What are some techniques for deciding which of two or more plot directions to go with?
I have always wanted to write a book but have never actually taken the time to do so. There are many things that hold me back but one of them is that I often come up with story lines in my mind. As I am processing them in my thoughts I think of different routes that the story can take. I then seem to reach a standstill as I cannot decide which plot route would be best. I then just stop trying to figure out the rest of the plot. What are some techniques that I can use to narrow down which plot direction to take? Or do I just randomly choose one?
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1 answer
Sketch out both (or multiple) ideas as fully-fleshed plots from beginning to end. Get all your separate possibilities down on paper.
- Put everything aside for a week. Come back to them and re-read them. See if any one jumps out at you.
- Give your multiple outlines to friends and see if any one is particularly popular.
- Write a series of short stories playing on the very idea that this is the same plot with multiple endings.
- Write a literal Choose Your Own Adventure book. If you can't decide, let the reader do it.
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