How to Plot (For Better Stories)

Matthew Rotundo, Odyssey Class of 1998

I always know the plot before I write a short story because I've spent two to four weeks outlining it. The disadvantage is that this takes just as long as to write the story, but the advantage is that it lets me get the plot logic iron-clad. That's important for me not only because I often have lots of plot twists, but also because the reasons behind the plot events truly are the characters'
motivations–those plot events are happening because the characters are driven to take action to achieve their goals, and the plot events are what show those goals to the reader.

If I don't have the characters' motivations matched in advance with plot events that show them well, the characters don't come through like real, three-dimensional people on the page. But once I do have the motivations and corresponding plot events figured out, that colors everything else, including characters' mannerisms, their dialog, and the prose written from their point-of-view. As I write, the plot events sometimes change if I find a flaw or think of something better. But without the motivations and events laid out beforehand, I wouldn't know where to start or what to have the characters do.