nano_writers | Let's Build a World: Day 20

A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is-full of surprises.

- Isaac Bashevis Singer

It's Day 20 for Nano Writers's Let's Build a World. Read over - Plot Hook Day - from Stephanie Bryant's 30 Days of Worldbuilding. Time for your notebooks and today's exercise:

So, what question are you asking in your novel? Are you setting up a conflict between a Big Bad Guy and your Hero? Perhaps your question is as simple as "who will win?" Have you established a man-against-society conflict, in which your Hero struggles against the restrictions of his oppressive futuristic dystopia (a la 1984)?

If you really have no plot, and all you have is a string of plot hooks that I asked you to write, go ahead and write down the ones you want to use, and put them in their most logical order.

Here are some additional links that may help with plotting your story:

Plot Sketch Worksheet - pdf file - worksheet based on Karen Wiesner's First Draft in 30 Days (Writer’s Digest Books, 2005)

The top 12 sci-fi plot devices geeks love to hate - No. 7: Aliens speak English, or at least learn it in about five minutes. - something to think about...

Stupid Plot Tricks - or "The Evil Overlord Devises a Plot" - very long and funny lists by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

And what are you plotting, Nano Writer? Come back tomorrow for the next installment!