So... Plotting

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So... Plotting

Postby Kyo on September 2nd, 2015, 3:10 am




Heya. I'm bouncing back to Miz after a period of illness because this place is too great to give up for long. Unfortunately my computer sucks and it's hard to get it to work right for long, but I'm going to try and be active! With exclamation marks!

Anyways, I'm trying to do 'better' this time around, and that means asking questions.

So everyone... er... how do YOU plot? Because I feel like I'm TERRIBLE at plotting, and I'd like to know what I'm missing.

Currently my plotting seems to be really short-term stuff, really rudimentary. Basically if someone asks to thread (or I ask someone), I look at their skills and plotnotes and character registry to try to determine what their PC's current interests/goals are, and then I compare that info to my own character and look for commonalities. So think like, 'oh you like teaching and want more XP' WELL 'Kyo needs someone to tell him how to do words right'. That sort of thing. If my partner wants to add anything, or has a better idea, or just some random thing comes up and adds to the thread, well that's great, too!

Generally the sort of stuff (plot) I come up with is really only good for one thread. Then it's up to what happens in the thread to see if another good idea sparks up, and how the relationship goes (to see if we should thread again). I'm not really into mapping relationships, as I don't know how Kyo will definitely respond to someone until he actually meets them.

Is this how everyone plots? I feel like no... since some plotters are REALLY good at drawing in other people and making their characters interesting. Should I be focusing on more long-term stuff? Or like... more grandiose? I'm trying not to be what I call a 'passive plotter' (that is, someone who depends on the other person to supply good ideas) but that's sort of hard when I'm such a terrible plotter to start out with... and then coupled with my PC's sort of passive personality/goals... it just seems like I could be doing something better!

Any discussion is appreciated!


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So... Plotting

Postby Sayana on September 2nd, 2015, 3:24 am

Oooh! I love plotting. As a disclaimer, I won't say my plots are any better but these are things I like to do to stir up ideas.

Skill plots: I look at my PC's skills and figure out what I'd like to develop. Then I throw in a pile of related or semi-related skills. Then I think of a clever way to weave them together that might make interesting conflict or just a twist to an otherwise ordinary encounter. Often I like to do this sort of plotting with job threads and have my main skill (my job skill) paired with some secondary skill (one I want to improve) and it adds an interesting perspective to an ordinary job thread.

Large plot arcs: I like to have a couple of large plot arcs going on at once. These can be large goals, aspirations, or something as simple as a strong dislike of a race. Often these are the character overcoming something important and or learning about themselves. I don't always address the large plot arc(s) in every thread but I have it to lean on (or actively pursue) when I'm looking for inspiration.

Character development plots: These often come out of the large plot arc as shorter threads that develop one aspect of a larger plot arc. They are very tied to the character and how they are changing and what conflicts they face.

Interaction plots: For lack of a better name, these are just plot ideas that focus on interesting relationships or potential interactions between characters. It's kind of like what you first mentioned where you look at both characters and see how they fit together and what might be interesting.


So those are some things I like to do. One other trick is to leave plot hooks hanging. If you get enough random hooks just hanging in the air then you can choose whether or not to pursue them in future threads.
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So... Plotting

Postby Orin Fenix on September 2nd, 2015, 4:00 am

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Hi! Welcome back! We've missed you and I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that you're feeling better. If there's anything I can do to help make your transition smoother, don't hesitate to ask.

I'll take a stab at this even though I definitely don't feel qualified to necessarily answer it. I've never had any formal training in writing, if such exists, so I'll just talk a little about what I've done here and see if any of it makes sense to you (and to me). First of all, I'd like to preface this by saying that when I first got here I had absolutely nothing plotted and really hadn't looked as closely into the people or the lore as I should have. I definitely jumped into the deep end and while I eventually figured it out I was kind of flying by the seat of my pants for a bit. Basically I had a character idea that I liked and his 'plots' emerged from him as a person and what I think he'd want from his life.

So, I'm going to split this up. First of all, yes, I do have long term goals for Orin. Since I don't have alts I don't have any idea what plotting for multiple characters is like, but I definitely know where he's eventually going to end up. It actually wasn't that difficult, since it's essentially his life's work, although I'm still finding out what it will look like and where it will be, and most importantly when it will take place. And I'll also say that I actually have one main goal for him from a professional standpoint, a goal for him from an internal standpoint, and a goal for him from a relationship standpoint. A lot of that came from me asking questions, basically of 'Orin.' Things like "what do you fear?" "What's your dream?" "Where do you see yourself in a few years?" "What do you love?" "What do you hate?" Even "how religious are you" and "what god(s) do you worship?" I'm not explaining it very well but I tried to answer those as thoroughly as possible. And some of the answers came just from writing and gaining a better understanding of Orin.

Now, I have some threads geared to those long term threads but they're not my focus most of the time. Something I've worked into his character is that he wants to travel before settling down so I have that option. It's kind of just something I have in the back of my mind and I check in periodically with my plot notes to make sure I'm still at least sort of on track.


