A Guide to Novel Writing for Intuitive Plotters
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- This video is a novel writing guide with tips and tricks for the intuitive plotter.
Patreon: / ellenbrock
Four Writer Types: • The Four Types of Nove...
OneNote: www.microsoft.com/en-us/micro...
This video may also be of help with plotting: • How to Plot Your Novel... 
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Yup. I imagined myself telling you a problem with my novel, and as soon as I articulated the problem, there the solution was, staring me in the face. It’s remarkable how easy it is to forget: identify and articulate the problem.
That's awesome!
The problem is the problem has no easy solution (not without drastically changing the story). XD
It seems most writing advice is written by writers who are plotters. This video is so helpful for those of us who are not plotters. I also always appreciate your video’s being from an editorial point of view as you give more consideration to varying styles or ways of reaching one’s writing goals. You are GOLD!
Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like the videos.
Funny, my experience is that most writing advice comes from pantsers. Certainly the best known writing guide at this point is by a complete pantser - Stephen King's 'On writing'.
@@ThreadBomb you're write, I could never write like that. Word counts send my anxiety thru the roof😄
I have to agree with this comment 100%. This is literally the first writing advice that speaks to me in terms of structuring ….not really structuring but instead of using an outline (i hate outlines) to somehow organize my work . I just wanted to leave this comment because I am completely bowled over by this . It is fantastic and just thank you so much.
Stephen King is great for advice from a discovery writer, Brandon Sanderson has A TON of content on plotting.
Ellen's videos are not a five minute, how-to-get-rich as an author style video.
Ellen's videos are gold-mines of information, experience, and assistance for writers or potential writers to cross the next goal.
Ellen's videos are an absolute delight, and super helpful.
I was happy to confirm that I fell into this type, which wasn't a certainty. But so much of what Ellen said spoke to me, my mannerisms, and my potential strategies for success.
Thank you for all that you do, Ellen!
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked the video.
“Write down what you intuit” really hit hard, personally. Thanks so much for bringing it to light.
This works so well for me. I just freeflow a summary of what I want to write. It looks like psychotic ramblings and includes a bunch of shorthand no one else would be able to decipher, but once I rewrite the outline from that, it works out wonderfully. It helps me capture that burst of intuition and get it down on the page.
Absolutely the best line ever ♡♡♡ fellow intuitive writer
I had a feeling I was this type, and I turned out to be right. This video was so validating; sometimes I feel too disorganized as a plotter, or even bogged down by it (someone else wrote that writing ideas down can make them feel like law, and that is so true for me as well) but I can't just jump into a story like a pantser; I need some direction. Hearing the first tip be "plot with summaries" made me smile, because I am doing that right now. It helps me get into the story until it's almost a zero draft, where the characters give me dialogue and the whole thing starts to flow. Its like freewriting, almost, but with purpose. That said, I'll be adding your suggestion of creating a plot summary as well, with story structure beats, to know I'm hitting those points and have them where they need to go. I never thought about doing both. You are a gem, Ellen!
I'm glad you have a system that works for you and that the video was helpful!
So related!
00:01 Intro
02:45 Plot in a way that sparks intuition
05:05 Four plotting methods
1. Plot using summaries, separate side plots and emotional transitions
2. Plot using keywords
3. Plot using note cards, either at the start or end of plotting process
4. Plot using visualization
14:35 Explore your idea freely
15:50 Find the amount of plotting that's right for you
16:40 Write down what you intuit
18:40 Turn vague issues into defined problems
20:35 Write in chronological order
22:10 Allow yourself to deviate from the outline
23:30 Edit the outline before editing the novel
24:35 Read the whole novel at once (or in as few sittings as possible), take notes, make multiple passes to concentrate on different issues
29:15 Polish front to back
31:30 Know when you can't intuit the answer, try a structure system
thank you for taking the time to do this!! I was trying to find the ideas in writing so I can save them
This is great, I was hoping the video description would include this so grateful for your comment. Thank you!
