Young Writers Society

Hey everyone

I think I may just be recovering from writer's block (finally!). I have been jotting down simple ideas for my story. But I was wondering, how do you guys go about actually planning a novel ?

Do you just start with an idea and let it take you where it wants to go, or do you sit down and plan it chapter by chapter ?

Can't wait to find out what everyone else does !

Start with a vague idea, think of some cool scenes you could put in, some interesting characters. You know, just mull it over for a while.

Then start with your characters. Write about their childhood and life up until the events of the book so you can get an idea of their personalities. If it's a fantasy, draw a map and write a few things about the geography, the cultures, the people etc.

Then think of a first scene, and think of as many possible ways that scene could unfold (without anyone going out of character or any major deus ex machina of course). Pick the one that you find the most interesting (or join bits of several, whatever). You'll probably have an idea of what parts of the book should be emotional, action packed, tense, funny etc. so consider that when choosing a way for the scene to unfold.

So that you don't go off on tangents, it might help to first plan a few major events, so that you know where to steer the story.

This method can produce a really interesting story because you're not just writing the first thing that comes to mind, but writing several alternatives and then picking the best. Often the obvious, cliche, predictable things come to mind first, so this method goes beyond those and brings up unique, fresh ideas.

You may like to decide on one scene and write that, then brainstorm the next, then write, or like me you might prefer to brainstorm, choose, brainstorm, choose etc. until you have the whole thing planned out.

You might think of something cool to happen in say, scene 20, which requires some set-up back in scene 10. That's why it's good to plan the whole thing out before writing, because you can just go back and make a note on your scene 10 brainstorm to include that, rather than having to rewrite the scene.

Once you're happy with it, write.

That's my preffered method. This one's also worth a mention: http://advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

Then again, some people prefer to make it up as they go. Personally I think that's good if you're very experienced because you know the structure of a novel inside and out. Using this method without being experienced can lead to a novel where one thing happens, then another, then another, with plenty of tangents and no real overarching structure. Planning is painful (almost as much as revising), but any pain that makes your writing better is worthwhile, and if you dissagree, then get out while you can.

I write novels and novellas in the following manner:
1) day one - thinking up the story arc and the characters
2) day two - breaking it up into chapters. Writing a small blurb of each chapter.
3) day three - writing quick sketchy chapters
4) day four - adding some meat to these chapters.
...And so layer by layer, day by day, the books progresses from 'idea' to 'draft', from 'draft' to 'done', and from 'done', to 'edited'.
The major plot and character characteristics are known in advance, but as I write and the book comes alive, unpredictable stuff keeps happening, various elements suddenly clicking together, characters slowly changing from what I thought they would be to what they really are. The style too, each time is subtly different, but one only realizes it around the end.

So that, in essense, is how I go about planning a novel. I take a day /or a week/ to plan the major points and characters, and then as I write it layer by layer, stuff slowly builds up and begins having a chemistry of its own. This is why the ending is never quite the one which I vaguely planned at first.

Thanks to both of you for your answers . I haven't written something this big for a long time and I think I'm definitely going to plan it all first !

Your welcome. Another good thing to do before you start writing is to imagine yourself becoming your character at various points in the story, and writing a stream-of-consciousness from their point of view. Pick moments just after pivotal points in the story so they can reflect on these and how they effect them. Also go into what they think of the other characters at that particular time. Do this for all your main characters, obviously writing more for the major ones and less for the supporting ones. You should be able to see the differences in the ways characters see things, and it will help you find thier personal voice.

Actually, I don't plan any part of my story - I just start writing!

Let's say one day I get an idea for a story. I think up a general plotline, characters that I like, and just sit down and write whatever I'm thinking. Two problems with this:

1: Often, your ideas aren't completely thought out. A good sub-plot goes astray, or is ignored entirely.

2: Having to go back and add in foreshadowing and hints. However, this can also be fun - going back and reading what you've written, plus the challenge of how to fit the idea into that part of the story!

It's been working for 7 chapters so far...

