To introduce a plot to your diary posts, consider:

• clearly stating problems as they arise. Clarify the magnitude of what is at stake and the need to act because time is running out.

• how to convey intensity in all struggles, be they emotional, financial, human, moral or physical.

• a precipitating event (call-to-take-action) which threatens your inner life and sets up a problem that you must solve.

• whether any proposed action or event is in pursuit of your goals outlined in your GOALS.doc file and clarify its urgency.

• describing mounting stress to the point that action has to be taken.

• upon finding yourself in the initial dilemma, how to explore the revelation in dramatic action, as events play out, through dialogue, circumstances, flashbacks, etc.

• clarifying any strong emotional conflicts within, such as 'revenge vs duty' outlined in your character profile in the CHARACTERS.doc file.

• how you may be in conflict with your environment (not the environment of others).

• utilizing action, dialogue, attitudes, and values to describe rising conflict.

• whether every character has consistent function or purpose within the story.

• how to corral the sub-characters to either being for you or against you.

• how to inject rising action. There should be a forward impetus or a sense of momentum to an inevitable climax as incidents hopefully build on top of each other, each raising the stakes, as time continues to run out.

• Avoid being the single morally strong hero versus multiple morally weak villains. This can easily result in an overwhelming, multilevel story.

• whether psychological and physical limits are being challenged and how extreme polarities are being pitched against one another.

• how to introduce more conflict and raise the stakes at all levels.

• how to balance conflict against the level of characterization.

• how to arouse tension, suspense and anticipation of some approaching climax.

• how to make the conflicts read as being authentic and not artificial.

• how the impact of going back during periods of revision and inserting posts which offer brief periods of falling action after each minor climax. This will allow future readers to lower their defenses and absorb what they witnessed. The purpose of this is to evaluate the cost of the information learned by resolving minor obstacles.

• how to develop subplots gradually in order to enhance characters, themes and plots as well as amplifying the genre.

• if subplots are failing to move the story in a direction dramatically on its own. Is the outcome making sense? Is it clear as to the buildup or what is happening?

• when and where further explanation may be required.

• addressing any unresolved conflicts to avoid leaving potential readers left hanging and wondering what happened?

• the possibility of missing events making one wonder if a page is missing.

• the handling of events which suddenly happen to conveniently resolve rising tension or have nothing to do with current sequences of events.

• sudden leaps in time and events losing direction in the sequence of posts.

• in hindsight as conflict escalated, inserting posts can modulate tension with humor, seduction with irritation, surprise with catharsis and excitement with fear.

• if events are the result of YOUR actions and preferably not out of pure luck.

• clarifying all vital pieces of information of minor climaxes and resolutions.

• any revelation of critical events in posts long after the fact, and consider how to interject multiple predated posts to allow future readers to experience them along with you.

• what has been learned, what has changed and how actions or decisions after playing out justified the cost.

• reflections to explain your achievement of a new emotional equilibrium and insight (or not).

• foreshadowing eventual outcomes by sowing seeds of the resolution in earlier posts.

• transferring to another diary or deleting altogether any posts which are not giving dramatic purpose through any amount of editing. Crook's Rule for creative writing states that: 'Every word, every sentence, and every scene should serve a dramatic purpose in terms of either characterization or advancing the plot.' With that in mind, does this post honor the implied contract with future readers to fulfill their expectations?

• Examples of posts which should be transferred or deleted include:

  • posts made when nothing interesting, important or exciting was happening.

  • posts which end up being no more than a succession of incidents escalating to an unforeseen turn of events.

  • flashbacks which simply add complexity.

  • thoughts and opinions of different characters which only add confusion.

  • characters suddenly acting and/or thinking in a new way without explanation.

  • too many subplots which cause confusion over eventual story direction.

  • too many unrelated inspirations.

  • posts in which anticipated consequences either never happened, or when they did, they were not dealt with.

 

[#plot, #subplot, #conflict, #climax, #flashback, #foreshadow, #revelation]

​

​

​