problem -> solution -> new problem

[Mark Neumayer]

I am not a pantser. I like to know where I am going with a book. One of the things I used for my last book and am working on for my current one is what I think of as a problem/solution chain. It goes like this:

• Character has problem A
  
• They come up with solution B
  
• Which solves A but leads on to problem C
  

Here is an excerpt from the worksheet I constructed

• Problem: The other valkyries resent Valda and give her all of the menial work making her life more unpleasant than it was before. Valda has escaped the drudgery of her old life but has been introduced to a whole new level of drudgery in Asgard.
  
• Solution: During a chance meeting with Freya, Valda gets permission to take the test which allows Valkyries to ride out and harvest souls.
  
• Problem: The test is on horseback. Valda can not ride and doesn't have a horse.
  
• Solution: One of the Valkyries offers up her horse.
  
• Problem: The horse doesn't like Dwarfs

I just keep on like this and it helps me make sure I have enough conflict and that I keep things interesting.

[gerald]

I'm generally not panttser either, and I plot quite thoroughly.

However, on the latest work, I started writing to see how it went, just to get the opening down on paper. At the moment, I'm over 14,000 words in, and it's going well. I know I'll have to rewrite some of it, but I just want to get as much written down as possible so I can look at the overall plot and story structure.

[ajabbiati]

@mark

I suggest you check out Jack Bickham's SCENE AND STRUCTURE ... a must-have for any writer. He goes into this type of plotting in detail, and points out other possible scene endings. Basically, his take on stringing together scenes from a goal perspective is that there are three possible outcomes for a scene (when writing a plot-driven, conflict-based story--my caveat):

1. Try and fail.
2. Try and succeed, but something else pops up as a new problem.
3. Try and fail and now the original problem is even worse.

It's really an excellent book. Highly recommended.

--A. J. Abbiati

[Mark Neumayer]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.