Before I start writing a new story, I do a small amount of plotting. Nothing major, just two or three sentence paragraphs for each chapter in the book to help me get from the first page to the last without too many side trips. That doesn't mean I don't get sidetracked with a subplot I hadn't originally intended because it still happens more often than not.
I wish I could plot or write an outline in more detail, but when I do, I have a hard time writing the story. It's almost as though I feel like it's already written. I tried not doing any plotting at all and ended up with a story line that didn't have any real focus and characters running around all over the place trying to figure out what their goals, motivations, and conflicts were.
I'm about 3 weeks away from finally, finally finishing the edits/revisions for Honor Bound. I'll be sending it out to a few beta readers for final thoughts on it. While it's out with them, I'll be working on the second story in the series. When I start plotting it, I'm going to try writing the paragraphs for each chapter on index cards to see if that helps me form a more linear plot line. A fellow writer plots in this way and says it's easier for her to lay out the plot because she can see it visually and if necessary move the index cards around to change the order of things without retyping anything. Another friend uses the same technique, but writes hers down on post-it notes and tacks them to a cork board or just sticks them to a wall in her office. I like that idea as well, but I'm afraid they'll fall off the wall and I won't remember what order I had them in.
Either way, it'll be interesting to see if it makes the plotting process easier.
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