Using Maps for Plotting

I have great writing friend who is brilliant with characters. Whereas my skills lie in the plot. We could learn a lot from one another. We tried the other day and came up with a functional medium, we hope.

Here goes, if you start with characters or with plot try this tactic and see if it lets things fly with your creativity.

Draw out a map of what you see in your mind. Whether it’s a clever world with a plot or a vaugue idea of the places your characters go. Put it on paper. If it’s a school draw the hallway, draw a classroom, a bathroom, the lockers, put an x over your characters locker. If it’s a woods with a creek running down the edge, draw it.

Now add a few extra things to your map. Add a few places, things that will create a problem for your character, like a bridge with a troll in the forest, or like a plugged toilet in the bathroom.

Add a few solutions to your map next, like a library full of answers or like a dump full of semi useful objects. Are you seeing your world take shape? Add as many things as you like, you can always remove them later!

Now, make your character walk through the wood or down the hall and watch what happens. What does your character do? How do they interact with the places of problems you’ve introduced. How do they find the solution areas. It’s up to your character and you.