Writing Toolbox: Mental Mapping
I’ve actually tried to write this post a couple of times, and it devolved into mushy chatter. So this time, maybe I can manage a little focus.
I’ve been asked for more information about a couple of the techniques I have in my ‘writing toolbox’: specifically, the Scrabble Tiles technique, and the Mental Map.
The Scrabble Tiles technique is (mostly) a way to keep track of the characters on the physical plane, although it can be used for more than just physical interactions. I’m planning on doing a write-up of that technique also.
The Mental Map is a way to keep track of the characters on the inside of their heads. It’s especially useful for complex plots with multiple layers, intrigue, characters working at cross purposes, plots that build towards discoveries and sudden changes. (You know, my favourite kind of long-form fiction to write.) It’s a way of viewing and keeping track of the dynamic structure of a story.
The Mental Map is not an outline. This is important.
I usually start my stories by researching the setting and situation, and building the characters (except for the ones that are already built, whether it’s MacGyver or Teal’c or whoever). This drives the plot, with the characters’ motivations pushing and pulling them into and through events. I don’t usually start the Mental Map until I’m well into the story, when I have enough going on that I need to take my casual notes and make them a bit more coherent.
A typical Mental Map for me will go chapter by chapter, or time period by time period. I’ll start it a specific point in the story - say, the beginning of chapter 5, just before Mac and Stan the Redshirt go to the abandoned warehouse, where Evil Bob is lurking with Undecided Jenny. I’ve chosen this point because some important plot developments will occur in this chapter. But this is not the conclusion; I need to develop the right plot points, make the chapter interesting in itself, and end it with everyone in the right locations, physically and mentally, for the next chapter to begin correctly. The plot may not wrap up for another ten or twenty thousand words, so I need to get this chunk right.
I note down each of the key characters:
MacGyver
Stan the Redshirt
Evil Bob
Undecided Jenny
Pete (who is waiting offstage)
Dr. Jane (who hasn’t been introduced yet)
I note where each one is, mentally, at the beginning of the chapter or section. Specifically, this includes what each one knows, or thinks they know; what they believe; what they know or believe that is actually wrong; what they don’t know that they really need to know. In a plot of this type, a lot of motivation occurs because a character doesn’t have the right information. A Mental Map is a tool for following that part of the characters’ inner lives.
Having made my first set of notes, I then make a second set for each character, specifying where they’ll be at the end of the chapter or section. I emphasise things that will change; also, things that won’t, that will need to change later.
Once I have the two sets of ‘map points’, I go back (in my head) to the plot itself. In the course of the chapter, I have to handle the physical action and possible physical discoveries, and also move each character to the next place on the mental map.
So: what will happen during the chapter? As events unfold, when and how will each of the mapped changes occur?
If part of what happens is a non-occurrence - for example, MacGyver walks into the warehouse with a misconception and walks out with the same misconception - did anything happen to challenge it? If so, why didn’t he change his mind? Am I going to make a plot point out of a ‘near miss’? A key misconception can build tension, but it can also, very easily, turn into a grotesquely clattering plot mechanism.
Once that’s done, it’s on to the next chapter, or the next key turning point - which might not be for a chapter or three. Often, some characters move on the map during one chapter, and others move in the next. In the final chapter, they might all move at once in response to the main crisis; or there might be mop-up afterwards. I often keep a short list of unresolved threads, in case I need to do mop-up.