Funny enough "Metholodical Pantser" and "Intuitive Plotter" where the two types I related to the most. ;) So as expected I found this almost as helpful as the last one. Great work! And thanks for sharing these types with us, I find it incredibly helpful to realize not all writing advice MUST work for me.
I totally agree here. Both videos have been very helpful and added up to the things i know about storytelling and worldbuilding from roleplaying-sessions as the game master.
I was worried because I felt like I have to pick only one, when I relate greatly with both of the categories you mentioned. So it’s comforting and reassuring for me to know that I can have both tips 😅 (makes me wonder why I was so afraid)
Thanks for this video ! As an intuitive plotter, something I find very useful is to associate important scenes and characters with songs, it's the same as visualisation but with music. I usually do it thematically, for instance villains have a theme song from the same band etc...
That's a cool idea!
I think, when you are writing with music, you have to take care that you are not assuming that the feeling of the music, which the reader can't hear, is automatically contained in the text. Ultimately the effect on the reader comes solely from the words on the page.
I've watched HUNDREDS of videos on writing, through the years, and this is the first time I feel like the advice given are actually perfect for my witting style. It's absolutely refreshing, and a genuine relief, to realize 'intuitive plotter' is a real thing. I've gotten myself so so stuck through the years trying to use the various plotting methods out there, most of them telling me to write down in depth outlines, down to every single scene, to the point where I convinced myself there was something wrong with me because following those advice always stifled my creativity instead of helping me. I realize now that I have a lot of unlearning to do, so that I can let my intuitive plotter self do her thing. Thank you so much for this video, and for all the others. I was so happy to find new content from you after all this time, you're by far my favorite source of help when it comes to writing. I'll definitely be checking out your Patreon in the morning. Thank you ❤️
My biggest takeaway (other than your incredible insight and advice) is that there's nothing wrong with me! You revealing obstacles that I encounter gives me permission to go easier on myself. Thank you!
As someone who falls somewhere in the middle, this was incredibly handy. I feel like I'm going to get something out of this whole series.
Same!
I've heard of reading prose or dialogue aloud, but recording yourself reading the summary and listening to it for visualisation or analysing tone or pacing is just pure GENIUS. Formal ways like spreadsheets feel really draining, while visualising and daydreaming tend to bring revelations and solve problems. When reading a draft for note taking without changing words, I find that printing out the draft on paper is a real psychological boost.
I have found putting in passages in a text to speech has been really useful as well to get some distance and see the story from an outside perspective!
I think I am an intuitive plotter. I describe my writing process this way: the story already exists out there in the universe, and the universe randomly decides to share snippets of it with me in eureka moments of inspiration (hokey, I know, but it's how it feels lol). I channel those snippets into a plot document that I play around with, and eventually everything slots into place. When I encounter issues with the plot or pacing, if I wait a month or two another eureka moment happens and the solution is basically delivered to me by my brain/the universe. And once that picture feels whole and complete and has really taken shape, I begin writing. In that way, some times I feel less like an author creating a story and more like a conduit for a story that wants to be told
Edit: I even do the notecard/sticky note thing!!! And I've used PowerPoints too. Damn I'm sold, this is my writing type I'm convinced.
Using keywords makes SO MUCH SENSE. I can't believe I never thought of it before. Scenes really do have vibes to them.
This series and video in particular has helped explain so much and helped me understand myself so much better. I finally get why I’ve struggled so much it’s paralyzed my writing. I’ve thought of myself as a methological plotter and tried desperately to fit that square peg into a round hole for years when I’m, in fact, more of intuitive plotter. The techniques you’ve suggested resonated so much, it’s reignited my excitement to get back at it. Thank you!!!! #lifechanging
That is so great to hear! I'm so happy this helped you!
Definitely agree with the daydreaming about your characters when you are not writing and imo the best day comes when doing mundane chores(ie the dishes, the lawn ect) something simple enough that you can autopilot and let your mind go
*the best daydreaming
Happy 2022! I hope it's off to a great start!
