Making things up: the care and feeding of Plot Bunnies

by Teri Terry
a.k.a. the Bunny Whisperer

Part 4 in Making Things Up: a blog series about the creative process.

The other day I was chatting with one of my fellow bloggers - Addy - and made a comment about Plot Bunnies, when she said....

What is a Plot Bunny?

Just in case any other writers out there aren't in with the Plot Bunnies, here we go!
And if this is all sounding rather daft to the sensible, here is the literary kudos. Although Plot Bunnies have been around since the beginning of time, Steinbeck phrased it rather nicely:

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a few and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck

Writer's Software: Is it any good?

Thanks giphy.com

A writer can scribe on anything - if you have an idea and you're  anything like me, you've probably scrawled stuff down on napkins, the  back of your hand and old bus tickets. None of these are very practical though - and you'd probably struggle to write a novel on them. I used to write mainly in Word, with a notebook by my side to make notes as I went.  Then I discovered writer's software. For the disorganised amongst us ( me) it's an absolute godsend.

Scrivener is my software of choice but I've drafted in a little help from Jo Wyton, to speak up for Word, and Philippa Francis for yWriter. If you're a fan of something  else, please let us know the pros and cons, and where you can get hold of it, in the comments!

 Philippa Francis on yWriter 

Price range:

Free download.

Platforms it works on:  Windows only.

Available support: Not sure how good the support is but there isn't much to go wrong - if you can answer this please add to the hive mind in the comments!

How do you use it: 

I use it from the beginning of a piece of work, and also during the editing process. It enables me to structure my work into scenes and chapters easily – with scope to move them around. The more I fill in the sections such as Goals, Locations and Scene Summaries, the more I understand my own story.

An old Kathryn Evans script on yWriter 5

Pros then?

The advantages are the price, the ease of manipulating scenes and chapters, and the different kinds of practical focus available; i.e. timescale or ratings which you can decide on yourself. All data is easy to read. The program can also read text aloud – in rather a robotic tone, I admit.

Cons?

The disadvantages are that it’s only suitable for PCs, it is definitely not pretty and the completed files are a little tricky to handle. When you export the finished story, you have to re-format it, and as yet, I don’t know how to move a completed work into a new project. You have to start each project from nothing as far as I can see (I am no PC expert!).

Still, I really find it practical - and would be happy to help with queries. 

Kathryn Evans on Scrivener

Price range:
You can download a free trial for 30 days and it only counts the days you actually use it.  To buy the full version is $40, forever.

 It's worth giving it the full time trial. I'd forgotten this until I looked up my blog from   four years ago

 The 30 day trial period is about right. It took me a while  to love this piece of software. I resented it in the way I used to resent tidying my room. Slowly, however, I learned to appreciate it.

So much so that I'm a complete convert.

 Platforms it works on:  Mac and Windows - there is a version in the pipeline for iPad but it's been a long time coming and no real sign yet.

Available support: Excellent - it might take a day but they respond to email and will always help - there's also some brilliant forums where you can quite often find answers to your questions.

How do you use it: 

I now write, and edit,  my whole novels in it. It's very easy to divide each chapter into scenes, add notes to the side, even pictures and character notes.  I'm lazy with it really - I coudl and should use it better - by giving my scenes titles, for example, I could more easily manage a structural edit - even so, it's clear to see and overview. Once I need to send it to my agent and/or editor, I compile the document and move it to word. I do all future edits in Word but this is mostly because they don't use Scrivener and it's easier to work with their tracked changes where they are.

My current WIP in Scrivener

Pros then?

I find it intuitive to use but if you don't,  the tutorials are easy to follow. Heaps of useful content and ways to use it. The word count / target word count box is invaluable. It's great for the more disorganised amongst us (me) and it looks nice too!

Cons?

There is a lot of potentially useful content that I don't access because I can't be bothered to work it out. Not really a con of Scrivener.

Jo Wyton on Word.