I'm a ditto with Grant. But it may not work for me. I sometimes use StorYbook, the application to help you. I can't actually plan a novel, it's really horrible for me, I'm not an organized person. Just thought you might want to know there are some softwares out there to help you organize your planning.

Planning? Who needs planning?
Seriously, though, I don't actually plan-- that makes the story boring to me, since I like to discover what happens along the way.
I've learned, though, that this can make editing a pain...

TheWordsmith wrote:Planning? Who needs planning?
Seriously, though, I don't actually plan-- that makes the story boring to me, since I like to discover what happens along the way.
I've learned, though, that this can make editing a pain...

Yeah, planning does make the story more boring to write. But chances are it makes it better to read, and that's what sells a book. Some geniuses like Steven King don't plan and get away with it, but most other authors do at least som planning. And editing is always a pain, but much more so in an unstructured novel than a well planned one. I suppose the choice is whether to add extra pain at the end or get it out of the way beforehand by planning.

By the way, if anyone's planning a fantasy and wants some "worksheets" which are basically tables to fill in for easy worldbuilding, PM me. I've got ones for characters, cities and their surrounding regions, religions & cultures, and Plants and animals.

First an idea comes to me. Then I pick my cast of characters. Then I spend several laborious years beating out a plot.

I don't really 'plan' so to speak, but I always have some sort of starting point, either a character, or a scene. Then I have a basic mental map of how things are going to go. My metaphor for it is a road trip: I've got a place I'm starting from, a place I'm going to, and points along the way, but how I get there isn't set.

I don't plan. Well, at least I don't plan on pen and paper. I spend a lot of my daily life daydreaming about my novel. Scenes come up and I'm like "I have to use that!" so I keep it stored away in my head until I get to where that can go in the story.

I've discovered that, for me at least, plans can change. Drastically. I've reworked major sections of my novel three or four times now which have all required me to go back to the beginning and start writing all over again. I don't like writing down a plan and then having something change it and then have to write a new plan and so on and so forth.

But it's really a personal preferance I think.

Wow. So this is one of those things you don't really ever think about HOW you do it, lol!
But let's see...
Well, I guess I often draw first inspirations for a novel from things around me--people, books, video games, but mainly people. I get some ideas and concepts, maybe a pivotal scene or two pops in my head...then I sort of go from there.
Actually, a lot of my longer novels didn't start out that way. Take my "Gailean Quartet" series, for example. A lot of those books started out as shorter stories and novellas that weren't long enough to be books by themselves. But I love weaving things together, making them intricate, finding ways to make things connect that before had nothing to do with each other. so a lot of times I will do this, combining short stories until--poof! I have something long enough to be called a novel.
Well, there's a glimpse into my quirky writer's mind. Hope it provides some insight!

or the longest time, I just sat down with a pen and paper, and started writing, and let it go where it wanted to, but as of yet, I've never gotten more then a few scenes done in any one project.

the other day, for my novella 'In Defense of Our Nation', I decided to go on a different track, and planned everything thing, scene by scene, before I started writing. It seems to be helping quite a bit, and I'm farther on this story then on any other that I've written.

I found the attached worksheets online, and they're awesome. I'm using them for everything story-wise. Thought I'd share the wealth.

I will usually plan out an overview of every major scene/event in the story, with a general (not exact) idea of what takes place there-in. This way I always know where I'm going and I can be sure that every single scene is integral to the story, but at the same time there's enough breathing room for me let my creativity flow and not be bogged down by preconceived ideas. So far this has worked-out perfectly for me. I don't think I could start a true novel without a good overview/outline before hand.

In addition to that I will have usually taken several pages of randomized notes, along with a list of characters that may or may not include semi-detailed profiles on them. Most of the time, I'd say less than half of all this information ever even makes it into my story. Nonetheless, I find that the simple fact that the info EXISTS actually gives the story a greater sense of scope, simply because I know about it while I'm writing, even if I don't get to mention it all. It lends a feeling of the world being fully developed and sort of existing outside of what you get directly from the novel.