Help Please! Plot hole!!

[MattScho]

I find myself in one at the moment too. I am looking down the barrel of either a rewrite of one story strand, a MC character rules change or else digging for a plot device to make it somehow seem like it belongs.

It's been bothering me all week, but as I tested positive for Covid a few days back, my thinking processes are currently cloudy and my creative energy battery level is on the red.

The problem with plot holes is that real life is full of them, and there's no editing allowed.
So a bit of advice from D.Adams: “If you've done 6 impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?”

 

[MattScho]

I have seen this discussed many times. Tolkien did caulk that hole, butJackson just flew straight through it. OK that's sorted the round, blue buttons. Does Rowling use plot devices? It seems like everything I can think of has a precedent and it's own logic.

Rowling might not use a traditional Deus ex Machina sort of device (though I'm not sure she doesn't with horcruxes, etc, which seemed to be placed in the series in order to impose an epic structure on what had been a non-epic series of extremely charming and sweet stories), but the fact that no adult trusts HP and co even after they're consistently right and save the day seems a bit device-ish. It's similar to the unbeatable foe, who is totally unbeatable, until someone does a pretty basic knife trick and ends winter forever.

 

[izi 出久]

It's similar to the unbeatable foe, who is totally unbeatable, until someone does a pretty basic knife trick and ends winter forever.

We are all salty about this.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Yes! My process is very similar. I use Milanote for everything developmental and in this app I have hundreds of thousands of words of backstory, questions, answers, possibilities. I write it all down so I can go back to it time and again, even if it seems like nonsense. As you say, not much of it goes into the book, but I least I know what's going on

I know how this plot hole came about now, after sleeping on it. One of the characters presented me with a plot twist the other day, so I started writing that into the book without realising how it would affect the bones. But I think I've found a solution, and I'll be obsessing over it for the rest of the day to make sure it's airtight.

What is Milanote? It must be useful if you use it.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

When I find a plot hole, I write more text so that the apparent hole actually enhances the story. I try not to look at it as a hole that needs filling or covering but rather as an unexpected turn of events that needs more story-telling to make sense of.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Rowling might not use a traditional Deus ex Machina sort of device (though I'm not sure she doesn't with horcruxes, etc, which seemed to be placed in the series in order to impose an epic structure on what had been a non-epic series of extremely charming and sweet stories), but the fact that no adult trusts HP and co even after they're consistently right and save the day seems a bit device-ish. It's similar to the unbeatable foe, who is totally unbeatable, until someone does a pretty basic knife trick and ends winter forever.

Has anyone read her book The Casual Vacancy? I loved it. It is not a kid-lit book at all. It's about the events that follow the unexpected heart attack death of a town counselor. I loved the way she got inside each character's mind and spun the tale from beginning to end. She's a brilliant writer, not just a YA hack.

 

[Serra K]

What is Milanote?

Milanote is like an organiser for creatives. It provides a way of compiling everything that goes into your creative process in a way that makes sense to you. The flexibility is great, moving things around is easy and there's no real limit on what you can put into it: from sticky-notes to character profiles, your entire manuscript or just chapters if that works better for you. You can insert images, links, audio, video, to do lists.

The app has templates which you can use or improve upon but I don't use them. My brain processes information in a certain way so I love that I can display everything I need in a way that makes sense to me.
It is not a word processor, so I still write everything in Word, but in Milanote I have a breakdown of every scene in every chapter, I have other boards for development, worldbuilding, research etc. With a paid subscription at around 12.99 per month it does everything I need it to do. And if I need to move things around, it's as easy as dragging and dropping or cutting and pasting.
You can have boards nested within boards so your complex web of creativity can be contained in a manageable way.

I've gone on about it for a bit because I really love this simple app. And it IS very simple, no bells or whistles which is best for someone who wants to focus on the work rather than learning a hundred new functions in a complex program.

 

[MattScho]

Has anyone read her book The Casual Vacancy? I loved it. It is not a kid-lit book at all. It's about the events that follow the unexpected heart attack death of a town counselor. I loved the way she got inside each character's mind and spun the tale from beginning to end. She's a brilliant writer, not just a YA hack.

Yes, yes, and Hitler sure knew how to sand and prime a wall, but, in the same general way, we don't define him by the other stuff he's done, and we don't define Rowling by anything but Harry Potter. That's not a bad thing. It's deeply flawed, but it's deeply brilliant. Also, is YA hack a bit harsh for the person who, almost single handedly, made reading cool for an entire generation of kids.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Yes, yes, and Hitler sure knew how to sand and prime a wall, but, in the same general way, we don't define him by the other stuff he's done, and we don't define Rowling by anything but Harry Potter. That's not a bad thing. It's deeply flawed, but it's deeply brilliant. Also, is YA hack a bit harsh for the person who, almost single handedly, made reading cool for an entire generation of kids.

You're right. She's no hack, and she did save a generation or two from illiteracy. But I still recommend Casual Vacancy. It's a great read, especially how she gets into the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Milanote is like an organiser for creatives. It provides a way of compiling everything that goes into your creative process in a way that makes sense to you. The flexibility is great, moving things around is easy and there's no real limit on what you can put into it: from sticky-notes to character profiles, your entire manuscript or just chapters if that works better for you. You can insert images, links, audio, video, to do lists.

The app has templates which you can use or improve upon but I don't use them. My brain processes information in a certain way so I love that I can display everything I need in a way that makes sense to me.
It is not a word processor, so I still write everything in Word, but in Milanote I have a breakdown of every scene in every chapter, I have other boards for development, worldbuilding, research etc. With a paid subscription at around 12.99 per month it does everything I need it to do. And if I need to move things around, it's as easy as dragging and dropping or cutting and pasting.
You can have boards nested within boards so your complex web of creativity can be contained in a manageable way.

I've gone on about it for a bit because I really love this simple app. And it IS very simple, no bells or whistles which is best for someone who wants to focus on the work rather than learning a hundred new functions in a complex program.

I get it. I use Evernote and Scrivener together in the same way.