Preparation Prevents Paralysis
Preparation Prevents Paralysis
Nip writer’s block in the bud by tracking your story
Nip writer’s block in the bud by tracking your story
The title of this post came out of a writer’s retreat/workshop I co-hosted yesterday. Seven writers and two instructors came together for a day of writing interspersed with blasts of instruction and discussion about the work. We do this once a month and it’s a great way to get a chunk of writing done, especially for people who have a hard time making it to the page.
During a group discussion, one of my wonderful clients, also a good friend, talked about how she gets blocked when she doesn’t know where she is going in the book. She’s writing a mystery and she was talking specifically about plotting. If she has scenes figured out ahead of time she is free to write and make good progress on her book. If not, she flails about.
And gets blocked for months.
Know Where Your Writing is Going
Creating a Container for Your Creative Work Helps Solve Procrastinationmedium.com
No fun. There’s nothing more frustrating for a writer than being blocked.
I’ve seen this happen with other writers, too. And, ahem, even myself. So I am of the opinion that a little preparation can go a long way — even if you are a pantser.*
I wrote a long piece on prep work that you can find below. It covers all the bases — character, plot, setting, etc., but I wanted to revisit the subject from a slightly different angle after hearing so many writers talk about it yesterday. Over and over I heard that people get lost when they’ve not thought things out ahead of time, particularly when it comes to story. So that’s what I’m going to talk about.
I’m Sorry To Tell You, But There’s No Magic Process to Write a Novel
But a Bit of Preparation Will Help A Lotmedium.com
Methods of Outlining
But if you are a dedicated pantser, the thought of doing prep work may be anathema to you. Or maybe you’d like to do something, but aren’t quite sure what. I list some simple ideas to track your story or plot below.
A list outline
I know the word outline strikes fear into the heart of many a pantser. But an outline doesn’t have to be as formal as the kind you learned in school, with roman numerals and the exact same number of sub-categories. I never could figure those out.
I create what I call a loose outline, which is a list. Literally, a list, sometimes scrawled on a page of my journal, more often written in a Word document that I print out and mark up as the story progresses and things change. And no, I’m not even sophisticated enough to use Scrivener or a writing program other than plain old Word.
My list reminds me of where I’m going, and I constantly refer to it as I write to keep me on track. If I’ve, horrors, taken a break from writing, I can refer to my list to help me remember what I had in mind. My list guides me without overwhelming me.
A synopsis
Arrgh! That’s the sound most writers make when told they have to write a synopsis. And with good reason, because writing a synopsis is hard. I’ve never yet met a writer who enjoys writing them. (If you are one, please raise your hand.)
A synopsis is often asked for when you are submitting to agents or editors and is most often used as a selling tool. This kind of synopsis needs to work hard. It has to tell what happens in the story, while introducing characters and listing their emotional high points. All in a page or two. Synopses are written in narrative summary, and oh yeah, should also try to echo the voice of the book.
I have known the occasional writer who writes a synopsis before beginning a book. My friend J.D. Frost writes a lengthy version — say, 50 pages long — of a synopsis as his first draft. Obviously, this type of synopsis is done in more than narrative summary and will include scenes, however brief.
A mind map
This is a different type of outlining that might appeal to the right-brained types among us. (I’m raising my hand here.) It offers a more holistic approach to outlining, and is one that enjoys rabid fans because it is so much less restrictive than a traditional approach.
To do a mind map (which is also sometimes called clustering or spidering for the way the outline ends up looking on the page) write your topic in the middle of a piece of paper (big sheets work well) and start thinking sub-topics. In the case of your story, this will be events that are going to happen. Each sub-topic gets a line of its own drawn on the page. Keep going until you’ve gotten all your ideas done. When you’re finished, you have a map of the story covering the page.
A chart
Nothing wrong with corralling your ideas in chart form, if you like this kind of thing. I leave it to you to devise how you’ll do it. I’ve seen writers use a chart form to track timelines or scenes. In the latter case, the chart can note things like setting, characters in the scene, what happens, the emotional impact, etc.
You can see a hand-drawn chart used by J.K. Rowling here.
A spreadsheet
If you love working with Excel, you’ll love tracking your story through spreadsheets. I will confess here that all I can do on Excel is open a file so I can’t speak to how this is done. But I know writers who enter their information on spreadsheets religiously. And this article might help you, as might this one.
Index cards or post-its
Another good old fashioned analog method is the use of index cards, or their slightly more modern cousin, the post-it. Note one scene per card or post-it note and affix them to a bulletin board or a large piece of paper, even a white board.
The beauty of this strategy is its flexibility. You can rearrange at will, and easily see how different orders work. You can also use the scenes to note character traits, settings, etc. You can undo the cards from where they are pinned to take the with you, or affix your post-its to paper to cart them around.
I hope one of these methods of tracking your story before you begin writing is helpful to you.
*A pantser is a writer who likes to fly by the seat of her pants. In other words, no planning for her! No outlining. She just jumps right in. The opposite of a pantser is a plotter, FYI.
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