Price range:

It depends, but most people who own a computer already have the Office package I guess. If you work for a large company, it's worth checking whether they have an arrangement with Microsoft for a much cheaper version.

Platforms it works on:  Windows and Mac (for reference, I'm a Mac user)

Available support: Like with Scrivener, although probably to an even greater extent, there are forums galore for software support.

How do you use it: 

Fairly simply. I maintain a planning document and a separate file for each chapter. That way I'm not constantly drawn back to re-reading and revising previous chapters.

Full-screen mode in Word

Pros then?

I already know how to use it, so there's no time spent learning the how. It also makes it unbelievably easy to transfer files between computers to work on. For example, I have a desktop Mac as well as a notebook, and having things in Word just makes it so easy. I can also transfer to Windows computers for printing etc without worrying about having to reformat. I also love the 'full screen' mode, which is similar to Scrivener in that it block all else from your screen, has changeable backgrounds, etc.

Cons?

Some might find it overly simple for building a manuscript in. But for me, the simplicity is its main draw.



So there you go - I have to say I would REALLY miss Scrivener if I didnt' have it. I broke the target word count  last week and it drove me crazy not having it - it was like all the words I was writing didn't even count. Thank goodness for the support forums, once I'd fixed it I had a lovely ( 2000+ word) surprise.

Conclusion? If you've got an untidy brain , writer's software that can take you to a whole new level of organisation is really worth it. Do add your own experiences in the comments - it all adds to the hive mind!

Special thanks to Jo Wyton and  Philippa Francis, aka K M Lockwood

Kathryn Evans is a stalwart SCBWI member. She  tweets @mrsbung and hangs about on instagram kathrynevansauthor. She's got a book out too,: More of Me was published by Usborne in February 2016.

Confessions of a Part-Time Writer: Structure, Pacing, Plot and Everything Else, Actually

I typically open any given manuscript I’m working on knowing one thing: I haven’t got much time to work on it.

Writing exists around that other time-consuming thing in my life: a full time job. And I love my job, so that’s OK by me.

But is does mean that when I come to work on a manuscript, I feel under pressure to do something Great with it. 

I jump right in. Maybe I re-read the last few paragraphs I wrote, maybe I just get on with it. Maybe I pick up an existing scene, maybe I write a new one. Maybe it’s planned, maybe it’s not.

Whilst I have usually planned the plot out, I have always been someone more comfortable with winging it than properly planning it.

And that’s fine, except that I was reading Candy Gourlay’s post from a few weeks ago and felt the need to try to do things a little differently.

Why don’t I plan more? Is it because it doesn’t work for me, or because in the limited time I have I prioritise the writing itself? Or is it – gulp – because I’ve never taken the time to learn how? 

In an odd turn of events, I currently have the time, and it’s coincided wonderfully with having the inclination. Sitting next to me on my desk: Story by Robert McKee, Writing Children’s Fiction by Yvonne Coppard and Linda Newbery (from whom I have already been lucky enough to glean pearls of wisdom and kindness generously gifted on an Arvon course), On Writing by Stephen King and Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose.

Just as importantly I have surrounded myself by my favourite books, and have gone through each wondering for the first time why exactly they stick in my mind as favourites. Michelle Magorian's Goodnight Mister Tom and Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity for the depth of friendship invoked, Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels and Bernard Beckett's August for their wondrous use of language, Amy Butler Greenfield's Chantress for its use of setting to reflect the characters perfectly – the list goes on.

Reading these books again and trying to break them down goes against instinct, but as Sarah Waters wrote in a 2010 Guardian article, “Read like mad. But try to do it analytically – which can be hard, because the better and more compelling a novel is, the less conscious you will be of its devices. It’s worth trying to figure those devices out, however: they might come in useful in your own work.” 

Diving head-first into learning how to write better, rather than spending the time writing the manuscript itself, feels somewhat intimidating, but cometh the time, cometh the writer. Probably.