If you've watched the previous videos, new information starts at 02:47
I also forgot to mention in the video that intuitive plotters might find the technique described in my "How to Plot Your Novel Fast" video useful: ruclips.net/video/v-I9N5LsvPM/видео.html
Thanks for watching! I'm excited for all the new videos I have planned this year!
Yes, "how to plot faster" helped me
@I z Thanks! You too!
Great video. One thing that's important for me, that you might also agree with, is not to write down all that you intuit *too* fast. I'm definitely identifying with the intuitive plotter type, but what I've found for myself is that the absolute first idea, while often good, can be improved by "letting it simmer" - much like the advice you get when wanting a tattoo, to not go blindly with your first idea and to let it percolate some more. Writing it down, to me, can often feel limiting because then it doesn't percolate naturally anymore. You've written it down, this is law now. Or it might just be me, that's also a distinct possibility!
Yes, I agree! That's why I recommended exploring the idea freely through daydreaming or freewriting (for those who struggle with daydreaming) before getting into actual plotting. Letting the idea percolate is very important. Letting solutions to problems percolate as well can be helpful, though I have met quite a few writers who can only solve problems and access intuition while looking at the outline/summary/etc, so I think it is somewhat personal.
I feel like that if I physically write stuff down, but I've been using Good Notes on my iPad for plotting. Just the ability to shift, cut+paste and rearrange stuff freely really helps. Reading over my earliest ideas often, along with some cringing, sparks a new idea or how "core feature" I had in mind would fit perfectly into what I've developed so far. It's all so fluid, it's beautiful ^^
It might be just you? :) I make notes simply because I don't want to forget an idea that might turn out to be useful. But I try to avoid writing out a straight plot. I just list ideas for characters, images, scenes, themes, and after a while you notice that the strong ones stand out, and maybe seem connected.
I write it down but I always say “maybe x happens” and if it feels not quite right I can tweet or change it without feeling like I’m changing something finalized.
I have intensely experienced what you mentioned regarding plotting too much. I burnt out a lot of my passion for a story idea I've been carrying around for months by overplotting it over the course of a few days. I also frequently get frustrated beginning to write a story only to intuit that I should be writing something different than what I had plotted. I'm glad this it isn't just me and I should just go with my gut lol. Will definitely be trying a bunch of these strategies.
It's ridiculous how closely I relate to this. This is almost the exact way I plot and I never have been able to describe it. The vagueness is so clear to me because this is how it feels for me.
Thank you SOOOO MUCH! I wasn't sure if I was an Intuitive Pantser or an Intuitive Plotter until I watched this video. I really struggled to plot and really became blocked while working on my latest book but your insight that Intuitives need to plot in an aesthetically pleasing way was a major breakthrough for me. I now create my scene outlines using a title, a short description, a picture, a couple of keywords for tone, and a sentence describing the scene's purpose in the novel and then color-coded it all by character viewpoint. It is FABULOUS! It has really unlocked my creativity and solved my plotting issues at the same time.
Fantastic advice! Such a refreshing approach, too! Not your average, recycled writing tips.
Thank you, Ellen! You give wonderful ideas for writers to try and great analogies to help us understand your points easily.
As an intuitive plotter, this might be the most helpful video out of the thousands I have watched over the last few years. You are so on to me that it is like you are spying on me when I am writing.😂
Probably keeps pinterest boards, 3 by 5 cards, notebooks...I feel called out. I also keep a sketch book where I draw and visualize my ideas and characters. I often have to draw it before I can write about it. What you said about plotting via summery also really resonated. It's the only type of plotting that really works for me, aside from drawing a literal pyramid with little stars and things all over it. I think I'm a 50/50 combo of intuitive plotter and methodological pantser. Dang.
Okay, now I am intrigued by this 'literal pyramid' approach!
