I'm plotting my novel. Sat down with a stack of note cards and wrote down a scene/chapter on each one -- the ones I've written already, the ones I plan to write, the little wisps of scenes I've done just a little dialogue for. There is was -- my "darlings" spread out on the carpet around me. You will notice that they are not arranged in a line. They are clumped together, overlaid on top of each other, and there are some orphans along the left that don't know where they belong.
After I while I realized I needed a better way to approach this (I rejected just shuffling the cards and seeing what happens). I got out some pens and put a red stripe across the top of any card that represented a plot point or piece of action. Then I marked with pink the cards that were character development or deeper discussion. Then I used yellow for back story and flashbacks. Once I did that I saw that it was the pink and yellow cards that were orphans -- I was having trouble figuring out where certain things need to be told in the narrative. I also found that seeing the mix of red, pink and yellow on the floor in front of me told me when my story was going to bog down in too much back story. I didn't think I was that visual but it really helped me see the gaps I need to think about. Now I want to see if I can find a little clothesline or something and string my note cards over my head at my desk like Tibetan prayer flags. But I don't think that cards that say things like "Tricia has a fight with Matt" are so very inspirational to the other members of my family. In the meantime they are bound together with a clip and I am carrying them everywhere I go. I shuffle the order sometimes and think about whether that will work.
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