: Re: How do I construct a plot out of my many setting/character details? In my creative writing, I typically am inspired by short interactions between things: An overheard conversation. A person's

@Goswami879

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I used to have the same problem. I got out of it slowly, in steps, by starting out with stories that relied heavily on processes. More than a "plot," I had the idea that I needed to get from point A to point X, and the pre-knowledge that, although not all letters between B and W were necessary, when I finished with one step the next would be obvious.

Take something that happens, say, over a period of three days, not necessarily consecutive days. Before you start writing, think of what has to happen on the first day, and the second, and the third. Have them work in a sequence that makes sense. Possible example:

The first day is a couple's first date, and have it be a cute story of them being awkward. Write that as a vignette like you'd normally do, doing exactly what you've been doing. Then you know what the second day has to be: the second date.
Another vignette with the same characters. Now they're more comfortable, and you can tell they've changed their tone with each other from day 1. Be sure to convey a clearly different emotion for day 2.
Day 3! Surprise! They're cousins! Or one's on a watch-list! Or they find out that her name is Montague and his name is Capulet! Write another vignette, this time examining how they deal with whatever happened to them.

And there you've taken three ideas that can theoretically stand alone as cool little scenes, but are more poignant when taken together. You can think of them compartmentally like you're used to, but it gives you the structure to get the feel of how a more flowing work should be written.

Then work up from there. Longer processes, more steps, start blurring lines between different steps. Take it at your pace, and don't worry if they seem not-so-great when you read them back. That can happen. Use these stories as learning tools so that you can get used to the idea of plotting out longer stories in your head.

Secondary advice: although I'll crank out the occasional longer story, my work of preference today is still 2,000 words and less. It's definitely a good idea to try to expand on your horizons, and doing the above I think will help your skills as a writer in general, but you may just find that after a few long-form experiments, you simply prefer to go back to your little one-off vignettes. And that's perfectly fine, too :)

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