These videos have been so helpful! I was never sure exactly where I fell in the plotter panster spectrum, but assumed I was more of a panster. Now I realize I relate much more to the intuitive plotter type! I love the tips and will definitely try them out in my writing process.
Glad it helped!
I feel this type fits me fairly well. I do the "keyword" method, but using certain songs or playlists. Most major scenes in my novels have an attached song that just brings up the emotional tone and general thrust of the scene, or just the arc of certain characters. I just turn on my playlist when I'm working on that novel and that tends to get me pretty far in terms of sparking intuition.
You know how I plot in a way that sparks intuition? I turn on a playlist of your videos and wrote down what comes to me on a fresh canvas!
I really like this video because I do the same thing, the intuitive plotter as you call it. All the advice you've mentioned brought up great points. Plus, what I noticed is that whenever I struggle with the book is to do some extra freewriting. What I do is that I write a certain scene for the book and hold it until I get to that spot on the book and place it on; I always write my books in chronological order. It's the rising action I struggle with that I'm glad you gave these tips.
The first in-depth video made me doubt it because some things felt applicable but now I'm definitely sure I'm (rather deeply) in the Intuitive Plotter square of the spectrum. I felt so understood by every example you talked about 🐋
Wonderful!
Completely realized outlines _feel_ good to have on the surface, but they actually make my process more difficult, not easier. Most of my ideas manifest _during_ writing and simply cannot exist outside of that flow state. It's the difference between directing a team from the stands and being on the ground with them calling the shots -- it's a completely different experience from each perspective.
Great video. Instead of recording yourself reading to visualize your plot there are some tools (e.g. the browser) where you can put your summaries etc. or even drafts to speech and think about it. Works for me. 🙂
That's a great idea!
This series is so incredibly fascinating! I think I'm somewhere between Intuitive Plotter and Intuitive Pantser.
OMG I DISNT KNOW AB THAT THATS LITERALLY ME THANK U FOR THIS
I was waiting for thiiiiissss. Bring it on!
I've been so excited for this video, thank you so much!
Thanks for coming back❤️
Oh my gosh thank you for making this!
This is so insightful thank you
This is all so, so helpful. Thank you! ❤️
This is so helpful!!! I feel so understood.
This is excellent advice, thanks so much
Great video as always! Keep up the good work.
I love your videos. They are so helpful. Thank you.
thank you! this is really helpful
Thanks for posting this! Looking forward to the Methodological Plotter since I skew heavily that way.
So happy (deliriously happy!) To have you back, just as I am embarking on my second novel. Love your new look, as well. The glasses and updo suit you well!
Yay! You're back.
honestly best series on writing i've encountered - such a pragmatic focus and so great to get the macro and micro of each tip
I really enjoy your content. I am glad you are back
I love this series of videos, and I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the last two videos to come out. Thanks, Ellen. This is top tier writing advice all aspiring authors need to hear!
Always so informative. Thank-you. :)
Instrumental music really helps me get inspired and gain clarity/creativity. Something about music (especially movie soundtracks) helps me “see” the emotions or plots or characters that I want to write. If you’re stuck or lacking inspiration, you might want to listen to inspiring music that has the same “vibe” as your novel
Nice to see you posting new vids.
this is actually so good. i found this really helpful!
Great advice as usual! And love your new glasses Ellen.
Thank you so much, this is exactly what I needed. Your advice is really precious, haven't heard of these continuums anywhere else. But it makes so much sense to me. It helps me understand my own writing habits and sort out what is useful for me to do and not linger on what is not. I myself also love to intuitively sense or "speak" with my characters and then write down what they wish to tell me.
You have my favorite writing videos
Excited to experiment with keyword/summary index cards! That’s really an awesome recommendation!
thankyou thankyou thank you; this has really helped me get over the hump.
Your advice is really useful and I have advanced so much by using your tips for the methodological panser. Some bits of this video are very useful as well.
Your videos are really getting a lot better, in a way that I didn’t anticipate they even needed to be.
