Plot MD

Last night, I went to hear my dear friend Adrienne Bell teach from her book, Plot MD: Your Personal Prescription for Crafting Compelling Stories. You know that thing where you believe you know how awesome your friends are and then they blow you away? (It’s always one of the most delicious surprises of life.) Yeah, that happened.

I love Adrienne’s book. I’ve had her on my podcast. And still, hearing her speak about her method of generating organic story structure for novelists absolutely rocked my world.

See, I just got my revision letter for the thriller that’s coming out next year. It’s probably the nicest revision letter I’ve ever gotten. I know how to make all the fixes, and I can’t wait to do so. However, I had this niggling feeling that I still didn’t understand the characters as much as I needed to in order to create a truly effective emotional journey for my reader.

There, speaking into the microphone to a packed house, Adrienne walked us through her character arc worksheet.

People, going into this revision and listening to her, I suddenly know incredibly clearly what I need to do for my main character.

And you know why I had such a revelation?

Because I finally filled out the character arc worksheet on paper.

Adrienne’s is a completely unique way of looking at character change, one that I’ve never seen anyone else teach.

When I’d read her book, of course, I’d read the worksheet.

But you know how you do. You read the book, you think through the exercises, but you don’t do them. You think you’ve gotten it.

I am reminded, again, that this methodology does not work! For you writers out there, I can’t recommend more highly getting her book and DOING the worksheets.

My own book has cracked wide open, and the answers to my problems with the main character were solved in a few directed moments of thought last night.

Then I went to the cafe this morning and mapped it out for the other characters. It was INSANELY HELPFUL.

Adrienne is the magical plot whisper for our time, and if you need help with your plot, I definitely think you should hire her. (She coaches!) I am planning to when I need her, which I will on the next book! (She finally said yes, that she’ll accept money from a friend because we are business-women, damn it!)

*I’m not an affiliate. I just love her and she’s magic.