All Things Writing and More!

Writing Tools: How To Plan Your Novel

183:881739096 (Megan Ingram-Jones) — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 20:40:46 GMT

So, you've decided to plan your novel. Where do you start?

Picture this: you've decided to write a novel. You have all these ideas in your head and have made the decision that coming up with a plan before you start is the best way of getting these ideas in order. How do you organise everything? What tools do you use to plan your story?

Before we start, if you're unsure if planning is for you, take a look at my previous blog post and discover the value of planning ahead.

Let's get into it. The top techniques you can use to plan your novel:

Keep It Old School - Sticky Notes

I'm sure we've all seen it or been aware of the way of the sticky note. Just jot down your idea and stick it somewhere - on the wall, on a whiteboard, in a book. Sticky notes are amazing for organising your ideas and planning your story.

They offer the ability to jot down ideas but also easily arrange and rearrange scenes/plot points as needed. Fill a wall full of sticky notes and discover how easy it is to organise. If one scene is better later in the story, just move it to that point. Alternatively, you can use different colours to represent different scenarios - for example: pink for specific scenes, yellow for important plot-driving moments and green for when your protagonist meets specific characters.

Sticky notes are small and easy to use, making for the perfect tool for marking out a plot line.

Modern is Best - Online Templates

Online templates not only offer a modern twist, but they are more environmentally friendly than stacks of sticky notes and offer a more in-depth look into your story, world or characters.

A quick Google search will reveal a plethora of different templates you can download, copy or simply upload to Word for you to use. From world-building templates to character profiles and templates for marking plot points. Useful for those who work better on a computer or prefers the ease of simply backspacing and copy/pasting whenever changes need to be made.

Go Back to School - White Board

Whiteboards may not seem like an obvious option, but they do offer ease of use and a great way of tracking ideas.

Whether you're creating a timeline, describing characters or drawing the map of your world, they can be utilised for a variety of reasons when it comes to planning a story. The ability to quickly erase ink also makes it an desired option for those who are prone to mind-changing and indecisiveness.

A Book for a Book - Journals!

Admittedly, my favourite of the tools. Journals can be used not only to jot down ideas, create character profiles or world-build, but you can carry it with you to work on on the go. Sure, online templates can also offer portability, but you may come across some hiccups or accessibility issues if you don't have an internet connection. Not to mention, it can save time just pulling out a journal and writing something down than having to load up your document and make sure it saves. Journals also offer the chance of creating your own look, without relying on templates or set designs/design elements.

They don't offer as much of an environmentally-friendly alternative, but they are a traditional tool which is still love today. You can even buy journals made to save you the time of creating one by hand and researching all the information you'll need to include.

Whatever technique you think is best, they all have their own unique benefits. You can even mix and match! Who says you can only use one technique to plan your novel? Use them all if that's what helps you make better sense of your ideas. Just remember, planning your novel is for you and no one else.

Should You Plan Your Novel?

183:881739096 (Megan Ingram-Jones) — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 16:38:27 GMT

We all know writing a novel takes time, but should you invest in planning ahead?

I've written one full-sized novel to date. Not very impressive, I'll admit, but it is still a source of pride for me. Sure, I took it off sale once I realised it was far from ready, but I believe our biggest lessons come from the mistakes we make.

Still, I didn't want to give up on the story, so I decided to rewrite it. And in the rewrite, I realised I needed a new foundation, a new story altogether. I just didn't know where to start. I had all these ideas in my head and nowhere to put them. This is where I discovered my new favourite part of writing - the planning stage.

Not entirely sure whether you should plan ahead? Let's take a look at the benefits:

Time to think it over

Perhaps my favourite part of planning is the extra time I get to think ideas over. Am I doing too much? Does this fit with the overall theme? What else do I need?

Asking myself these questions ahead of time helps me realise if my story is going in the direction I want it to, if things will work before I spend a lot of time writing something only to scrap it. With my first attempt at writing my novel, I made it to 10 chapters (around 40,000 words) only to scrap it and start again. Restarting isn't always a bad thing, but if you want to save time, it makes planning ahead your best option.

A clearer idea of what I want

One of my biggest issues with writing is being able to make sense of everything. I might know what story I want to write, but the ideas end up jumbled in my head. I can write notes down as I go to make sure I don't forget anything, but then there's no order. It's a sort of mess that simply overwhelms me.

Writing it down and being able to put it in order, whatever that order may be, helps me to visualise the story in a way that makes sense and allows me extra creativity going forward.

A Better understanding of the 'world'

World-building is not reserved for high-fantasy or D&D. You can invest in world-building for whatever story you're writing. This could be focused just on your characters' worlds, or look at the world as a whole.

Of course, when writing in the 'real' world, you already have a basis to go from. But each individual's experience in this world is different, and you can relate to that through planning what type of world it is for them. This also gives you a clearer idea of the atmosphere, of the type of existence, your characters are surviving in.

A Better understanding of the characters

Just like world-building, planning your characters also allows you a better understanding of them.

Who are they? What do they like? What's their favourite place? Their favourite movie? Their favourite hobby? What about their phrase to live by? Life's purpose?

When you get to the nitty-gritty of what makes a person who they are, you can write more in-depth characters. You'll not only know exactly how they'll react to a certain situation but also the why. And knowing the 'why' of anything is what makes a person truly multi-layered and complicated.

Editing without the words

This might seem like a silly concept but bear with me. When you know what happens ahead of time, at least the main plot points and important scenes, you can write them with a clearer understanding of the details. That said, sometimes, the order may not work as we hoped or the situation itself falls short.

This is something you might figure out as you plan your novel. With each sticky note containing a scene or specific moment, you have the ability to rearrange the story before you put words on paper. Hell, you can continue to do this as you write your novel. If you get to a scene and realise it isn't working, you can throw the note away or move it to a later point in your novel.

Editing is a huge part of writing, so having the entire plan in front of you ready can save you time in rejigging moments, rewriting entire scenes or even the plot itself.

Not everyone is a planner and that's okay! Some work best just writing as they go. It's the same dilemma of asking whether to edit as you go or wait until you've written the whole thing. What works best for you is the option you should take.

But if you do think planning ahead is what works for you, or is something you're looking to try, there are a range of different techniques you could use.