Creative Writing 101

Lesson 3: Ideas, Plots and Themes.

This lesson defines and covers ideas, plots and themes, and demonstrates their interdependence. In it, you will be invited to consider the origin of ideas, and to look at the way themes can be used consciously to enhance plots.

Plots and Tools.

Idea Factory.

Themes.

Plots and Themes.

Writing exercise.

Plots and Tools.

PLOTS DEFINED.

The word "plot" has several different meanings. When used as a verb, "to plot" means "to make plans". The connotation is that the plans will not be pleasant.

The literal meaning of words and phrases often differs from the understood meaning. For example the following use-

"The two men plotted to overthrow the king."

- is expected. As soon as we know two men are plotting, we suppose they're up to no good.

The use below-

"The little girl plotted to help her dad in the kitchen."

- is not expected. It jars because the first half of the sentence leads us to expect trouble, while the second half delivers virtue. This juxtaposition is effective in small doses, especially if the tone is ironic, but if you do it too often readers can find it annoying.

The noun "plot", when used to mean "something planned" has the same connotation.

"The plot was discovered and the men were..."

"Charged"? "Congratulated"? The former seems more likely.

A second use of the word "plot" means something entirely different. This plot is a garden bed.

"Dad used to dig in his plot every Friday."

"Each boy had his own plot, in which he grew carrots and radishes or, occasionally, carnations."

The connotation here is of freshly turned soil and healthy plants, or pottering with a spade. Of course, Dad or the boys might be burying bodies among the cabbages, but it seems unlikely.

The plot to which this lesson is devoted has something in common with the first kind of plot. It is both noun and verb, and it means "a plan" or "to make a plan". And yet the connotation in this case is different.

"The author plotted her book."

"The characters were great; pity about the plot."

This kind of plot is not dastardly, but creative. In some ways the plot of a book resembles that garden bed. Plot gives form and shape to books and gardens.

In other ways it resembles the schemes above. Plotting (dastardly deeds or books) requires creative thought. And creative thought is what you, as writers, will be using to plan your books and stories.

There are other tools you will need along the way, all connected with creative thought. They all deserve consideration, and will be mentioned more than once in the lessons that follow.

INSPIRATION.

Inspiration is good. It's what drives many writers away from the telly, the garden or the golf course, and towards the notebook or computer. Inspiration is when an idea hits you, all at once. There it is, the perfect idea, and you can't wait to get it onto disk or paper.

Inspiration is good, but not always reliable. Occasional writers may write only when inspired. Serious writers may not want or be able to wait for inspiration. For one thing, it might come while they're busy and be fickle when they have time to pay attention.

Writing is one of the arts, but it is also a craft. Cooks, librarians, teachers and electricians don't wait for inspiration. When lunch time or nine a.m. or an electrical fault pops up, they cook, catalogue, teach and rewire. Maybe they don't feel inspired, but they do it anyway.

Have you ever felt uninterested in food? And then eaten a bite or so and had your appetite suddenly come on-line? Writing can be like that. So even if you're not inspired, write a byte or so and you might be pleasantly surprised.

APPLICATION.

Application is a more reliable tool than inspiration. Application can lead to habit, and habit is what keeps writers writing and gets manuscripts finished and polished. Application is also what will carry you through the hard work of creative planning. It is what will persuade you to get it right, do it properly, and lay a strong foundation for your later work.

In 'Sin and Syntax', author Constance Hale has divided her observations on style into categories. The ones she uses are bones, flesh and carnal pleasures. You might well do the same (and more) for the progress of building a book.

Heart = idea. The germ of the story; its conception.

Skeleton = plot. The bare bones of what happens.

Sinews and muscles = motivation. Why it happens. How it happens.

Flesh = characters and incident. What makes it interesting.

Blood = dialogue. Communication between characters and reader.

Skin = continuity and coherence. What holds things together on the surface.

Carnal Pleasures = style. What elevates a book from readable to sublime.

If you look at this list you see that nothing can exist without the heart of the idea. You will also see that the skeleton of the plot is what supports everything else, just as an armature supports a clay model. So get it right!

RESEARCH.

Research is a valuable tool. If you're writing a novel set in an environment or time or society that isn't your own, you will need research. This does not necessarily mean you must vanish into dusty tomes or spend hundreds of dollars to travel to the nearest archives.

Research tools are everywhere. Encyclopaedias, the Internet, books on writing, atlases, books on culture, biology, botany, geography, roses, costume and pets are just some of them. Museums, libraries and living experts are all class acts.

Always take the simplest and most direct form of research. 1st hand is best, although it isn't always possible, or advisable. Try it yourself. Watch someone else do it. Talk to someone who did it. Read an account written by someone who was there.

Research accents by listening to native speakers rather than puzzling over phonetics. Find out about pet rats at the pet shop or by visiting a friend who has one. Watch a wood carver at work and enjoy the smell of fresh timber. Listen to the steady thump and hum of a spinning wheel, and inhale the unmistakable smell of lanoline. Listen to classical music, birdsong and tapdancers. Ask trumpeters how you should hold a trumpet, and try it out. Read vintage recipe books, and try the method. Study old photographs and watch how a dog reacts to strangers.

All and any of this is excellent research which leads to -

CURIOSITY.

Curiosity is a vital tool for any author. Why? What if? Who would? If you want to find out, and to know, you will eventually realise that writing can be the best way to answer your questions. Use curiosity to spark ideas and develop plots. Questions and answers can come from your own mind and imagination.

And this brings us back to plots.

What, exactly, is the plot of a book?

A plot is the story. It is the series of incidents that gives a book its shape. It is, above all, the answer to a very basic question.

Sample question.

Q. "What happened in the book 'Translations in Celadon'?"

Sample answer.

A. - "Well, there was a girl called Rosanna. She didn't think she was anything special, but she had a power she called s'imagination. Another girl wanted to create her own world and so she fooled Rosanna into..."

The answer might begin something like that, and the bones of it, rambling aside, would be "the plot".

To put it very succinctly; "The plot is what happened."