Sunday 29 December 2013

Plotting the new novel

It’s vital that the back story works out. There’s nothing worse than disentangling a whodunit only to find a gaping plot hole in the back story that pulls the rug from under the whole book. Thus very important to act out that back story in detail and work out how it threads into the main plot. This is how I do it.

The main players gather.



And here comes a mystery couple to interact with one of them.



Agh! The murder...



And of course the detective with his spyglass.



Now for the clever stuff; the couple in the car...



The mysterious death...



The drive to the forest in the unlikely car.



And the guy on the bicycle at the Tube station is of course the red-herring.




So now it’s all straight in my head... off to Chapter One...

4 comments:

  1. A masterclass in plotting!
    (...and just how much had you had to drink?)

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    Replies
    1. Heh heh. That was the sober version. Thanks for dropping in.

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  2. I think the aftershave did it. He sloshed too much of himself around and all sensitive beings within a one metre radius died of anaphylactic shock. Sorry if I've just ruined the end.

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  3. Agh, no! You've given it away!
    Well ok, you haven't really, but that could be a much better ending than I had planned (which involved the shaving brush and the round soap in a lather of indecision and all that). I'd better get on with it.

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