Basic plot techniques, How do you write your stories? Options

[Sparrowsmith]

Okay, so this section still has that fresh 'newly opened' smell, so lets get the ball rolling.

I'm basically thinking we get some beginner's tips out for writing. Anything you guys like to use when writing. These can be professional, or just little quirks you've picked up that work.
I'm basically gonna start off with an easy one: Loops.

I was taught these at a writing class a while back, though they might have other names elsewhere. A loop is essentially a question that you ask early in the story, then answer later. They are open plot lines that you are going to close when the time comes. Loops can be short, long, or even reversed (more on this later.) The most important loops are your opening and closing loops (these are often the same). The opening loop is your inciting incident. The event that puts all the others in motion.

Let's take a classic game plot, Final Fantasy VII. In the opening, Cloud and Avalanche jump off of a train and begin attacking guards. We don't know who these characters are, or what they're doing. Theses are our two loops. The first one gets answered in the first few minutes. The second one takes a little longer to develop, but once we know why they're there (to destroy the reactor) we're now wondering WHY they want to destroy the reactor, WHY have they brought Cloud on board, WHAT is a SOLDIER, WHY did Cloud get a headache as they approached the reactor.

The inciting incident (jumping off the train, attacking the guards) gives us enough questions to establish ALL of this. So what can we learn from this? Keep lots of loops open at once. They don't have to be open for very long (they can be as simple as 'who is that' or 'where did that character go') but they are what keep people interested.

This brings us to the next important point regarding loops. Make sure you close them! The popular TV show Lost had a dedicated fanbase because it KEPT OPENING LOOPS. We never had a clue what was going on, and it kept our interest peaked. But eventually the show got too spread out, and a lot of the loops weren't closed. The show still ended well, but it certainly didn't answer everything, and this annoyed a lot of fans.

So close your loops Especially if they're important.

I said I'd come back to reversed loops. Now, I'm not actually sure if these are even a real thing, but it's what I call them
A reversed loop, according to the dictionary of Sparrow, is a question that gets answered before the question gets asked. Sort of.
In the film Primer (VERY COMPLICATED) Abe's(?) wife mentions that she can hear bumping in the attic. Abe says this is just some birds (or rats....). It seems very unimportant. Later in the film, after the two protagonists invent time travel, it is revealed Abe has come back from a different timeline, and that the sound in the attic is actually the real Abe from this timeline.
So to recap:
*sounds in the attic*
"Where is the Abe from this timeline?"

The question came after the answer.

So without further adieu, let's hear any techniques you use when writing.

[Licentia Per Ori...]

There is some good stuff here. I like to put "keyboard to google doc" whenever I have the time, sadly it's not as often as I would like. You need the headspace for it you know. anyway, I watched the Amazing spiderman the other day. In it there was a scene in an english class and the english teacher said something rather profound, which i thought i would share.

There is a school of thought that says that there are only 10 truly different kinds of story. I believe there is only one "Who am I"

Apart from that I would say make sure every character, even the small ones, have a selfish motive, that is sealed up.
Thats not to say that they are selfish, but why are they in themselves doing what they are doing?
An acronym the security services use when trying to turn someone is M.I.C.E
Money, Ideology, Coercion, Ego

Most people do the things they do because of all of them (think about yourself and the things you do day to day). However in some specific moments, certain motives will play stronger roles while some will play no role at all.
Understand that motivation is something that changes, as the world around your characters changes, so too does their motivation.

Understanding and cleverly communicating these often subtle changes will give your characters and thus the world they create a greater level of depth, realism and thus believability. Whenever I am asked to look at some ones work my feed back is usually the same. lot's of "why?".

An understanding of motivations, is required in order to pull off a good plot twist / change in direction.
A large change to the world, or a large change to a characters motivation can be hard to sell, and often an immersion breaker.
However a small change to the world, and a subtle shift in a characters motivation, which leads to that character now taking a completely different direction. That works.