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P.L.O.T. - Writing
Outside of the Box
Copyright December 2003 All contents are
the work of the author unless otherwise credited
S.C.A.M.P.E.R. stands for Substitute,
Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate and
Rearrange/ Reverse. (I’ve marked each part with a P for
plotting or an R for revision, though you may find ways to make it work
for both.)
Now, look at your computer document or your index cards and apply any of
these tactics until you're happy with the initial results.
Substitution
[P, R] is replacing one character, place, emotion, conflict, etc. with
another. Choose one idea or scene and ask the following: What
can be substituted? For what else that you have? For what else you
don’t have yet? Can you substitute part instead of the whole? What
other approach can you take to the scene?
Combination
[R] is putting together previously unrelated ideas, settings, purposes,
goals, etc. Pick a scene and decide: What ideas
can be combined? What else can be added? Can they be blended or only
linked? Can more than two be put together? Does combining them change
the purpose alone or also the goal or conflict?
Adaptation
[P] is copying from one idea and applying it to another. Pick one of
your ideas and ask the following: What else is
like this? What part could be emulated if not the whole? What other
ideas can be incorporated? In what different contexts could the original
work?
As I said at the
beginning of this article, in referring to adaptation I’m not talking
about plagiarism. I’m talking about using the same method another
writer used and changing, adjusting or tailoring it to meet a need.
For
example, in one of my favorite Nora Roberts books, HOT ICE, the
characters meet when the hero, who’s running from the villain, tries
to car jack the heroine’s car. What follows is a really funny scene
where the heroine refuses to relinquish control of the car or the
situation.
In YOURS IN BLACK LACE, I didn’t duplicate or
copy word
for word Nora’s scene. What I did was figure out a way that my heroine
could take my hero’s car and then found a way to add a car chase
to my scene.
Modification
[P, R] is completely altering all or part of an idea to make it better.
Choose one of your scenes and decide: What can
be exaggerated or overstated? What can be added or reduced? How can it
be carried to an extreme? How can some element be twisted into something
new?
Putting
to another use [P, R] is
taking parts or elements of your idea and utilizing them somewhere else.
Choose one of your scenes and ask the following: Where
else can I use the whole? What else can parts be used for? Are there
other ways to use it as is? What else can be made from this?
Elimination
[R] is minimizing parts or getting rid of the whole to gradually focus
the idea. To determine whether to scrap your idea, ask:
Does it enhance the story? Does it move the plot? Does it serve a real
purpose? Choose a scene that you intend to keep and decide: What can be
omitted? What can be split up or divided? What can be streamlined? Which
elements are unnecessary?
Rearrangement
[P, R] is rethinking the approach to the idea and coming at the idea
from a different angle. Pick a scene, or look at your synopsis if
you’re revising, and ask the following: What
other arrangement might work better? How can the order be changed? What
elements can be shifted around? Can anything be interchanged rather than
substituted?
Reversal [R]
is changing perspectives about the idea and using opposing elements to
create something new. Choose a scene and decide: What
are the opposites? What are the negatives? Has the sequel come before
the scene? Can the points of view or roles be reversed? What can be done
that’s unexpected?
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