tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post7873930459447132681..comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00Comments on edittorrent: Scene ChartsEdittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-78980736900562491882010-01-15T19:37:00.515-06:002010-01-15T19:37:00.515-06:00Great! I've never used a scene chart, but I wi...Great! I've never used a scene chart, but I will from now on. I usually just write the odd note here and there and use my memory. Sometimes, I have to go back and read what day it is, in a particular scene. This slows down my progress. A scene chart will speed thing up, a lot.<br /><br />Thanks for a great post and thanks to Jordan McCollum for recommending it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03216407428320615449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-76241433081387585422008-09-07T11:36:00.000-05:002008-09-07T11:36:00.000-05:00I liked the color coding idea, but I knew I wouldn...I liked the color coding idea, but I knew I wouldn't use certain points listed in the article. So I drew up a table, tweaked the headings, and printed them out four to a page on different color paper - one for each viewpoint. Works like a dream!! Charted an entire novel in a couple of hours, and my hallway looks much more cheerful than plain white walls now!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-38763221738486456742008-09-04T11:36:00.000-05:002008-09-04T11:36:00.000-05:00Wow, it sounds really great...and a lot of work. B...Wow, it sounds really great...and a lot of work. But I am sure it would pay off. I might not get it down to actual pages, but your post gives some good questions to ask myself, like emotional arc points, first-last sentence.<BR/><BR/>I would love to follow a system like this. I think I would avoid multiple (and confusing) revisions.Jewel Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09614039445924074306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-69318944915133660252008-08-29T13:15:00.000-05:002008-08-29T13:15:00.000-05:00I tend to define scene as 'a logical unit in which...I tend to define scene as 'a logical unit in which one thing happens'. For me, it doesn't have to have a unit of time or place; it's 'the bit where x happens'. If something else happens as a consequence of that - even if the same people are involved - I open a new scene file.<BR/><BR/>I use one file per scene, numbered and titled. This gives me much better access to stuff - I can look at the scene list and have a mini-synopsis of sorts, and I can pinpoint anything I am looking for with great ease.<BR/><BR/>I'm afraid the scene cards would drive me nuts. I use spreadsheets and other electronic gizmos; I keep a date file on my computer to keep travel times etc straight, and I use Avenir to keep track of my notes.<BR/><BR/>Avenir is a Mac programme that allows you to add tags, keep notes, flag things up etc. I find it useful to have one place where I look for character descriptions etc - any notecard or electronic file will get lost very, very quickly. <BR/><BR/>And I do as much organisational stuff as I need. If I get stuck, that tends to be a lot more, if I'm happy with the progression, not an awful lot.green_knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16499896006012152260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-74344748045487938022008-08-26T18:23:00.000-05:002008-08-26T18:23:00.000-05:00How do you define a "scene"? could there be severa...How do you define a "scene"? could there be several scenes in a chapter?<BR/><BR/>I've started a few of these kinds of outlines, but always stopped and they languish on my hard drive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-37183228746680470372008-08-19T16:46:00.000-05:002008-08-19T16:46:00.000-05:00Color coded post it notes identifying characters a...Color coded post it notes identifying characters and their arc on my bedroom wall and a whole lot of cussing and praying. :) So far, as a method, it pretty much sucks, but I'm determined to cure myself of pantser-itis.Liane Gentry Skyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13393035282032592271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-1266724672189355642008-08-18T19:48:00.000-05:002008-08-18T19:48:00.000-05:00I once took a workshop from Bev Brandt who has a c...I once took a workshop from Bev Brandt who has a chart system to use AFTER you have written the story. She uses Excel, which I can't stand, and sorts and resorts her chart to check details, timing, and all sorts of things. I developed a simpler version in MS Word. The system is way too complicated to go into here, and it's her idea, but if you ever hear her on it, you might want to give it a try. It's been several years since I took the workshop, and I still use the method.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>AnnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-86991468907532624992008-08-18T13:53:00.000-05:002008-08-18T13:53:00.000-05:00I'm still having whiplash over the LAST post - lol...I'm still having whiplash over the LAST post - lol. Alas, I don't use anything, and I'm sure I should.<BR/><BR/>I want a copy of that style guide. Who do I have to kill to get one? If I promise to use a scene chart, might I...? No. Never mind. I'm already pretty dead set, shoes mired in grammatical cement, that sort of thing.<BR/><BR/>But I'd have loved to have been the proverbial fly on the wall when anyone battled the two of you on a grammatical ANYTHING.<BR/><BR/>heheheBobbie (Sunny) Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10039523903143674505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-12240857610973655552008-08-17T22:45:00.000-05:002008-08-17T22:45:00.000-05:00I found a combination of a spreadsheet for charact...I found a combination of a spreadsheet for characters - majors in grouped families, minors just at the bottom, with biog data; and a running sheet helpful.<BR/><BR/>We have also created timelines for longer period coverage, on a calendar template helps. Makes sure business day activities happen on a week-day. <BR/><BR/>Once we printed out first pages of chapters and did the living room floor shuffle. <BR/><BR/>Once I did a scene analysis with character presence to see the relative weight each had in the story.<BR/><BR/>So far I'm still experimenting. I think if I read Theresa's approach before I started writing, I wouldn't even start! Seems like an awful lot of work. But as they say, horses for courses.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps there are differences of when one does which approach -- with the more detailed after completion of first draft. It's a good way to review the story that came out and see where there are holes or too much emphasis or inconsistencies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-74665301779084286682008-08-17T19:54:00.000-05:002008-08-17T19:54:00.000-05:00I use index cards when I'm writing the initial dra...I use index cards when I'm writing the initial draft, so I can keep track of what's to come. After it's all done, I make a spreadsheet with the first line of every segment, the date, the purpose of the scene, and the length in pages. Not as much detail as you described, but it works for me.Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745786643511417426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-52973647277631392512008-08-17T18:40:00.000-05:002008-08-17T18:40:00.000-05:00wow, i think i'm going to try this. I just have to...wow, i think i'm going to try this. I just have to commit to it. Thanks. -CCarole McDonnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-79026424231595147712008-08-17T17:12:00.000-05:002008-08-17T17:12:00.000-05:00I'm so embarrassed. I barely use anything at all. ...I'm so embarrassed. I barely use anything at all. I keep it all in my head for the most part - that comes out of my background as a game master for role-playing games (geek alert!). I'm used to keeping track of plot details that way. For really complicated plots (like I had in Deep Six when I needed to know when and where all characters were at any given time so I didn't have conversations between characters who died two chapters previously), I have just a simple notepad file where I jot down notes.<BR/><BR/>I feel so unprofessional now.Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14497045412007902460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-35751921738638635262008-08-17T16:16:00.000-05:002008-08-17T16:16:00.000-05:00I use a big trifold display board and post-it note...I use a big trifold display board and post-it notes. I write the scene and a couple things that need to happen in that scene on the post-its, then stick them onto the board in whatever order they must occur. In the center, I stick a bigger paper that has the hero and heroine GMC and above each GMC I write what (emotional) tools each character brings to the table so I remember to incorporate those tools.Dara Edmondsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03074955377079380225noreply@blogger.com