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Some of you may remember years ago when Meg came
to Vancouver to give a workshop at our first Conference.
Meg is entertaining, humorous and informative
and this workshop was no exception.
Meg has published over 30 novels. She's written
for SuperRomance and Intrigue, but for the past
few years she's been writing 'cozy' mysteries.
Her female amateur sleuth is Charlie Plato, part
owner of CHAPS, a country-western tavern/dance-hall
in the San Francisco area. Meg's fifth Charlie
Plato Mystery—Dying to See You—is
currently in the stores. Meg has also written
a how-to book on writing I recommend, How to
Write YOUR Novel.
Meg uses her plotting method to write all her
books. She calls it The Carlo Rossi Plotting Method.
The name comes from the boxes Meg buys containing
bottles of Carlo Rossi wine. When the box is empty
she puts it to good use. This is where she drops
in her plot ideas, newspaper clippings and numerous
other items she accumulates while plotting a novel.
She starts with the germ of an idea then gathers
bits and pieces, often unrelated, then tosses
them into her plotting box. Meg likes to research
and feels the information she finds about a particular
setting or occupation or weapon, or whatever,
often gives her good plot ideas or characters.
When she was writing romances she always liked
to visit the location where she planned to set
a book.
For example, when she decided to set one of her
SuperRomances in Cornwall, England, she and her
husband paid the area a visit and stayed in a
small apartment above a pub. During this trip
Meg met a woman in a chemist shop (drugstore)
and immediately decided she would be perfect for
the role of female protagonist in her story. By
immersing herself in the area, taking pictures,
talking to residents, taping interviews, she's
confident she'll depict the setting realistically.
Meg suggests using a fictitious name for the
town or area you are using for a setting. All
her Charlie Plato books are set in a San Francisco
area called Bellamy Park. There is no such place,
but she bases it on a district she does know.
This way she doesn't have to worry about roads
being re-routed or new buildings going up or any
other changes that might be made to the area.
Meg revisits San Francisco before she starts
work on a new Charlie Plato book and on her return
home adds all she's collected to her plotting
box then lets her subconscious go to work. The
ideas and research she's done begin to bubble
and ferment (it's a wine box, remember), and soon
a story emerges.
Meg doesn't like to think too much, or plot too
much, believing that you can plot a story to death.
She is, however, a firm believer in 'serendipity'—the
magically inspirational moments that happen when
the unconnected thoughts and ideas suddenly begin
to take shape and form.
Of course not all of the ideas and scraps of
information she's gathered are going to fit a
particular story. Some have to be discarded. But
she assures us that's okay, and nothing is written
in stone.
Meg refuses to separate character and plot and
believes that by growing your characters your
plot develops and by developing your plot your
characters grow.
Cause and effect govern the middle of the book
and she suggests you keep asking your characters
'why' and you'll come up with strong reasons and
motivations for their actions and reactions.
Ready to write a synopsis, Meg admits she likes
to write long, sloppy synopses. Her most recent
is 84 pages and consists of dialogue, scenes and
plot ideas and twists and turns that pop into
her head as the story unfolds. Needless to say
this isn't the synopsis she sends her editor but
it is the one she uses when writing the book.
Now the real work begins. During the writing
process she layers the story, adding depth to
the situation, characters and plot as she goes.
Meg says even when she's working on a book she's
still constantly clipping things out of magazines
and newspapers, tossing them into another Carlo
Rossi box, in readiness for her next plot.
She reminds us that while this plotting method
works for her, she doesn't promise it will work
for you. Still, it's worth trying. What do you
have to lose?
Moyra Tarling, author of sixteen Silhouette Romances,
is a member of GVC.
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