Good morning everyone. Ready for the day’s task? It is a pretty easy one. We are going to be separating out the plot elements into one list. So all of the things we highlighted or underlined yesterday, we are going to list them out in one long bullet point style list. It is going to sound strange. A bit like listening to a small child tell you about their day than an actual plot outline.
I woke up.
I ate breakfast.
I got dressed in my princess costume.
I lost my wand.
I found my wand.
I went to day care.
I argued with Suzie because she didn’t think I could be a Princess Ninja Sorceress.
I came home.
It is just a simple list of all the plot elements that came up as you were working through your five sentences from the start. The biggest thing you have to remember when doing this is not to number them. I know, I find it hard to remember and when the computer senses a list it also seems to want to put numbers on the items.
Don’t do it. Resist!
The reason is simple. Once you see the numbers there is a tendency to see them and think of them in that order. Obviously, one must come before eight. That’s how numbers work and that is what your brain will tell you if they are numbered. Because all our plot elements may not be in order yet and that is not the point of today’s task. We aren’t bothering with ordering them, just listing them out. Plus, there are some plot elements we marked out that may not even fit in the story. They may fit into the life and times of our main character, but occur outside of the duration of the plot.
Think about Bob. In our example he graduated from school with his degree but instead of getting a job in his field went to work for his father in law. He worked for him for a number of years before everything fell apart. Our tale, at least as it currently stands in our example, is that of the break down and collapse of Bob’s life working for his father in law. Is it important to know why he took the job and how long he has been there? Probably.
But it happened well before the tale we are telling starts. So, it will be referenced but probably not shown, unless you do some sort of flash back – always a possibility, but that flashback would be shown when it is needed in the story not in chronological order. But that is what we are thinking about for now when working with Bob. Once all the plot points are out It may turn out that starting the story when Hank’s heart attack hits is the better place to begin. Or maybe when they cancel the honeymoon. Or perhaps we will have a Prologue where we show Bob lined up for the job of his dreams prior to graduation.
Plans for the story may change as we work on it. Right now we are just filtering out the plot pieces so we can start assembling our time line. So filter them out of the test and line them up. Turn them into full sentences if you need that to make the elements make sense to you out of paragraph context.
Which is a long way to simply say don’t number the plot elements at this stage as the first chronological element may not be the first thing you write and you don’t want to trip your brain up.
Everyone got it?
So to Task #9!
Make an unnumbered list of all your plot elements, leaving out all the other pieces for the moment. As you make the list, feel free to adjust the sentences if you need to and if you see a plot element that you missed, go ahead and add it (or remove, depending). Just remember this is only plot (physical events) not Story (emotional journey) at this point. (I harp on that because I often have trouble remembering not to sneak the emotional bits in at this point – so it is me telling myself repeatedly, ignore it if it isn’t your issue). Try for simple sentences, even if it does sound like a small child recalling their day.
Example
Bob married Sarah right out of college.
Bob has a degree in Marine Biology.
He went to work for his father in law at his lumber yard.
Henry (the father in law) had a heart attack three days after the wedding and needed help.
Bob works hard for his father in law.
The regular hours give him steady non-work hours which he has used to keep his certifications up and to do work in his field.
He has turned his man cave into a sort of lab and has been quietly building a reputation and using his vacation and leave time to do work in his field.
Bob agreed to help out temporarily because no one else was available.
He worked to get them back to a stable point from the brink of bankruptcy.
After the heart attack, Henry could only come in part time, so Bob did the bulk of the work.
His wife’s younger brothers and cousins start working for the business and Henry fully retires.
Bob starts passing duties over to some of the family members
Bob discovers his wife is having an affair.
Bob finds out someone is embezzling from the company funds.
Bob had to implement some changes to keep them financially stable.
Bob explained the changes and the reasoning.
Now the financial crisis has passed, Henry wants Bob’s changes removed.
Henry fires Bob.
Bob sends out an e-mail letting everyone (suppliers, employees, etc) know that Chuck is now going to be running things and that he is leaving.
Sarah, his wife, tells him that he should have expected it since he wasn’t family and just doing the day to day ‘chores’ until her brother could properly take over
Sarah makes comments about how the company will really thrive under Chuck now that it is back in the family.
Bob snaps at her, they fight and his knowledge about her affair comes to light.
Ugly things are said.
Sarah storms out.
Bob decides it is best to end things.
He gets divorce papers together and presents it to her.
She signs.
Bob moves into a small apartment, taking his belongings with him.
The assets are split and the paperwork is done.
Bob gets a call from his brother about a job near him that requires his Marine Biology degree.
Bob makes plans to move out of the area because there is no reason to stay.
Bob applies for the job and gets it.
Bob sells or donates all but a few personal items and buys a boat.
Bob lets go of the temporary apartment.
Bob goes to the boat.
Bob sails off to the port town where his brother lives and his new job awaits.
Ten til Midnight 