyce Sweeney, who invented the Plot Clock I'm using. Today I'll give you Joyce's take on this brain-teaser (look for Jamie's words of wisdom tomorrow).

Sweeney, being all
smart and stuff

Joyce says that the low point in the story comes at the end of Act 2 in both the four- and three-act models. After your character hits that low point, "it doesn't mean all the tension is over, you keep raising the stakes all the time," she says.

Speaking of Word Count: A Query Conundrum

Using method pictured above, my novel's
word count is 7,986,000. Is that too long?

Naturally since I'm doing NaNoWriMo, word counts are on my mind. I'm using my Scrivener program, which has a nifty little feature: At the bottom of the screem there's a scrolling word count, so I can watch it tick along while I'm typing. I can sort of experience my word count in real time. It's just so Meta-NaNo.

Here we are at Day Three, and I've managed to write 1672, 1791, and 1831 words per day, all by 10 a.m. I'm praying I won't jinx my mad productivity, but if I manage to pound out 50,000 words this month, I'm going to owe a few people. Like one of my teachers, Joyce Sweeney, who ran a plotting workshop in September, in time to ensure I had a solid outline and synopsis come November 1. Whoo, what a difference a plan makes! With synopsis in hand, I feel like I could whip out a 976-page masterpiece. Let me pull out my battered copy of Anna Karenina and swear on it: I shall never pants again, so help me Gaddis.

(And spending 30 minutes in the afternoon making notes toward tomorrow's writing hasn't hurt so far, either).

But I had another pressing question about word-counts, re: Querying.

Dan Harmon's Plot Embryo

I've been obsessing about story structure lately. So I was glad to find, in this month's Wired magazine, a piece about Dan Harmon, the 38-year-old creator of the cult-sitcom Community. Harmon has invented plot circles, which he calls "embryos;" they share some similarities to the plot clocks Joyce Sweeney and Jamie Morris have come up with. I actually prefer the Sweeney/Morris version, but I think Harmon's vision is a useful one too. Harmon says this story structure is so "tattooed on his brain" that he can't not see it when he watches a movie, hears a song, or reads a book. Here's the breakdown on how it works:

Do You Connect With Your Concept?

Rockin' Around the Plot Clock
I just spent an amazing weekend with a dozen other writers, holed up in a house in Mount Dora, Florida. We dedicated 48+ hours of workshop time to thinking about plot.

I did a pretty good job plotting my first novel by the seat of my pants (I went back in revision and created a detailed step sheet), but I never really felt like I "got" plot. No matter how many craft books I read on the subject, how to structure a novel for maximum impact (and I mean, I wanted it to kill) just wasn't gelling for me.

After this weekend, consider me gelled. I get how the plot points fit together now, and how they ought to resonate off each other. I merely had to spend some time with Joyce Sweeney and Jamie Morris's brilliantly simple Plot Clock. The Plot Clock features in most of the Sweeney/Morris Next Level Weekend Craft Intensives, and I can't recommend these workshops too highly).

Writing the Second Novel: Three Things to Consider

I "started" novel number two this month, although I'm realizing that the verb "to start" is a slippery one. But I'm finding it useful to change up my process this time.

Here's what I'm doing differently:

1) I've got myself a new Scrivener program, which is going to make my research organize itself. Well, I hope so, anyway. Because novel number two is historical (Vietnam War), I'm going to have copious notes to keep track of. So far, I love Scrivener, which has all kinds of nifty gadgets for organizing characters, scenes, and locations, and umpteen methods of outlining. Anybody else out there in blog-land using it?

Interview with Author Deborah Sharp

Celebrating Day 3 of Random Acts of Publicity 

Sharp: Training her lens on a disappearing Florida

Mystery writer Deborah Sharp is a former reporter for USA Today. She traded the sad stories of the news business for writing mysteries, set in a little-known rodeo-and-ranches slice of her native Florida. Her books are funny, with a Southern-fried edge: Think Stephanie Plum with a plate of BBQ and a couple of cousins named Bubba.

Deborah's “Mace Bauer Mysteries'’ debuted with Mama Does Time (Midnight Ink, 2008). To research her second, Mama Rides Shotgun (2009), she saddled up for a cross-Florida, six-day trail ride. Dressing up as a tacky bride was almost as grueling for 2010's Mama Gets Hitched. For her fourth book, Mama Sees Stars, Deborah plans several red-carpet soirees in honor of her title character's grab at Hollywood stardom. Trouble is, Mama's big closeup might just end in murder.

Deborah’s short fiction and essays have appeared nationally, and she's been interviewed on the "Today" show. She lives in Ft. Lauderdale with husband Kerry Sanders, a TV reporter. No kids. No pets. They had goldfish once. Turned out badly.

Visit Deborah at www.deborahsharp.com; or direct your lonely-heart and etiquette questions to Mama at ask-mama.blogspot.com. For a limited time you can download Mama Does Time for FREE by clicking here (if you have Kindle) or here (if you have a Nook). Lots of events this month and next: a couple of big galas to launch Mama Sees Stars in Delray and Fort Lauderdale, and Sharp will be speaking on a panel about marketing yourself as an author. Click here for the full schedule.

Questions for Deborah Sharp