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Ideas vs. Plot
May. 23rd, 2016 10:05 amI turned in the final edit to The Night Watch, my newest book due out this month, so now I'm (in theory) back on the new writing bandwagon. But today I have thoughts about ideas.
Writers are frequently asked "where do you get your ideas from?" My answer to this is "everywhere" or if I'm feeling flippant "I order them in case lots from a store in Podunk Iowa." But I really think the question is "where do you get plots from?"
The answer to that is "hard work." For example, I have an idea of what happens after The Night Watch. The problem is I don't have a plot. Specifically, I don't (yet) have a plausible villain with the capability to seriously challenge Space Rescue. Watching a Bad Guy get systematically taken apart by a more powerful Good Guy is boring, unless you're writing a revenge fantasy or weapons porn.
In my writing process, I need to have this plot before I can start. Once I have two groups with conflicting goals and reasonable parity, I can "play the changes" and generate a book. Without that, I'm just spinning my wheels.
Writers are frequently asked "where do you get your ideas from?" My answer to this is "everywhere" or if I'm feeling flippant "I order them in case lots from a store in Podunk Iowa." But I really think the question is "where do you get plots from?"
The answer to that is "hard work." For example, I have an idea of what happens after The Night Watch. The problem is I don't have a plot. Specifically, I don't (yet) have a plausible villain with the capability to seriously challenge Space Rescue. Watching a Bad Guy get systematically taken apart by a more powerful Good Guy is boring, unless you're writing a revenge fantasy or weapons porn.
In my writing process, I need to have this plot before I can start. Once I have two groups with conflicting goals and reasonable parity, I can "play the changes" and generate a book. Without that, I'm just spinning my wheels.
