Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Visual methods of plot development?

+1
−0

My 9 to 5 job is in an office, which has made me very adept at using flow charts and graphs to plan out my projects.

Are there any writing methods which employ charts, graphs, or other visual mediums to show relation between aspects of a story? (something that is not a mind map)

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/7741. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

4 answers

+1
−0

You might try OmniGraffle, which is a flowchart generator for Mac. I've only seen it used once or twice so I can't speak to how well it works, but it might fit your bill.

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

+1
−0

you should try mind mapping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mind_map), it is a great way to explore ideas. there are lots of applications available for desktop as well as tablet. I personally use freemind (it's free).

...and also checkout this answer.

: )

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/8702. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

+1
−0

I like "The Board" as explained in Blake Snyder's book, Save the Cat. Write a summary of each scene on a flashcard and tape them to your wall in the order they should go. Make a new row when there's a turning point. It helps make sure the story is balanced. Ideally you should have 10 scenes per row, with a critical act turning point at the end of each row. Each card can have key information too, like who is in that scene, what the scene changes, and what the conflict is. Also it's fun to tape flashcards all over your wall.

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/18204. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

+1
−0

This seems like an odd question to me. Instead of asking how you can use graphs and flowcharts, ask yourself what tools you need to organize your story. If a flowchart would help, then fine. But maybe what you actually want is to write each scene on a notecard and keep them in a stack. You should choose your tools to suit the task you have and the style of doing it that suits you best, not the other way around.

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/18107. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »