Failed Experiment?

In Story is Emotion, Not Event, I explored the idea of a simple plotting method that I define as Two Question Plotting. I can’t recall the exact terms he used, but I do understand the premise.

Put in a nutshell, when you’re writing a story, pair what happens in the story with the emotional responses from your characters.

Check out my post for more details.

So, as with just about everything I do, I tried it for myself.

My hope was that it would help me get the writing done more quickly as I’d have a target to focus on. But I didn’t want to use it on an existing work in progress; I thought, why not try it on something new? Something in the genre that I’m working on building a backlist in: cozy mysteries.

So, I took pen to paper to come up with as many beats as I could to get a good start.

Before asking the questions, however, I asked myself, who is my character?

I came up with the following:

A woman. She runs a bakery. She has a pet cat named Missy. The cat is black, with green/gold eyes, and is given free rein of the small community of [blank].

This should hit genre expectations, so that’s how I came up with it. Needless to say, I enjoy the genre and have been gorging on it, lol. 🥰

Then, I asked the questions:

1. What happens?

2. How do the characters feel about it?

Here’s what came out:

1. MC (main character) finds a dead body. A tourist/visitor who was found at a popular tourist spot.

2. She’s upset finding him - he reminds her of someone, but she can’t say who.

1. She calls the police after calling her best friend.

2. She’s afraid the death will impact her business, and she feels guilty for feeling that way.

1. The police investigate.

2. She feels uncomfortable because she’s got a crush on the sheriff (her high school boyfriend)

1. Evidence points to her best friend.

2. She’s scared for her friend, so decides to investigate to clear her name.

1. She keeps finding more evidence that the police seem to ignore.

2. She feels angry because the police don’t take her suggestions and seem to only focus on her friend.

1. She finds a clue pointing to the elderly caretaker of the place where the body was found.

2. She’s frustrated and confronts him.

1. The man’s demeanor changes, convincing her he’s the killer.

2. She’s scared to confront him but does it anyway.

1. The sheriff finally believes her.

2. But she’s now convinced the guy didn’t do it because she found another clue.

1. The sheriff arrests the elderly caretaker.

2. Everything looks dark. The new suspect has scared her.

1. She tries to get hold of the sheriff to share what she’d learned. She fails.

2. She’s anxious because he’s got the wrong person.

1. The suspect knows she’s onto him.

2. He’s angry at her because he thought he’d gotten away with it.

1. The killer lures her into his place/a place?

2. She’s scared for her life and tries to talk him out of what he’s planning.

1. The killer’s wife interrupts his plans, thinking he was cheating on her. Shooting him, then MC runs because the wife is after her too.

2. MC is afraid and angry because it stirred her memories of her father cheating on her mother.

1. Sheriff received a call of a gunshot from neighbors. He recognizes the address and heads there.

2. He’s afraid for MC - thinking she got hurt.

1. MC meets the sheriff outside on the road leading to the killer’s house. She gets in the car and updates him.

2. He’s thankful she’s alright, but concerned with getting justice.

1. He convinces the wife to put down the gun, and the husband is dead. She goes without a fight.

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As you can see, this is where I petered out.

Which is fine, as it’s easy enough to add more when I get all of the details ironed out.

Once I started to write, the story changed somewhat.

Instead of my main character finding the body, someone else did.

I did bring in the love interest, along with two different women; one a friend, the other the town busybody, and I came up with a name for the town: Merry Oaks.

But instead of being found at a local tourist place, the body was found not far from the local school. Weird, huh?

It’s early days, but something tells me this might be stifling me instead of helping me.

That said, I’m going to keep going, and if the story strays too far afield, or I can’t bring myself to write it, then I’ll ditch the plan and keep writing the story using my typical method, which involves not knowing what the heck I’m doing, or where the story is going until suddenly, it fits.

Or, I’ll toss the story whole cloth.

I suppose the common saying “the grass is greener on the other side” applies here. I am envious of the plotters, who know everything about their characters and the world they’re in ahead of time.

But it’s just not how my brain works.

Every time I’ve tried to plot ahead of time, I either lose interest in the story (like now) or I put off ever starting it.

It’s not that I don’t plan ahead, though. I do, but only for a few scenes as they come to me while I write what I do know.

To be frank, I’m thinking this plotting tool may end up being a dud for me, at least in part, but it could help me remember as I’m writing to keep my characters’ emotions top of mind to help readers really connect with them.

I’ve had my author website, AC Cooper Writes, under construction for way too long, so building out a better author website is a top priority for me this week. Fortunately, I found a nice, free WordPress theme that will do what I need, so it shouldn’t take long to get everything shipshape, as I used the same theme for my other business, Leed Generation.

Finally, it’s helpful, I believe, to experiment with different tools that might help you with your writing, but it’s equally important to respect your current process. If you’re planning to use this method, or any other, that is different from what you’re currently doing, take your time with it, and if it doesn’t serve you, then jettison it and keep on writing!

How do you tell your stories?