Here’s an entirely made-up sample of a Mental Map:
At the start of the chapter/section:
MacGyver:
doesn’t know who owns the warehouse
doesn’t believe it’s empty (he’s right)
thinks Bob is working on his own (he’s wrong)
thinks Stan is a pain in the butt (he’s right)
thinks Stan is on his side anyway (he’s mostly wrong)
Stan the Redshirt:
thinks the warehouse is empty and that MacGyver is wasting time (he’s wrong)
thinks he knows more about Evil Bob than MacGyver does (he’s wrong)
thinks MacGyver is a dweeb (he’s wrong)
thinks Jenny is on Bob’s side (he’s partly wrong)
Evil Bob:
thinks Stan has accepted his bribe (he’s wrong)
thinks Jenny is on his side (he’s partly wrong)
thinks MacGyver is a loser (he’s very wrong)
Undecided Jenny:
thinks Bob is an idiot (she’s mostly right)
thinks she is in control of Bob (she’s very wrong)
thinks Stan is an idiot (she’s right)
thinks she fooled Dr. Jane with her cunning plan that will be developed in the next chapter
Pete (not at the warehouse):
thinks MacGyver is walking into a trap, but knows it’s hopeless trying to stop him
thinks Stan is annoying but basically honest
thinks Bob is more than he seems to be
is waiting for Dr. Jane to report back from the research lab in Fresno, where they’re investigating Evil Bob
Dr. Jane (also not at the warehouse):
thinks Jenny is her friend
has met Evil Bob, but hasn’t realised that he’s the same person that she’s currently investigating
has met Stan, but doesn’t know he’s involved with Jenny
End of chapter/section:
MacGyver:
still doesn’t know who owns the warehouse, but now suspects that it’s Evil Bob
knows there’s an association between Stan and Jenny, but doesn’t know what, and his first guess will be wrong
knows that Evil Bob had someone in his pay, and suspects it was Stan
Stan the Redshirt:
is dead
(any cosmic knowledge he may have suddenly acquired is now moot)
Evil Bob:
knows that Stan is dead
thinks that MacGyver is dead
thinks that Jenny is still on his side
Undecided Jenny:
knows that Stan is dead
thinks that MacGyver is dead
is pissed off at Bob
is wondering whether a nice chat with Dr. Jane would be useful
Pete:
has important information about Stan and Evil Bob and is in a hurry to tell MacGyver
doesn’t know that Stan is dead
doesn’t know about Jenny at all, and will not be immediately suspicious when she comes to see him in the next chapter
Dr. Jane:
has learned from Pete about Evil Bob
had realised there’s a connection between Stan and Jenny, and plans to tell Pete
You’ll notice (if you actually read all that!) that although the characters moved forward (mostly), the plot is not resolved. In some places, the tangle has grown more tangled. The Mental Map of a later chapter will have more wrap-up and resolution - although fresh spanners can be served up until quite late in the game.
The forward momentum of events also exists on the mental plane: people are learning things, forming opinions, making mistakes, making plans based on the information they have at a given point - which is almost always incomplete, and sometimes incorrect. I’m very fond of using misinformation, bad information, or ignorance as a way of moving a character in the plotwise direction - as long as the mistake being made is an intelligent mistake. I can’t stand it when smart characters are made to do stupid things. Plots often require characters to do apparently stupid things - walk into an ambush, trust the wrong person, etc. But given the right motivation (and the wrong information), a smart character can make the wrong decision in an intelligent manner, without requiring the reader to put up with OOC stupidity.
For me, that’s how people are, after all. We act on false premises. We make mistakes. But we make them honestly, in character (as it were). When we learn otherwise, we change what we do, and how.
I’ve been asked for more information about a couple of the techniques I have in my ‘writing toolbox’: specifically, the Scrabble Tiles technique, and the Mental Map.
The Scrabble Tiles technique is (mostly) a way to keep track of the characters on the physical plane, although it can be used for more than just physical interactions. I’m planning on doing a write-up of that technique also.
The Mental Map is a way to keep track of the characters on the inside of their heads. It’s especially useful for complex plots with multiple layers, intrigue, characters working at cross purposes, plots that build towards discoveries and sudden changes. (You know, my favourite kind of long-form fiction to write.) It’s a way of viewing and keeping track of the dynamic structure of a story.
The Mental Map is not an outline. This is important.
I usually start my stories by researching the setting and situation, and building the characters (except for the ones that are already built, whether it’s MacGyver or Teal’c or whoever). This drives the plot, with the characters’ motivations pushing and pulling them into and through events. I don’t usually start the Mental Map until I’m well into the story, when I have enough going on that I need to take my casual notes and make them a bit more coherent.
A typical Mental Map for me will go chapter by chapter, or time period by time period. I’ll start it a specific point in the story - say, the beginning of chapter 5, just before Mac and Stan the Redshirt go to the abandoned warehouse, where Evil Bob is lurking with Undecided Jenny. I’ve chosen this point because some important plot developments will occur in this chapter. But this is not the conclusion; I need to develop the right plot points, make the chapter interesting in itself, and end it with everyone in the right locations, physically and mentally, for the next chapter to begin correctly. The plot may not wrap up for another ten or twenty thousand words, so I need to get this chunk right.
I note down each of the key characters:
MacGyver
Stan the Redshirt
Evil Bob
Undecided Jenny
Pete (who is waiting offstage)
Dr. Jane (who hasn’t been introduced yet)
I note where each one is, mentally, at the beginning of the chapter or section. Specifically, this includes what each one knows, or thinks they know; what they believe; what they know or believe that is actually wrong; what they don’t know that they really need to know. In a plot of this type, a lot of motivation occurs because a character doesn’t have the right information. A Mental Map is a tool for following that part of the characters’ inner lives.
Having made my first set of notes, I then make a second set for each character, specifying where they’ll be at the end of the chapter or section. I emphasise things that will change; also, things that won’t, that will need to change later.
