by Linda O. Johnston
My fellow Writers in Residence always seem to come up with some wonderful writing advice when they blog here.
Me? Not so much.
Oh, I love writing. It’s what I do. And years ago, I used to attempt to learn, and follow, all the rules I could.
Now, I’m just used to doing it my way–which, yes, does include some rules, at least.
And what is that way? Well, first I need to come up with an idea. What kind of idea? That depends on what I want to write next. These days, that’s nearly always a romantic suspense book or a mystery that is part of, or might become, a series.
Then what? Well, I sit in front of my computer and plot. And plan. And more.
Over my many years of writing I’ve come up with what I call a “plot skeleton.”
It has various blanks to fill in, although I don’t always complete everything. The beginning is just a blank where I put down anything that appears in my head. From there, I’ll focus on my main characters and write all that comes to mind about them: their backgrounds, what they’re doing now, why they get involved in this story, and what’s likely to happen to them–often putting it into a character arc.
I also make a list of other characters at the end, though it doesn’t have to be complete.
Eventually, I get around to my actual plotting part, where I have blanks to fill in that generally follow screenplay plotting: grabber, three acts that are each ended by a plot point, a black moment, climax and ending. Do I follow them all exactly? No, but having the skeleton there to fill in is a good reminder if I choose to do so.
And then–I use that screenplay plotting to create the synopsis. From there, if I need to put together a full proposal, I write the first three chapters.
Simple? Yes… and no. But it works for me.
So Happy Post-Halloween, and my skeleton is still keeping me company! And if you’re a writer, may you plot the way that works best for you.
Photo by Matthew Schwartz, Unsplash
(Linda O. Johnston's article was posted by Jackie Houchin)
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The Writers in Residence 
This is a great, no-nonsense approach, and it clearly works for you! Thanks for sharing, Linda.
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You’re welcome, Bonnie! And one of the best things about it is that I can use portions or ignore them, whatever works for each story.
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Having a bit of a game plan certainly works. And the fact yours is flexible also works. What is interesting is that the class I teach on writing and a book to go with it is called The Anatomy of a Short Story featuring a skeleton as well. Great minds think alike. But it works. Your 50+ books says it sure does. Thanks for giving us something to think about.
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I wasn’t aware of other skeletons in writing, Gayle, but glad it works for others, too. Glad you’re thinking about it–and doing it your own way!
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I love this, Linda. Such a really comprehensive ‘skeleton’ plot for such a complete book. I think I might steal from this. And I’m always surprised at how much you accomplish with your writing. You have been writing so very many books for such a long time – and different genres, too. I don’t know how you get it all done – and I’m really envious! Thank you for sharing this.
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Feel free to steal from this, and if you want more info on what I do just let me know. Yep, I’ve been at this for a while, and how I get it done is just to keep on writing. No need to be envious. Everyone’s writing career is different. Thanks for reading and replying!
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Loved hearing how you plan–the plot “skeleton” is great. Somehow, someway, hearing what other writers I respect(you’re in that group(smile)) are doing helps me move forward, even though in much different ways. I guess it’s just a matter of more knowledge is better??? Anyway, very enjoyable post!
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I agree with you. Hearing how other writers do it has always been helpful to me. And I do believe more knowledge is better. You can just pick and choose what works for you. Glad you enjoyed the post!
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Linda, I always love your posts and learn from them, so keep going!
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