And I'm back! For a tutorial on how to plan your writing if you choose to write a novel!
Planning is vital in order to pull off that great story that all of us carry within. No planning results in writers block, that moment when you just sit and wait for something to pop up in your head like popcorn.
However that tiny bud of an idea inside your head needs to be nurtured and cared for until it blooms. That's where the planning comes in.
So roll up those sleeves and get to work.
1. Short summary
In just a few sentences describe what your story will be about. Don't worry about the names of the characters and places just yet, we'll get to that later.
For example I'm writing a story and this might be be that short summary; "A lonely schoolboy gets whipped up in a great adventure in the world hiding within ours, thanks to his new friend. The fate of the world lies in their, and a few others', hands."
You might think that this is rather simple, but don't be fooled. Spend some good time on writing (and re-writing) this as it will also be required to help sell your future novel to publishers.
If this nano summary doesn't excite you — or your friends which you might want to show this to, since you might be more excited because it's your own work — than neither will it excite anyone else. So make it catchy!
2. Expand
This is the part where you go from a tiny summary to a slightly more detailed one. Think of it as though you are writing an essay which consists of three parts; introduction, body and conclusion. However, don't write a full essay, keep it short, about one paragraph (5 sentences).
For example:
Jason is a smart kid and is a highschool freshman at Yancy Academy. He is lonely until Misty, a free-spirited girl, shows up in his class and brings along a whole new world full of good and evil. He is brought to Pine Ridge Lodge, a training camp for godly spawn, and finds out about his father which abandoned him. Together, Misty and Jason, sneak out of camp to look for his father and get caught up in various fights. Jason needs to overcome his fear of failure and insecurity in order to safe himself and his father from the ancient claws of death.
In the introduction something happens to brighten up the boring world of Jason. I introduce some main characters and the conflict of a lost dad. Then in the body I develop the conflict that leads to Misty and Jason sneaking out of camp to find his father. In the conclusion is where you tie in the ends and provide a way to solve the conflict and maybe drop a little cliffhanger that will lead your readers to wanting more.
Every story needs a conflict, something that pushes the story forward. Not necessarily in biographies, but you understand my point. Make sure that your conflict is well thought trough, especially because it creates the scarlet thread in your story!
3. Characters
This part is crucial to a good story. You need intriguing characters! The readers need to passionately fall in love with them, or laugh with them, cry with them, or hate them. Put effort and time on creating them.
Think about:
1. Name.
2. What part do they play in your story. Who are they and what is their history?
3. What is their ultimate goal.
4. Why do they want to reach that goal?
5. What hinders them, what obstacles are in the way of the characters? These might be physical or mental.
6. How does the character develop and what do they learn?
Write these down for each character. Then in a paragraph or in some short points describe their journey through the novel.
----------A little note---------
From here on we are going to 'blow up' the ideas from step 2 and 3 and blend them together.
4. Multiply
In step 2 we wrote a single paragraph of the plot. Get a new sheet of paper and build up your ideas.
Write a paragraph for the introduction, what happens that draws the reader in? Introduce the main characters.
Write three paragraphs, this is the filler that builds up to story. Let your characters evolve and introduce the goal and conflict (obstacles). Maybe each paragraph could stand for significant moments.
The last paragraph is all about the climax and how, to get to their goal, they have to do this final thing. Also some hints that might have been dropped earlier need to be tied together. However, some things can be resolved in your sequel and serve as motivation for the readers to read more!
5. Fluff 'em up
The short paragraph you wrote for each character in step 3 will now serve as base. Go ahead and evolve their story. For each point in step three write a paragraph.
6. Plot-tastic
That plot you wrote in step four, go ahead and flesh it out. What happens between those three significant moments we talked about? Any flashbacks? Sub-plots? Themes?
You could also choose to write this per chapter. What happens in each chapter?
7. Breath of life
This is one of my personal favorite parts, breathing life into each character.
1. Age, date of birth.
2. Physical description.
3. Mental description.
4. Likes and dislikes.
5. Special traits or ticks.
6. Occupation and hobbies.
7. Change throughout the story.
8. Relationship with the other characters.
I can't stress enough how important this is! You need to spend a lot of time on this in order to make your character as realistic as possible and not some stereotypical, dull creation.
8. More flesh
You now have your key scenes and the flesh between each scene that holds them together, right? Now you need to write key things for each event and set the scene.
Detailed write about what happens, when it happens, how it happens and where it happens.
If you have shifting points of view, who is thinking / describing what is happening?
You also need to create a tension at the end of each event to drag the reader along. End it with someone being knocked out. Or angrily walking away. Or a tough question.
9. Let the writing begin
Now that you've created characters, a storyline and a flow you can finally start writing. Thanks to your planning you should be able to write without problem because you don't need to think ages about what comes next.
As you all know "The first draft of anything is shit," as Ernest Hemingway put it. Just don't get tempted to edit while you are writing! You are not seeing clearly when you edit while writing.
You can make small notes to yourself in the margins, thoughts on possible changes.
10. A long process
Now comes the long process of editing and re-drafting. Read your story and re-draft, make changes in the plot or character. Make it longer or shorter. Let others read your work and give their opinion and critique. If you are in some creative writing group let them read and assess it.
When editing you might also want to get professional help.
When you are absolutely sure that your story is perfect you can send it off to a agent or publisher!
It's a tough and tiresome process, but don't let it scare you! Get cracking!
Hope you enjoyed this post and learned something! If you have got any questions or advice for other readers just comment on the post.
~ Mathias
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