THE PLOT CLOCK--ANOTHER PLANNING TOOL

WEEK OF APRIL 29, 2012: QUOTES AND TOOLS FOR NAPIBOWRIWEE 2012

Thursday, May 3—The Plot Clock—Another Planning Tool

My friend and mentor, Joyce Sweeney, (along with Jamie Morris) developed what many writers in Florida know affectionately as the Plot Clock. The Plot Clock is a great tool for planning out any piece of fiction—including picture books—and is also a powerful way of determining what is missing is a story once you’ve completed your first draft. Just by looking for each component of the Plot Clock you can easily see where a hole is in your plot, where you’ve spent too much time or not enough, and how to add more dramatic tension to your writing. (Face it, even a funny picture book has dramatic tension.) Here’s the Plot Clock:

For more information about the Plot Clock, review these earlier posts from Picture This!

·        http://robsanderswrites.blogspot.com/2011/08/plot-clock.html

·        http://robsanderswrites.blogspot.com/2011/08/plot-clock-in-picture-books.html