Mindmapping
So I'm trying something new with my current WIP.
With Highwater, I had a pretty clear idea of the main plot threads going into it. With only three main characters and their pasts to deal with, their interactions carried the plot forward, and I knew how things would be in the end (though it admittedly took some hammering to figure out how they would actually get there).
But Highwater is pretty straightforward. Not so with my WIP: this thing is intimidating. It's a heavy subject.
I have a premise I love... with promises of hours and hours of intense research ahead. I have some emerging characters I can't wait to play with, with the absolute certainty that the cast will double if not triple in size. What I *don't* have is too much of a plot. I could go in so many directions right now that I'm disoriented and afraid I'll pick the wrong route to go down. They all have potential... but there's no beacon to follow.
Which brings me to where I am now: brainstorming, researching... and mindmapping. Someone mentioned http://bubbl.us/ to me, so I'm giving it a try. (anyone else use it?) There are some things I wish were better: the ability to zoom out to see my entire map (it stops at 25%; the image posted above is a composite), and larger font size for the main nodes, so I can tell where I want to go when zoomed out. But for the basics, it works. My notes up until now were scattered throughout the pages of my sketchbook- they're now organically organized, with the ability to link any two thoughts no matter where they're located. Just the act of typing things up has opened new areas for me to consider.
So all I can do now is dive in headfirst and keep researching, and see where that takes me, and which routes hold the most promise! What do you guys do when you're stumped about a plot? I've got the premise, the back-story, the characters, but I'm intimidated about what to do with them!