The Two-Sentence Trick

 

I sold a story to an anthology this week.  I can't tell you about that yet but I want to tell you about a tool, new to me, which I used.

I have always been a plotter rather than a pantser, but I don't usually outline.  I knew this would be a longer story than I have been writing lately -- it turned out to be 7,500 words which I then had to (shudder) edit down to 6,000 -- so I decided to outline it.

But here's how I did it: For each scene I wrote two sentences. The first told what happened.  The second explained why it was important. Or putting it another way: How did this scene advance the plot? (Because if it doesn't, why is it there?)

This was particularly appropriate because this mystery story really was a mystery story, meaning my protagonist had to solve a crime.  My system made it easy for me to keep track of the clues.

For example: 

Scene 6. Chickie, the manager,  confronts them and says he doesn’t want Hilda back because she caused them trouble by getting arrested.  They learn that  Surebank is the insurance company involved in the theft.

Got it? The first sentence is what happens in the scene.  The second sentence tells me what the protagonist got out of it. 

Worked for me. This time.  Who know what will happen next time around?