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Just how easy is it to write a plot summary. With a blank piece of paper and little knowledge about your story, DAMN HARD, for me anyway.
There are ways around this I've discovered and you can do it with limited knowledge / progress on your story or Characters.
How you ask? Well... no doubt you have started to ask yourself questions about your story, your characters and that single idea that started you on the journey in the first place.
Take a time out and searching the Internet for Plot Summaries from other movies. They may be a similar / same genre or from a totally different background but the important thing is to read them, get an idea of the structure and print them (or copy them to a single document) so you can refer to them for creating your own. I found saving the summaries into a single MS Word document helped but that's just me. Can't use a pen if I tried.
NOW, taking your one or two characters and what you think your story is about, use each of the plot summaries and weave your story into each of them.
I recommend 3 - 4 as a starter. Don't dwell on how perfect it is, this is a rough and ready output that helps you to draft something to
- Stimulate thought on your story and Characters
- See your characters woven into a story
- Help structure your plot summary.
Rough and Ready? It might take an hour, maybe three.
Now, taking your summaries, draft a single Plot Summary that incorporates what you like and have learned from the 3 - 4 you have done that bring out your story. Spend time perfecting the phrases you use, the character that stands out as the lead and where it takes you. Remember, the key is to make it your own so don't try and duplicate, you innovate.
Does it work? Well, it helped me realise I was going down the wrong path. Who I thought I was developing as the lead turned out to be a support Character. Go figure...
Maybe try a few of your characters as the lead and see where it takes them and your thoughts on your story.
Enjoy it and hope this works for you.
