It’s difficult to know if the ability to plot a good story is something that is genetically endowed or whether it can be learned.
What’s certain is that it’s difficult to tell a good story.
Many can draw a compelling character, paint words into scenes that ring in your thoughts for days, or snap through the back and forth of expert dialogue.
But all of this still needs a storyline, even a loose one.
Take a look at this image from Norman Mailer’s plot for Harlot’s Ghost. It’s not the details that a novelist needs to consider, but the connections. Perhaps it’s worth plotting a story out before or during or even after writing, but what’s most important is keeping the concept of the connections in mind.
Yes, the connections. It’s all about connections. I wonder how big that piece of paper is that has Norman’s plot diagram on it. Do you know? Is it a regular 8.5 x 11 sheet? It looks almost like a map.
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