Despite attending writing classes, which herald the benefits of properly planning a novel, I still dive straight in, ‘pantsing it,’ with only a broad three act overview and a couple of character portraits. Why? Because I’m enthused. I have the dramatic first few scenes in my head and I want to get them down on paper before they become diluted by doubt or distraction. There’s nothing like a good start – or so I think.
So 15,000 words into my second novel, a middle grade children’s fantasy set in today’s contemporary world with a parallel fantasy world, I get writers block. And not just for a day or a week but many weeks. My word count shrivels to a pathetic few hundred a day. I write, rewrite, rejig, leave it, come back to it and repeat (there are more words on my cuttings page than in the manuscript). I still love my story, I know there’s something charming about the idea, but I’m fed up. I’ve lost my flow and doubt I can write chapters. Perhaps I should stick to picture books and short stories. Maybe novels aren’t for me.
Crit groups are rather good at providing perspective (and a timely kick up the rear). Fellow SCBWI’s pointed out: my action was great, my fantasy world had potential BUT (there’s always a BUT) my world lacked specifics and my heroine didn’t know who she was, both literally and metaphorically, so neither did the reader.
I had to admit what I already knew deep down; I could only ‘pants it’ so far – it was time to write a proper story plan.
The very first question I asked myself was:
1.What kind of story am I writing?
A fantasy adventure, I thought. Hmmm. Turns out there’s more than one kind. I flicked through Ronald Tobias’s, 20 Plots & How To Build Them (Readers Digest), and discovered that my story borrows elements from a Quest, Adventure, Pursuit and Discovery plot. And to make matters even more confusing my story is a potential trilogy, therefore, should there be an overriding plot and different individual book plots? Common sense suggests, yes. The first book, on closer inspection, is an adventure pursuit plot. My heroine is running away at the beginning of each act, headlong into even more trouble, and there is also an overarching goal of personal discovery – she’s trying to find out who she really is. Pursuit plots work best when there are lots of unexpected twists and turns, and the purser, or his/her emissaries, should always feel close behind, which keeps tension tight. This gave me a basic structure and style to work to.
2. Every scene is complex and every paragraph, sentence and word should moves the plot forward.
Spreadsheets aren’t my favourite piece of software due to many years looking at company budgets, but they do force orderliness and empty boxes
scream:
HERE’S A GAP IN YOUR THINKING!
There’s also the dining room wall and lots of sticky notes, but I’m worried about children tampering with it or a puff of wind scattering them, so spreadsheets it is. I am also told Scrivener is very good and this in on my Christmas list.
So how to build your story map:
List chapters/scenes in the vertical cells. Separate them into three acts.
Horizontally, across the top, list all the things a sensible writer needs to consider in every scene. Here are the headings I use for each column. Adapt to suit.
- Chapters/Scene title
- Word Count
- Plot summary (Briefly)
- Editor’s notes (detail changes/things to check in next draft)
- Setting
- Character (list)
- Reveals – signposts/clues/info (pacing exposition is crucial for tension)
- Chapter/scene arc – three acts (cause/action>>> effect/emotional fallout>>>decision)
- Conflict/tension – (should include change of polarity within scene e.g happy opening>>> tense ending.)
- Hero’s character arc (growth/change)
- Secondary character(s) story arc or notes
- Meaning and symbolism
Suffice to say, it’s a lot easier to draft and edit a manuscript if all the important elements are listed and of course the map evolves as you write and rewrite.
3. Do you really know your world?
- What does it look like?
- What are the beliefs/values of your world?
- What’s its history and law?
- Who are its leaders: – religious – political – scientific – economic?
- Does it have a different language or original/quirky phrase
s or sayings?
I cannot recommend storyboards, paper or digital (pinterest), enough. We cannot feasibly visit and know all our locations, especially if they are only loosely based on reality. There is some beautiful photography and fantasy art on the Internet – endless free inspiration! You can also build mood boards for key scenes.
4. Do you really know ALL your characters?
Categorise them into:
- Protagonists/POV characters
- Allies
- Antagonists – primary and secondary
- Mentor
- Ambiguous (good turns bad or vice-versa)
- Subordinate/minor characters (friend or foe) that inhabit the world and make it feel real.
After I finished my story map, I listed all my characters and summarised their plot purpose. I have 21 characters, 14 have more than one scene and are important to the plot. I have two POV characters, therefore, I need to consider their understanding and reaction to all the other characters they come into contact with in the context of each scene, as well as each other. In addition, I need to map secondary characters behaviour with each other. This is why I got stuck. I simply hadn’t appreciated the number and complexity of these relationships.
Start a second excel sheet and name it ‘characters.’ List their relationship and attitude, e.g. Captain of the Guards, subordinate to King, loyal, brave, blinkered, will use blunt force, but not a brute.
Casting and interviewing your characters, finding pictures of them and including clothing and personal props, really helps to bring them alive. And it’s good fun.
Another blog post about interviewing characters will shortly follow this one.
5. Have you considered your sequel, series or prequel?
If we spend a lot of time world and character building, it’s a shame not to put all that research and effort to good use again. Drop in unresolved sub plots, interesting secondary characters or other dimensions that can be later explored. Tolkien and J.K Rowling knew how their series was going to end and the broad theme of each book, before they finished writing the first instalment. Use the different sheets in Excel to build a story arc for each book.
6. Clarity of pitch and positioning
In a covering letter, an editor will want to know what kind of book they are about to read. Clarity of purpose leads to clary of pitch, and a story map will also help you write a tight synopsis.
Best wishes and happy mapping.
Directly ahead of the ship a mountain rose, green-flanked and snow-capped, and a little town and harbour lay below it: wooden houses with steep roofs, an oratory spire, cranes in the harbour, and clouds of gulls wheeling and crying. The smell was of fish, but mixed with it came the land-smell too: pine-resin and earth and something animal and musky, and something else that was cold and blank and wild: it might have been snow. It was the smell of the North.
This short passage is from an early scene when Daisy arrives at her aunt’s farm jetlagged and overwhelmed. It’s appropriately short, as Daisy literally can’t take everything in. Rosoff describes the farm and its inhabitants in one broad sweep to reflect her character’s mood.
s such iconic imagery and fantasy settings are the product of the author’s imagination, so in theory tougher for the writer to convey. What’s particularly interesting about the The Philosopher’s Stone, and typical of J.K Rowling’s style as a whole, are the scattered short descriptive passages. Individually they’re not terribly clever. They don’t have the poetic quality of Philip Pullman or the voice of Meg Rosoff’s, Daisy; but J.K Rowling works another trick here. She weaves her description around the character’s action and dialogue so cleverly, the reader feels as if the story is unfolding in its entirety in front of their eyes. A cinematic quality, which perhaps is the reason the books are so popular with such a wide range of readers.
– 14-year-old Cadence describes how she felt when her father walked out on her and her mother.
