Using mindmaps for story plotting

Some of you have seen that I like to use XMind mind maps for a lot of things. It is a nice, freeware application that runs on all platforms.

Here is an XMind starter mind map that is populated with information from Dan Well's excellent presentation on the seven point story structure.

This was my first successful attempt at using mind-mapping for plotting, though I would love some pointers on my seven point structure. Here's my map for my main plot, (It's too big to post as an image here) and here's the breakdown in text form:

Quote:

• Hook: Fury in a new town, spares Zero from a beating; Zero follows him to an inn and pesters him about who he is.


• Pinch 1: Lockett shows up at the inn; she has been following Fury for months


• Plot turn 1: Lockett pushes until Fury reveals that he was there and that he is the reason that the Darkness was released


• Midpoint: Fury has a vivid dream; the Darkness wears his friend's face and asks him to come home; Fury has had enough of being manipulated


• Plot turn 2: Lockett unearths an ancient tome that vaguely mentions how the Darkness was contained; she devises a plan to bind the Darkness to the skin it wears; she tells Fury he must kill it


• Pinch 2: The Darkness begs Fury to return and stay with it; Fury briefly entertains the idea that maybe he can temper the Darkness with his presence; he considers the Darkness's plea, but realizes that there is no guarantee that the Darkness will keep its word and lift the taint


• Resolution: Fury and the others travel to the cave, and Fury defeats the Darkness; the taint slowly starts to dissipate; Fury finally has a place to belong where he doesn't have to hide who he is

My concern is in the pacing. That tends to be my weakest point in story-building, and this structure has just succeeded in pointing that out plainly. XD I would love some suggestions, if you have them, on how to adjust the pacing.

I started filling in the two secondary characters' motivations/subplots, and I feel like my third act is disproportionately lean. But then, that's where the climax is, so I suppose that's okay? I know you can't read the details so well, but here's a screencap of my map as it stands.

Regarding the fuzziness of the image, I think you can export the mind map as an image--it should be sharper than a screen capture. You can also select a node, hit -C and copy it then paste it into a document editor to get the text out to be an outline. As it is, the second mind map is pretty but I can't read it :-(

In terms of the first set of plot points, a few comments, hopefully helpful

• I think that the pinches are supposed to follow the plot turns; so the plot turn provides a major shift; the pinches add complexity and added risk.You can probably just rename pinch 1 to plot turn 1 and vice versa--I think those changes fit.
  


• The pinch 2 item (Pinch 2: The Darkness begs Fury to return and stay with it; Fury briefly entertains the idea that maybe he can temper the Darkness with his presence; he considers the Darkness's plea, but realizes that there is no guarantee that the Darkness will keep its word and lift the taint") doesn't seem to add complexity or added risk as stated. It sounds like Fury is given a choice (the Darkness begs Fury; Fury apparently has all the power).
  


• Maybe you need to add an element of time (e.g., Fury discovers that the effects of the taint are spreading deeper within him as time progresses and causing him to become more violent and to lose control so that he hurts those that he cares about) in the pinch.
  


• Based on plot turn 2, pinch 2 should maybe do something so that Lockett's discovery/intended actions go wrong, making the situation worse; and maybe Zero is hurt or placed at risk.
  

Hope those help or maybe stimulate some thoughts...

That was exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. And clearly, I'm new at XMind. XD Here is the exported image of the map.

Okay, the pinch/plot turn was my mix-up. They're right on the map. XD So, I revised pinch 2, and it now reads:

Pinch 2
The Darkness begs Fury to return and stay with it.
Fury briefly entertains the idea that maybe he can temper the darkness
Fury gives in and returns to the Darkness
The taint continues to spread unbeknownst to him

This change, I think, will add complexity to Zero and Lock's sub plots as well, since it becomes their job to reach Fury and make him realize that he isn't fixing anything by pretending the Darkness wearing his friend's skin is actually his friend.

I rebuilt act two and three based on the changes I made to Fury's 7 points. Here it is.

Looks much better, Carly--but Zero's resolution doesn't sound like a resolution--it sounds like an intention to an action--and there isn't any follow-up to that. I think every plot structure point, including every resolution, shouldn't be about intentions--they should be about decisions, actions, aftermaths. How does Zero's story end?

Perhaps Zero attempts the binding himself and winds up in a coma; and Fury, driven by anger and guilt, turns on the Darkness and saves everyone.?

I was thinking that, too, that it's not really a resolution. I guess it's just that Zero is willing to risk himself (for the first time EVER) to face his fears. But now I'm tempted to have him attempt the binding and end up getting killed in the process. >-> Hey, I went two NaNos without a main character's death! XD

That certainly would resolve Zero's storyline ;-)

Seriously, character deaths can be very, very powerful. So can character severe injuries and potential maiming.

As Stephen Donaldson writes:
Do not hurt when holding is enough
Do not wound when hurting is enough
Do not maim when wounding is enough
And kill not when maiming is enough
The greatest warrior is he who does not need to kill

:-) (of course, Donaldson killed off plenty of his favorite characters)

I downloaded both Freemind and Xmind to try and help me, but my mind maps look like they've got a serious case of bedhead. I might revert to old habits and just use a spreadsheet to organize my ideas. I'll start with the seven-point plot structure, and see if I can't intertwine my characters' individual arcs.

I kind of like the way the story wraps up with Zero's death thrown in there. It's a huge push for Fury to stop being such an idiot and finally face up to what he's done and set it right. And then he and Lock can settle down and live normal lives.