Quick Plot

This idea comes from Holly Lisle's website, a successful fantasy writer, who has a some excellent essays on writing. In Quick Plot, she walks you through the process of coming up with the essential characters, essential problem, brainstorming scenes of a novel when you need to turn one out immediately.

"Here's the scenario. You find yourself in a situation where you have to do a book in a hurry. Could be you got a letter back from an editor or agent telling you that, while they can't use the book you submitted, they would like to see your next project. Could be you took on more contracts than you have time to complete. Could be you forgot about a pending deadline, or put it off because Real Life intruded in a big way.
In any case, now you're faced with a book that must be done to a professional level in a severely limited amount of time, and, for real fun, let's say that you don't even have any idea yet what the book is going to be about. Maybe you know most of the characters, if it's a book in a continuing series. Maybe the whole thing is just a vague, nebulous blur in your mind -- you sort of know what you'd like it to be about, but beyond that, you're in the dark.

Maybe you haven't a clue. You are as blank as the page in front of you. Maybe you simply have never been able to plot out a novel in advance and would like to try it.

No matter what your situation, don't panic. This workshop will teach you how to create plots out of thin air, with nothing but work, and more work, and maybe a bit of work after that. Sound fun? Well, actually, it is."