Different methods of planning your book
Sometimes I think it’s a good idea to go back to basics and look at things that, on the outside, seem relatively simple and straightforward. It can easy for us, as writers, to get used to a particular way of doing things, with the result that we rarely try new options or methods of writing, getting stuck in a bit of a rut.
With this in mind, over the next few days, I’ll be looking at some of the most popular ways of going about different aspects of writing: planning, feedback, editing and proofreading. Today – planning.
No plan
Naturally, there is always the option of not having a plan at all. This works very well for some people, and not at all well for others. Just jumping in and having a bash at writing your book can be a fun way to do things, but it also means weighing up the risks of the potential to hit a wall somewhere in the middle – and ending up in a bit of a plot-based mess.
Spider diagrams/mind maps
Creating mind maps or spider diagrams is a useful planning method, particularly if you’re just looking to get down some key ideas and thoughts. It doesn’t really lend itself that well to detail (unless, of course, you make lots of diagrams – or a really giant, confusing one), but as a method of exploring key points, it can work well.
The start and end approach
Alternatively you could go for the interesting ‘start and end approach’. This is where you decide how your book is going to start and how it is going to end, but don’t come up with a plan for the middle. That comes as you go along, the idea being that knowing how you’re going to bookend your story will help you fill in the gaps as you write. It’s also quite useful if you like the idea of a bit of structure but not too much detail in your planning.
Lists of key scenes
Ah, lists, the writer’s best friend. In the same way a to do list is hugely satisfying when you get to tick things off, so it is with a list of the key scenes you need to include in your book. The good thing about this option is that it can be as detailed or basic as you like – you could have 3 scenes on your list or 300. Either way, the ability to see where you are and to tick things off as you go can help you feel like you’re on track and offer a decent structure when writing your book.
Notecards of varying detail
I’m a big fan of notecards with varying levels of detail on them. Some cards might contain big, general ideas about the novel, while others might be much more detailed – including chapter summaries and scene lists, for instance. Of course, it doesn’t have to be notecards, but there is something about the size of them that forces you to focus your thoughts so you can get everything you want to onto a single card, and that clarity of thought early on in the planning process can be immensely useful in the later stages of writing your novel.
Skeleton story
If you’re someone who likes to have every last little detail planned out before you begin properly writing your book, you might like the skeleton story planning approach. This might mean, for instance, having a computer file that contains not just a plot summary and scene list, but also the bare bones of your story already written – key scenes sketched out and extensive bullet points ready for you to expand on them and fill in the gaps when you come to flesh out your book.
What’s your favourite planning method?