Ellen - Girl - You need to write a book with this info!! Amazing !!!
Really geat job with this guide!
As I am usually excited with learning about structure I thought I was methodological plotter, but this video makes so much sense to me!! Thank you for coming back
This is so mind-opening, thank you so much for doing this. Learning I am an intuitive plotter is so friggin' helpful. Outlining is my creative playground, and I thought that was super weird and nonconstructive before I saw this.
The minute you mentioned using a PowerPoint presentation as a form of plotting, I got sooo excited. This itched a part of my brain that I didn't realize I needed. I am so excited to start this. I think it's exactly what I needed to break everything up and also see how everything fits together and to visualize all the components of a scene or a character (sights/sounds/energy/etc). Thank you for taking the time to do this. I gained so much from this video and I really appreciate it!!!
this info is so comprehensive and amazing. I cannot believe you are offering it for free. Girl, you're adding so much to the world with your work.
Hay! You're back! Good to see you again in 2022. Keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of these videos.
the PowerPoint suggestion made plotting my story so much better, thank you!!
Yaaay been waiting for this one !
I really hope you find it helpful!
Can’t wait for the intuitive plotter video. Been dying to hear more since the original video.
Wow! Great video.
This is exactly me. You nailed it, and many of your ideas are things I'm already doing without really reflecting on it. I tend to use summaries and sometimes visualization (though I only occasionally search for media to use as inspiration, it's mostly in my head), I write intuitively but am not afraid to change the plotting according to what I write (because the best ideas can only come once I've written parts of the story), and I definitely only write in chronological order. I have not yet tried to read the thing in one sitting, I'm definitely going to do that. Thanks for another great video.
this video is so incredibly helpful, and it makes me feel seen in the best possible way. Ellen, you just *get* it. The amount of knowledge and understanding u have is outstanding
Wow this is 100% me. So helpful! Something that's really worked for me in my current WIP is I have a loose outline with the overarching beats of the story, and then I do more in depth planning for the first 1/4 of the book. When I finish drafting that, I pause and plan out the next 1/4 in detail and so on. It's really helped with drafting faster and plotting as close as my brain will allow. It also allows flexibility and pivoting if I have to.
Wow wow wow thank you Ellen! This brings so much joy to my heart, to hear expert advice that is so specialized and practical and individually applicable to me! Thank you for such an excellent package of a video!
I'm more of an intuitive pantser, but the last half of the video definitely had helpful tips for my kind of writing! I'm rewriting a novella I wrote a few years ago and fleshing it out into a full novel, finally addressing plot holes etc. I've improved so much as a writer since then, I'm very excited to be able to fix all the issues I tried to ignore years ago lol. Gonna use these tips as I continue with revision to hopefully speed up my process! I'm actually really looking forward to having the whole rewritten draft done so I can read through it all at once and get a better idea of how I can make it the best version of itself.
This is my type and so much of this advice was perfect for me! I also realize I've already done a lot of this myself lol
Perfect!
Hi Ellen, I've been watching you on and off for a couple years now I think and I've recently jumped back into writing. You should know that you are one of the most useful writing resources on RUclips. Keep up the great work because you truly are a unique and helpful person.
After watching the video where you introduced all the types, I was torn between whether I'm an intuitive or methodological plotter, but WOW, quite literally every single point in this video hit home! Thanks for the great advice!
This has been so helpful in so many ways. It has called out my wish to be a discovery writer but truly I need more structure than that, and you were able to articulate why (e.g., can't sustain all the parts for longer prose; getting lost). I realized that what I'm actually "discovering" is my intuition about people and narratives. I also realized this is how I write for academic writing such as my dissertation or scholarly manuscripts. Thank you so much!
This is single-handedly the most useful video I've ever watched on helping me write. Just to moving forward feels impossible. But everything in this video makes perfect sense!
This was very helpful. Thank you! I was already practicing a few items naturally, but these suggestions have expanded my tool-box-particularly the One Note and Pinterest ideas. Thanks, again!
