1. CuChulainn

    CuChulainn New Member

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    Your Decision-Making Rubric?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by CuChulainn, Mar 28, 2017.

    Sometimes when I'm writing a plot or subplot, the outcome just *feels* right and obvious, and that's easy.

    But other times, I might have multiple potential solutions, and they all seem equally reasonable. Or to put it another way, I'm not especially moved by any of the three of them - they'd all do fine.

    In those cases, I become paralyzed with indecision, because randomly selecting one doesn't seem like a good way to resolve a throughline! But I know a writer can't always wait for everything to feel perfect and inspired. Work needs to get done! This novel 'aint gonna write itself (apparently).

    When you find yourself in this position, how do you decide which resolution to move forward with? Do you just pick one and convince yourself that it's the best along the way, or do you keep agonizing until something you're truly excited about comes up? Or do you analyze it to death logically? What's your strategy? I could use something new!

    Thank you!
    CuChu
     
  2. rktho

    rktho Contributor Contributor

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    Put it on a forum and let them vote on it.
     
  3. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    Welcome to the site!

    Maybe you should do that ;)

    I'm constantly taking apart my ideas to see how all of the pieces work, how they fit together, how I might be able to put them back together in new ways, and how changing one piece would impact everything else.

    Whenever I don't know where to go with an idea, I always pick one possibility at random to run with for a while, ask myself what I like about it and what I don't, then come up with a new possibility "at random" based on what I did and didn't like about the first one.

    I don't know, I've always found that discussions are better than just voting:

    When I was writing my Doctor Who fanfic, I sent my first chapter to about half a dozen people. One person had one problem with how I'd characterized my antagonist, nobody else did, but after reading the explanation, I decided that the one person who noticed a problem was right instead of the bunch of people who didn't. More recently, I've had the same thing happen with a YA horror novella that I have finished drafts for, but not a draft that I'm willing to call "finalized" yet.

    I've also had stories where every single reader identified the same problem(s) – and that's always a sign that I need to work on it – but when one or more readers say one thing and one or more readers say another, I don't factor in the size of each group when deciding who I agree with.
     
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  4. Dr. Mambo

    Dr. Mambo Contributor Contributor

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    You know how your characters would respond to any given situation; choose the resolution that fits them. Choose the one they would arrive at naturally without having to contrive a bunch of stuff to get them there. Another way of phrasing this: Ask which resolution is more realistic in the context of your story.

    If all other things are equal, begin writing the one you think you like better and see how it feels. You can always scrap it and try the other one.
     
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  5. Lifeline

    Lifeline South. Supporter Contributor

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    Well, it depends on how long you are willing to wait :D

    Seriously: give your backbrain something to chew on. Something new. Recently (like, a day past), I got stuck in exactly this situation with a scene I was writing. I had about a thousand ways my MC could arrive where I wanted him to arrive but all ways I could imagine felt boring and not right. So I fiddled with my playlist, thought about a different problem. And you know what? This evening I sat down to read this stuck-scene again, edited a bit (yeah I know some people will tell you not to edit and go forward with your story, but so what if it works?), and suddenly the connection jumped out.

    It all comes down to getting your backbrain engaged (creativity mode, there's a recent post in the 'Insight' thread about that btw). Do what works! Good luck :)
     
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  6. izzybot

    izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

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    I'm in the 'analyze it to death' camp. I try to figure out what works best in the story. In my current wip, for instance, I had the choice of letting one of my mcs stay injured or letting another character heal them (magic!) - I really wanted the magical healing beat for character/relationship reasons, but I decided it'd be better for the story if the injured mc carried on into the climax not at %100, and the magical healing thing would be more effective if I put it off a little longer. Consider your pacing, the state of your character arcs, what best fits the current tone, what could be repurposed and possibly made better later on - things like that.

    And don't forget there's always editing! You can go with whatever works well enough in the moment just to get it done, and chew it over more later and change it if you decide you want to. It seems important to get it right the first time - lord knows I'm a perfectionist and "done is better than perfect" is a tough pill to swallow - but the story's not going to be set in stone once you write it down.
     
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  7. Apollypopping

    Apollypopping Member

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    I'm following this, because same. As it stands a story line can sit untouched in my head for YEARS because of this, like a little benign tumor.

    Althougggghhhhh..... now this is my personal method and I'm not saying its a good one, but smoke some weed. If it's legal for you and you don't mind it. Get a notebook and flesh out your ideas on paper. Doesn't have to be neat (And it probly wont be if you get high,)

    This works pretty effectively for me. In fact if a story doesn't react to this kind of psychoactive treatment it will probably be murdered in its sleep.

    Of course, each to their own.
     
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  8. rktho

    rktho Contributor Contributor

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    I implied a discussion in the vote. The decision would be up to you. The forum would just help you make up your mind.
     
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  9. JE Loddon

    JE Loddon Active Member

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    I usually go with the first thing I thought of, because that was clearly my first instinct. We write through instinct, so that can't ever be wrong.
     
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  10. badgerjelly

    badgerjelly Contributor Contributor

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    I would stick to first idea and keep writing. For fun/practice I might just write all possible outcomes.

    I have found myself writing something, editing it, changing things around and, more often than not, reverting to the original (albeit in a more refined form).

    I do have enough belief in my ability to know when something I write is "good". If I find myself "unsure" it is usually to do with my mood or to do with what I have written not meeting my standard of "good".

    If you really find it to be a big problem then trash the idea. I do not know if this makes you a good writer, but something tells me that being able to let things go is a big part of being a successful and productive writer. Don't be afraid to draw a big line through your work and start afresh. If you rewrite your story then the best solution may present itself, or a better one.
     
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  11. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    My Navy background says that once you have eliminated the really bad choices, and isolated the better ones, it is time to pick one, rather than spend time trying to find the best one. That, in itself is a decision, that you have the time to waiver. You may not. A less than optimal decision, sometimes even a bad decision, is often better than no decision.
     
  12. CuChulainn

    CuChulainn New Member

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    Thanks for all the thoughts, guys! I've chosen the top two and am moving forward with both of them to the finish in single-paragraph form (per chapter) in the hopes that one story will pull at me more than the other! I'll be posting a question about the strengths and weaknesses of the two ideas in a moment. =)
     
  13. CuChulainn

    CuChulainn New Member

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  14. Stormburn

    Stormburn Contributor Contributor

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    Here's another question I ask myself at this point: does it need to be in the story? I know that sounds drastic, but it has turned out to be the solution. Once, I had romance develop between an officer and my MC best friend. It really frustrated me. I had the young man die in various parts of the story in different rewrites and had their relationship grow on different levels. Loved it, had a lot of emotion but nothing clicked. Then, I realized, in the context of the story and the commitments of the two characters in the story, they would be too damn busy to have a romance. So, they met, were attracted to each other,but, it turned out to be one of those what might have been moments in their lives. That worked perfectly. And, the young officer actually lived.
     
  15. CuChulainn

    CuChulainn New Member

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    Really good illustration. That's a good question: what's best in service of my MAIN plotline? I must think...
     
  16. Stormburn

    Stormburn Contributor Contributor

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    That's the advantage I've discovered with writing drafts. By draft writing I get the characters involved in helping arrive at a solution. I know it takes time and is extra writing, but, for me, my characters working in the context of the story creates better solutions than me just throwing darts at the wall of my mind and seeing what sticks.
     

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