So if you’re like me and future arcs, scenes, and twists just materialize in your head without a fixed place in the overall story, then you might find this plotting technique useful.
The basic idea is to keep the order of events fluid and easily changeable by writing arcs, events, chapters, etc. on flash cards and swapping them around as you please. You can also record little notes and reminders for things you want to accomplish in the story or specific arc that are kept along with the collection. Putting events and arcs on flash cards allows for easy order swapping, and gives a different view of the plot as a whole when it’s physically laid out in front of you.
For starters let’s work with five types of cards: Arc, Event, Chapter, Character, and Note. You can always make up new types as needed.
First we’ll start with the Arc card:
This is the start of an arc that various events, chapters, pieces of character development, and notes may fall under. Write the major goals for the arc on the back of the card.
Next, the Event card:
Events can be a single scene or a series of them, and can span multiple chapters. The “Arc Title” section can be left blank until you decide which arc the event belongs to.
For individual chapters:
I find that going by chapter can be useful when dealing with stories that run on the more episodic side, with specific chapters forming their own mini-story within the larger narrative arc.
Next is the Character Development card:
Record goals for the named character’s development by the end of the arc. These can be kept at the top or bottom of the arc’s stack, whichever is more convenient.
Last but not least, the Note card:
These cards are for more general notes, like small but important background details that run throughout the story arc. These can be kept at the top or bottom of the arc’s stack, whichever is more convenient.
I find flash card plotting to be particularly useful for writing ongoing fanfic, where you’re updating chapter to chapter without being able to edit the whole thing before publishing. I always like to have some idea of where I’m going, and this achieves that while also being malleable enough to accommodate an actively evolving plot. The fic below mostly goes event by event when it comes to the cards, while other more episodic fics I’ve done have gone chapter by chapter.
I also suggest keeping a writing journal where you can keep more long-form descriptions of planned arcs, events, and such so you can keep the information on the backs of the cards concise and avoid losing anything as time passes. The flash cards are also a good accompaniment in that they can be used to quickly reference the highlights of previous chapters instead of having to spend time flipping through your writing journal.
I hope you find this useful in your writing endeavors! Good luck and have fun!
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