Novel Plotting Worksheet | The Organized Writer | Annie Neugebauer Want to help support the author? There are hundreds, possibly thousands of articles on novel plotting on the web. There are a few plotting worksheets, with spaces and questions for you to fill in your own work – some of them are good. But I couldn’t find what I wanted, so I decided to make it and share it with you all. The “Plotting Worksheet” is for writers who have scattered ideas (maybe a conflict + its resolution) that need to be worked into a basic plot structure. The “Plotting Worksheet with Prompts” is the same thing with questions to prompt your answers, in case some of the steps confuse you or you are familiar with different terminology, etc. Note: if you are in the early stages, it might be easiest to fill in this worksheet out of order. I hope this helps. Happy plotting! View the full list of available organizational documents. All documents are © Annie Neugebauer. Share this:
How I Plot A Novel in 5 Steps By popular request (ok, 1 person, but they're populace, so that makes it popular, right?) I've put together a step by step process for how I go from "Hey I should write a novel" to "Ok, let's get writing!" Though I managed to get things grouped into steps, what I've really done is labeled and applied order to the phases I go through as I work toward the point where I feel I know enough about a book to start writing. Some parts of my process may seem a bit obsessive, but the most important part of writing fast is knowing as much as you can about what you're writing before you write it, and that means lots and lots of planning. Planning a novel takes me anywhere from a few days to weeks. Usually I plan while I'm working on other things, like editing, but I've also had whole weeks where I did nothing but put a story together. Well, enough of that. Disclaimer: Unlike my other posts, which I think will work for anyone, parts of this method are personal and might not be right for your books.
How To Plot A Novel Plotting a novel is no small task. Not only do you have a lot of events to dream up, you also have to make the readers keep turning the pages. And that is what plot is all about at the end of the day - entertainment. There are probably countless reasons why you decided to write a novel in the first place. Plot is the thing that allows you to pour your soul out on paper without sending the rest of the world to sleep. Plot will play a big part in your novel, then, which is why it's kind of on the complicated side. So long as you go about it logically and build the plot one small piece at a time, you'll be fine. Let's start with the most basic of questions... What Is a Plot? Yes, I know that sounds like a stupid question, but I've always been a great believer in beginning right at the grassroots. A plot is a series of linked events. If all of that is clear – great! Three Act Structure Three is the magic number of plot - not just novel plots, but short story, movie and stage play plots. Result?
Create A Plot Outline In 8 Easy Steps By Glen C. Strathy How would you like to create a plot outline for your novel in less than an hour that is emotionally compelling and dramatically sound? The secret is to incorporate the 8 Basic Plot Elements. Sound intriguing? I'll describe each of the eight elements in turn. On the other hand, if you already have a draft for a novel, that you're looking to revise, then ask yourself, as we go through these elements, whether you have included them in your story. 1. 15K+Save The first element to include in your plot outline is the Story Goal, which we covered in detail in the previous article, The Key to a Solid Plot: Choosing a Story Goal. For instance, let's say we want to write a story about a 38-year-old female executive who has always put off having a family for the sake of her career and now finds herself lonely and regretting her choices. There are many ways we could involve other characters in this goal. ... a mother who wants her to be happier. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8.
Plot We’re doing something new, and Howard gets to go first. The plan is to take something one of us has completed, and which you’ve had ample time to read, and grill the creator about the project. Obviously there will be spoilers. Also, we’re going to run a bit long on these. First up in our “Project In Depth” series: Howard’s most recent online volume of Schlock Mercenary, Force Multiplication. The biggest issue discussed is the female perspective. He also talks about the setting — Haven Hive — and how he needed the setting to functionally isolate a small ensemble cast. Next up on our Project In Depth series: The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson. Thing That Would Make Howard Sound Smarter: Remove every last “you know” from his dialog. Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Stephen Briggs Writing Prompt: Do this with your own work—have your friends interview you in depth about something you've finished, or something you're currently working on.
Show, Don’t Tell by Erin Anyone who’s ever written a short story or taken a freshman composition course has heard the words “show, don’t tell.” I know those words can be frustrating. You might not know exactly what “show, don’t tell” means. While “telling” can be useful, even necessary, most people don’t realize how vital “showing” is to an effective story, essay, or even a blog post. “Okay, I get it,” you’re thinking. I’m glad you asked. 1. This is probably one of the first things I talk to my students about when I have them write personal essays. “Justin Michael,” mom bellowed, “Get in here this instant!” Dialogue can give your reader a great deal about character, emotion and mood. 2. In order for readers to fully experience what you’re writing about, they need to be able to see, hear, taste, smell and touch the world around them. 3. I’m sure everyone remembers learning to use adjectives and adverbs in elementary school. The following example is from a short story I wrote. 4.
Showing vs. Telling Not sure if you saw my Tweet from Saturday, but FYI, rice harvest is going well. Just thought you should know. Now then. It's one of the oldest writing "rules" in the book, and probably dates back to the time they were carving stories on stone tablets: Show don't tell. Show don't tell. But what in the heck does that actually mean? My interpretation is this. I'm of the opinion that we read books in order to get to know our fellow humans better. Being told that a character is "angry" is not very interesting - we're reading the book, we know his dog just got kicked, of course he's angry! More interesting is how the character reacts to seeing his dog kicked. Even if it's a first person narrative and the character knows he's "angry," it's more interesting for the character to describe how he's feeling or what he's thinking rather than saying, "I was so angry!" This also applies to: Basically, whenever describing something, especially something universal: specificity wins.
The Secret to Show, Don’t Tell Gone are the days of the long narrative passages we used to see in novels written by greats like Dickens and Steinbeck. Even though literary prose is still highly praised and found in many bestselling commercial novels, the trend over the last few decades has been to “show, not tell.” Meaning, readers prefer scenes in which they are watching the action unfold in real time—instead of being told what is happening by the author or even by one of the characters. Sol Stein, in his book Stein on Writing, says, Twentieth-century readers, transformed by film and TV, are used to seeing stories. The reading experience for a twentieth-century reader is increasingly visual. This is even more true in the twenty-first century. Just How Do You Show? As much as we writers hear the phrase “show, don’t tell,” we never hear anyone explain just how to do that. Is there only one way to “show” a scene? I believe the key is in what Stein spoke of—how the reading experience has been affected by film.
Tips For Writers: On the Importance of Persistence If you shop in the Amazon bestseller list for Thriller and Mystery (like I do), you’ll see a number of Michael Wallace books there. Michael has several great books with the Amazon thriller imprint, Thomas & Mercer, but it hasn’t always been this way. Today he shares some of his journey with us. The importance of persistence I could wallpaper a room with rejection letters. If I printed electronic rejections I could wallpaper two more rooms. My ego would love to say that the publishing industry is infested with idiots, but the truth is that many (probably most) of these rejections were justified. It’s hard to say why I kept at it, even though my work faced indifference from the publishing industry. Writing is not performance art; until you have success, nobody much cares. It’s a hard business, and I’d never suggest that anyone voluntarily choose this path, but if you’re a writer like I am, you know one does not simply give it up. Here is my advice. (1) Produce (2) Study (3) Keep perspective