068I – Plot Gardening: An Interview with Chris Fox

Chris Fox is the author of his newest book, Plot Gardening, as well as Write to Market, 5000 Words Per Hour, and his latest favorite series, the Magitech Chronicles. He has been a full-time indie author since 2016, and spends his free time hiking, and making stuff up.

In today's episode, Chris explains how his new book, Plot Gardening, will help you get started on a new book or series idea in a way that helps you dig deeper to write better stories. It works for both plotters and pantsers (those who write by the seat of their pants), and it can help writers think more creatively to come up with a signature series that really draws people in.

As with most writing books, you won't find it as helpful if you don't apply what you learn! Each chapter ends with exercises you can stop and do right away, or you can read through to the end of the book and find all of the exercises listed together so you can work your way through them.

Chris points out that plotters may find the techniques in his book will especially help them with world building and the kind of discovery writing at the beginning that helps them come up with better plots and characters. Pantsers may find that the book helps them better understand story structure so that when they make up the story as they write, they're unconsciously following a better structural pattern for the book.

If you're the kind of person who has more than one book idea in your head at a time, this technique can also help you get all your ideas down and help them grow in the back of your mind while you're working on your current book.

It's definitely a book worth reading! You can also listen to Chris's YouTube video series on Plot Gardening to hear more about it.