Once I have the two sets of ‘map points’, I go back (in my head) to the plot itself. In the course of the chapter, I have to handle the physical action and possible physical discoveries, and also move each character to the next place on the mental map.
So: what will happen during the chapter? As events unfold, when and how will each of the mapped changes occur?
If part of what happens is a non-occurrence - for example, MacGyver walks into the warehouse with a misconception and walks out with the same misconception - did anything happen to challenge it? If so, why didn’t he change his mind? Am I going to make a plot point out of a ‘near miss’? A key misconception can build tension, but it can also, very easily, turn into a grotesquely clattering plot mechanism.
Once that’s done, it’s on to the next chapter, or the next key turning point - which might not be for a chapter or three. Often, some characters move on the map during one chapter, and others move in the next. In the final chapter, they might all move at once in response to the main crisis; or there might be mop-up afterwards. I often keep a short list of unresolved threads, in case I need to do mop-up.
Here’s an entirely made-up sample of a Mental Map:
At the start of the chapter/section:
MacGyver:
doesn’t know who owns the warehouse
doesn’t believe it’s empty (he’s right)
thinks Bob is working on his own (he’s wrong)
thinks Stan is a pain in the butt (he’s right)
thinks Stan is on his side anyway (he’s mostly wrong)
Stan the Redshirt:
thinks the warehouse is empty and that MacGyver is wasting time (he’s wrong)
thinks he knows more about Evil Bob than MacGyver does (he’s wrong)
thinks MacGyver is a dweeb (he’s wrong)
thinks Jenny is on Bob’s side (he’s partly wrong)
Evil Bob:
thinks Stan has accepted his bribe (he’s wrong)
thinks Jenny is on his side (he’s partly wrong)
thinks MacGyver is a loser (he’s very wrong)
Undecided Jenny:
thinks Bob is an idiot (she’s mostly right)
thinks she is in control of Bob (she’s very wrong)
thinks Stan is an idiot (she’s right)
thinks she fooled Dr. Jane with her cunning plan that will be developed in the next chapter
Pete (not at the warehouse):
thinks MacGyver is walking into a trap, but knows it’s hopeless trying to stop him
thinks Stan is annoying but basically honest
thinks Bob is more than he seems to be
is waiting for Dr. Jane to report back from the research lab in Fresno, where they’re investigating Evil Bob
Dr. Jane (also not at the warehouse):
thinks Jenny is her friend
has met Evil Bob, but hasn’t realised that he’s the same person that she’s currently investigating
has met Stan, but doesn’t know he’s involved with Jenny
End of chapter/section:
MacGyver:
still doesn’t know who owns the warehouse, but now suspects that it’s Evil Bob
knows there’s an association between Stan and Jenny, but doesn’t know what, and his first guess will be wrong
knows that Evil Bob had someone in his pay, and suspects it was Stan
Stan the Redshirt:
is dead
(any cosmic knowledge he may have suddenly acquired is now moot)
Evil Bob:
knows that Stan is dead
thinks that MacGyver is dead
thinks that Jenny is still on his side
Undecided Jenny:
knows that Stan is dead
thinks that MacGyver is dead
is pissed off at Bob
is wondering whether a nice chat with Dr. Jane would be useful
Pete:
has important information about Stan and Evil Bob and is in a hurry to tell MacGyver
doesn’t know that Stan is dead
doesn’t know about Jenny at all, and will not be immediately suspicious when she comes to see him in the next chapter
Dr. Jane:
has learned from Pete about Evil Bob
had realised there’s a connection between Stan and Jenny, and plans to tell Pete
You’ll notice (if you actually read all that!) that although the characters moved forward (mostly), the plot is not resolved. In some places, the tangle has grown more tangled. The Mental Map of a later chapter will have more wrap-up and resolution - although fresh spanners can be served up until quite late in the game.
The forward momentum of events also exists on the mental plane: people are learning things, forming opinions, making mistakes, making plans based on the information they have at a given point - which is almost always incomplete, and sometimes incorrect. I’m very fond of using misinformation, bad information, or ignorance as a way of moving a character in the plotwise direction - as long as the mistake being made is an intelligent mistake. I can’t stand it when smart characters are made to do stupid things. Plots often require characters to do apparently stupid things - walk into an ambush, trust the wrong person, etc. But given the right motivation (and the wrong information), a smart character can make the wrong decision in an intelligent manner, without requiring the reader to put up with OOC stupidity.
For me, that’s how people are, after all. We act on false premises. We make mistakes. But we make them honestly, in character (as it were). When we learn otherwise, we change what we do, and how.