Wow. Wow. This was so helpful. I've written 10 books now and didn't know this about myself. Just about everything you said, I knew exactly what you were talking about. I never knew what to say when writers asked if I was a plotter or a pantser and I would say both. lol. Thank you so much for all these great tips. I don't like planning but I need it, but can't pants either bc I get lost or stuck. Glad to see you back. Your videos are always extremely helpful.
This is so helpful! I have felt “sparking intuition” by making notecards or drawing the arc of the plot but I never really had a term to make my process feel legitimized! Thank you so much for your wisdom - there was so much here to help me deal with roadblocks and spark more intuition! I would say the best other thing for me is to talk to someone when I’m stuck, but only with someone who asks good questions and doesn’t convince me out of my own intuition!
I’ve never been this early before😂. I’ve been waiting for this one, thank you!
Hi, Ellen, nice to meet you. This was a great watch--I am an intuitive writer and I think you pin-pointed exactly my creative approach (personally I have a kind of 'mood board' which I note down story ideas and chapter names/character ideas and sketches). I tend to plot and write scene to scene (breaking down by chapter) and then somehow the big-picture stuff falls into place as I write to the end, which often does entail my going back and lining the dots through previous chapters. This was a helpful video, because I don't see a lot of stuff on RUclips for the intuitive writer, it's all 'write down character profiles' and 'use X/Y/Z method' which just destroys my creativity. When I start actually writing I only have a list of chapter titles to go off, but they serve as a skeleton and trigger in my mind the direction of the story, and the scenes/ideas I have already envision on my mood board.
Thank you for an informative video!
This is the most useful and resonant and articulate video on plotting tips I've ever seen, definitely going to be coming to this and also checking out the others. I actually wowed out loud lol, thank you!!
YES YES YES KEY WORD PLOTTING I’ve been using that one this whole time!!!
I have heard every plotting type out there, I am sure. I love them. But this one has pegged me almost painfully. I love it!
This video hit hard & shifted my world. Just last night I finally figured out the magic of putting aside the scene cards to write the story summary with scenes that I know so far instead. Worked wonders! Thank you for this series of videos! Saved this vide and I’m going to go watch it a couple more times over to soak it in.
I was so stressed out about my novel cause I was trying to use a less intuitive plotting techniques,
I struggle when I don't have an overall view of my novel so I thought plotting was the way to go but seeing you group writing techniques like that is a blessing, I've always found it easier to spark my intuition whenever scenes and emotional arcs are summarised using moodboards and I have a certain song or playlist to go with that this video made me feel so much better ty for it
9:30 I just recently started putting in a single quote from a character into every aspect of what I outline, from comments about set pieces to a specific bit of dialogue I want to get to in a scene, and the section right before this time code just explained why I started doing that! Neat!
So happy you're back! I love your content so much and enjoyed this video!! :)
This might sound weird but your videos are really helping me plan my life lol! I'm grateful for your writing insights. It's helping me to troubleshoot how I write and plan out my life. Especially realized that I tend to over plot my life then lose interest in follow through because it's not grounded by intuitive decision making within an actual context that narrows down the possibilities. You're amazing, keep it up! ❤
I never imagined someone would describe my writing thought process so perfectly! I was actually already using some of these peices of advice before watching, but now it turns out I have some cool new things to try out! (I like the Google slides one)
Your videos have been very helpful to me to finish my first novel and plotting the second one while having intuitive ideas for the third. Thank you so much
Amazing video!
Keywords + Visualization sounds extremely powerful, I'll have to try that! Thanks, Ellen! ❤️
So far this is the one that has most resonated with me. Still need to watch the Intuitive Pantser video, but I don't expect that to be a better match.
I related to the methodological pantser video but I have used every single one of these plotting techniques for intuitives! I love OneNote brainstorming summaries, cards and visualization. I have found that it is necessary for me to write in chronological order and periodically go back and read the entire manuscript to sense the flow.