By: Allison
Beckert
One of the more
recognizable plotting methods out there is Note card Plotting. The idea of
physically carrying and rearranging ideas appeals especially well to hands-on
or visual writers, though the specifics of the method vary.
Note Card
Plotting
General
Method: Isolate and collect ideas to visually organize.
Materials
Needed: Note cards, Pen, Space.
With this
general method in mind, get creative. The quick summary above identifies the
three benefits to using a note card method.
First,
writing ideas separately isolates the facets of a book/scene/character. Once
isolated, ideas can’t be so quickly muddied up by their connection with
others. Suppose you created a character for a new story who had a few interests
and talents. Each of these would go on a separate note card. While working the
story, it could be this character’s main traits shift from being a gardener
first to being a pianist first. Placing the pianist trait ahead of the gardener
trait is a clear reminder of this change to the character and it will be kept
in easy view no matter how long the story may sit on a shelf. This way you
won’t be going over the same ground of writing them as a gardener when you pick
it up again.
Idea
collection is the second major benefit of all note card methods. Not
everyone works with note cards the same way. Some are super-motivated and have
deadlines to meet, using cards to slot in necessary information for a quick
first draft. Others treat note cards as a kind of butterfly collection. Anne
Lamott, in her book, Bird
by Bird, uses note cards this way. Not only is it helpful
to catch ideas as you have them and keep them somewhere accessible, but the
physical work of writing something down improves recall of that information. Keeping
them organized is up to the individual and what works for them.
The third and
most obvious benefit to this method is the ability to visually organize
otherwise slippery ideas into a cohesive whole
. . .
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