I've only consciously chosen a long-term relationship with another PC for Orin once, with his bondmate. That we planned out in advance, through the bonding, because both of us were working out how the logistics of living together would work and what it meant to be bonded, so we needed to flesh it out and talk to some STs, but once that event occurred, I've tried to let the plots unfold naturally. It's been challenging but I think it's been good for me as a writer and Orin as a character.

In terms of short term goals, on Mizahar, I usually divide them by season. It makes sense to me that way. I look for a few different things. One I check out the seasonal calendar, because it's a great resource and it might jump out at me. Two, I think about skills I want him to learn. I never place specific goals for how much XP in what skill, but I usually know what he's going to work on at least in general. Three, I think of people I want him to meet and/or relationships I want to deepen. And finally I think of situations I want him in. Usually, because I'm a bit of a sadist, the most embarrassing or most dangerous ones. Like, singing in front of a crowd (which hasn't happened yet but totally should).

In terms of threading, I'm going to break it down further. First of all, when I'm threading with another person I actually try and avoid planning anything in advance beyond how and where they meet initially and what their potential goal is starting out in the thread. I think part of the fun of writing with someone else comes from the spontaneity of not knowing how another character is going to react. In fact, I try not to read anything except the physical appearance of my writing partner, preferring to discover it at the same time as my character. That's just a personal choice and I know others have different ideas. Usually if I'm enjoying a thread with someone I'll know pretty quickly into the experience and will reach out to them with further thread ideas that came from the first one when its wrapping up.

I have a really different approach when it comes to solos. Those, I outline. A lot. Because it's too hard for me to go into them unfocused. I usually know exactly what is going into each post of each thread for them beforehand. I also like to look for NPCs because though I am happy to write Orin on his own, I also like to see him having to work with other people. Just a personal choice. But every time I've tried to just write freely it fizzles out. Also, I have a lot of trouble skill grinding for no purpose. I need to have a reason for Orin to be doing what he's doing.

I have a couple more notes. Something I'm guilty of, beyond Mizahar, is not writing things down. I think every time an idea pops into your head you need to write it down, at least the bare bones of it. If it's terrible, you can revisit it, cross it off, and move on. On the same sort of subject, I would always PM someone if I'm looking at them and an idea for a thread with them pops into my head because I'm constantly saying "those two doing this would be great" then forgetting it because it's not concrete. I prefer PMs to whispers because I forget things I've plotted in chat. Another thing if you're feeling stumped is to ask how you think your PC is changed after going through that thread. If they're not changing, then they're static, which is boring to me as a reader and probably boring to you the writer. They should grow in every thread. And finally, this is something I've said before but I feel like bears repeating: you need conflict. Absolutely, positively need it. It can be large or small, anything from a natural disaster to petty jealousy. But I try and make Orin struggle in every thread. Maybe that makes me a terrible person. But I'm okay with that. I actually think this is the technique that helps me the most, and what I plan in advance the most, what Orin is going to be trying to overcome next. It gives me a shape

Wow. I went a wrote a lot there. Hopefully some of it works for you and I didn't just go off on a rant. I think you've sort of got to discover what process is best for you and then stick to it. Again, so glad to see you around!

p.s. I'm going to encourage you to check out Caelum's post on Plotting because it's a lot better than mine, much more structured, and probably makes a lot more sense. Which doesn't surprise me seeing as Caelum is an amazing writer.

p.p.s. Also what Sayana said cause she beat me to the first reply.
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So... Plotting

Postby Kyo on September 4th, 2015, 2:51 pm




Sorry for getting back a few days late. I had an out of town doctor's appointment that took up my Wednesday and Thursday, and believe it or not but I actually have to recover from going to the doctor. *shakes head* It's a whole ordeal.

I think maybe my biggest problem in plotting is that Kyo (for now I'm focusing on Kyo, since he's the simpler of my characters) was not created with a specific goal in mind. He has a history, of course, and that history informs his actions, but I wanted to play around with what I was thinking of as a 'supplemental character'-- a character that I wanted to use to help other people in their plots, even if only in minor ways (like doing a favor, etc.). Sort of true to the Kelvic condition, ya know? Kyo didn't have his own grand goals except in the fuzziest of senses, which I had hoped would free him to really get to know other people. Unfortunately that didn't really work out, and my playing of him has been rather patchy.

I guess I should really buckle down on figuring out Kyo's plots/goals, and start progressing him forward for his own gain, instead of others'.

Also maybe I should focus on conflict more, instead of letting Kyo just float around. And it will probably be good to start thinking of my and my character's goals as separate (like in Caelum's scrap)! Kyo doesn't necessarily have the goals that I have for him-- in fact, I don't even know if I have specific goals for him at all, really. Hmm.

Thank you for your help! I hope I can get back into the swing of things. I would love to RP with the both of you again! ^_^



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