Plotting... groan, groan! Ah, the headaches it can bring!

Well, help is at hand. Amongst the dozens of articles here, on every aspect of plotting, you're sure to find something to start the wheels turning...

• Many Paths to Plotting
  
  You can read six books on plotting and come up with six different methods... and that's only a fraction of what's possible. The bottom line is, and always will be, DO WHAT WORKS.
• Writing a Prologue
  
  All too often we pick up a published book and read the prologue, then wonder why it was there at all. It doesn't seem to do anything that Chapter One couldn't have done - or that couldn't have been worked in during the story itself.
• Plotting Problems - Episodic Writing
  
  What is episodic writing? How does it hurt your chances of publication? Find out how to avoid a lack of forward 'thrust' in your story and increase your chances of a YES from the editor.
• 3 Quick Tips on Plotting Your Book
  
  Plotting can seem like an overwhelming task. Here are 3 quick tips that will help to get you started.
• Plotting by Personality
  
  What's the best way to plot? The answer: whatever suits your personality. Work with your own natural instincts and the job will become easier.
• Just Too Convenient
  
  Last year, I critiqued several scenes in one week for a writer. In two of them, she'd made life much too easy for her characters. It's time to share a few tips on how to make life a little more INconvenient for your story people! We'll look at four main areas of 'convenience'...
• Tips on Plotting and Editing Part 1
  
  So - how are you going to attract a reader or commissioning editor to your book? With your story's exciting beginning, of course.
• Tips on Plotting and Editing Part 2
  
  You see a lot of articles about writing, which will try to depress you with tales about 'writer's block', which is supposed to occur sometimes in the middle of a book. I believe it's usually more a case of needing a rest from the work in progress.
• Tips on Plotting and Editing Part 3
  
  Part 3: Endings (from a how-to book by Sherry-Anne Jacobs, AKA Anna Jacobs) This is part 2 of a 3-part mini-series on beginnings, middles and ends by Sherry Anne. THINK ABOUT THIS! The beginning of a book sells that particular story.
• Mind-Mapping Your Story
  
  If you're in contact with other writers, you already know that everyone has different methods of coming up with that essential outline. Some writers can work only in a very structured way, using headers, sub-headers, explanatory paragraphs and bullet points. Others can't conceptualise the plot or article unless they scribble ideas in clusters or bubbles, joining related ideas with connecting lines.
• 5 Ideas for Plot Twists
  
  I admit that this might start to sound a bit like the developments in your favourite (or most-hated) soap opera - but remember: readers LOVE to be surprised! Your job is to tread the fine line between giving them a plot twist that they didn't see coming, and having them roll their eyes and groan because the twist is totally unbelievable. The best twists manage to come as a total surprise to your readers, while still being necessary to the plot. (Now THAT'S got to test your skills as an author!)
• Satisfying Story Endings
  
  Story endings are hard to write -- often much harder than beginnings. Any author who wants to be published must understand how to write a book with a powerful ending. It's important to know two things: one, what will disappoint readers (and editors) and two, what works well.The following four 'duds' are amongst the biggest offenders in endings that will disappoint...
• The Power of Brainstorming
  
  So, it's official. You're stuck. Maybe you can't come up with a decent story idea. Maybe you've no idea of where to take the plot. Or possibly you're just losing patience with an intractable character. Whatever it is, you feel as though you're spinning your wheels. What can you do? Welcome to the power of brainstorming.