Planning For a Novel
Research I find easy. I can spend hours and hours reading up on a topic, and I will absorb all of the information like a sponge. I can map a story out in my head, and when I go to write the words flow over the page like a bubbling brook. But the planning…well, that often leaves a lot to be desired. My problem is that, once I start writing, I don’t want to stop. In the short term, planning out each chapter gets in the way of my immediate desire to write. I have tried everything; notebooks, sketch books, Power Points, dot points, flowcharts have all been attempted to no avail. And then, in planning for last year’s NaNoWriMo I unwittingly stumbled across a planning technique that actually seems to work for me. And so I am sharing it with you. It may not be anything new, or anything special, but I would love to share it in case it will help any one person with their planning.
I got together a stack of about 20 pieces of scrap paper. I am a big ole tree hugger, so any printing I do gets cut up until quarters. So these scrap pieces of paper are one quarter of an A4 piece of paper. I folded this pieces of paper in half, and then stapled (sometimes I use sticky tape too) along the fold line. And, ta da! I had myself a miniature scrap book for minimum expense (because, let’s face it, us writers are not generally known to be magnificently wealthy). It can fit in my pocket or handbag, so I always have it with me.
Image: My most recent creation
Each page in my miniature scrap book represents one chapter in my story. This is the genius behind my discovery. Limiting myself in such a way prevents me from rambling on in my planning. It means I only have space to put essential points down. There is no possible way that I can begin writing my novel in this book. Not unless, that is, I discover a machine like the one in ‘Honey I Shrunk The Kids’ and I, along with my pen, get zapped down into miniature size. I have now planned several stories this way, and am very pleased with my invention.
Does anyone else have any planning tips or ideas? I would love to hear them!
I have a big read leather journal which I write notes and scribblings in. When an idea comes to me, I write it down in my journal and I tend to brainstorm the heck out of it. It's probz not the most organized way of doing it but it works for me. It's kind of organic.
ReplyDeleteI think my problem is that I do my brainstorming on whatever scrap piece of paper I can find, OR I plan several stories in the one notebook and I get confused. A big red leather journal sounds awesome - I think I would be more likely to take care of it. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete