((member (setq lname (cdr (assoc 8 (entget ent)))) (princ "\nPick entity on layer to change.\n") (defun layerpickroutine ( / ) llock lnames ss ent lname) LC - Lock all layers except Current layer LKA - lock all with pick except layer picked This is one I found and have modified over time. See the heading for other commands in this routine. To set to plot, type LP, pick the object on the layer you want to plot. KayBelow are some layer manipulation lisp tools I use, among other things, after the file is loaded you type LNP, pick an object on a layer you want set to no plot, or you can pick multiple objects on different layers. When you’re finished, post your practice in the comments section.Is there a command for making a layer non-plot (instead of having to go to the layer properties dialog box to check the plot box)? PRACTICEīrainstorm a Plot B and a Plot C layer of varying importance that can work together to enrich and enhance your story.īrainstorm for fifteen minutes. In the midst of all this, she hates the LA heat, has terrible asthma, so my Plot C is the aggravating element of her air conditioner at home always going on the fritz-which compounds and exacerbates the tension and “heat” in her house and family life.
Fran doesn’t really believe in her perp’s claims of innocence, nor does she believe her son’s when he insists he didn’t hack the school’s computer. Not only did I deepen her involvement with the main plot and increase the number of her scenes, I added an ongoing, growing tension (Plot B) with her teenage son that exposed issues of trust and believability-elements that are key themes of my main plot. She’s a homicide detective investigating the hit-and-run, which frames my story.īut now I needed to bring her to the forefront. Fran is a bit sketchy in the original story you know a little about her life, personality, and tastes. In a novel I wrote that needed a big revision, I decided to make a secondary character my protagonist.
Believe it or not, Plot C can serve the purpose of revealing a lot of emotion and character (ever thrown a hissy fit at a store when you’re having a bad day?). Plot C will be thinner and more trivial, and may even add that comic relief in your tension (picture your character trying to get the paint guy with myopia to see the obvious difference between the two unmatching paint swatches). You want B to be an important layer that will help the main plot along-either something that enhances Plot A or runs headlong into conflict with it. You know your A plot-it’s the main one driving your story. If you can create three layers at least, think of them as plots A, B, and C. Well, this is the best way to do it-by introducing many layers of plot, and not just for your protagonist but for your secondary characters as well. We’re told to complicate our characters’ lives. And so are novels and short fiction that only have one plot layer. If life were just one sole “plot” (“I gotta get that college degree”), it would be boring. You have the big, fat layer of the main plot on top, then different layers underneath of different thicknesses and flavors. You may also be dealing with trivial things like trying to decide what color to paint your bedroom, and the paint store guy, who’s completely incompetent, can’t get the color right. You may be dealing with some personal issue-like a recurring health problem or a former boyfriend who keeps showing up against your wishes.
In a novel, that would be your main plot, the visible goal your protagonist is trying to reach.īut as that “plot” plays out in your life, other things encroach on or dovetail from that goal. Maybe it’s to start a family and create your dream life with your spouse. Maybe it’s to finish college and get that degree. You have some big goals-long-term, long-range goals. One way that may help you in developing and deepening your plot layers is to think about your own life.