Preamble
I sometimes like to say that I've written "a couple of novels". More accurate would be to say that I've written three and a half unconnected, very rough first drafts, and that I'm stuck on all of them. Every single one of them needs at least one major rewrite before I'm willing to let it see the light of day, and until recently, I have had next to no idea of how to do that.
I've identified two problems with my process that are repeatedly causing me to get stuck after writing the hacked-together first draft:
First, I don't know how to edit. I know how to copy-edit--fix grammar and wording; maybe rewrite a scene or chapter here and there--but I do not know how to step back, look at the project as a whole, and fix the pervasive problems.
Second, my first drafts are much rougher than I'd like them to be, and often fail to capture some of the ideas, feelings, and themes that I was most excited about in early planning.
I think these problems share a solution: Learn how to plan. So that's what I'm doing.
I'm about to start the rewrite for The Roots We Grew and Severed, and since I am also going to be introducing the third POV in this run through, the rewrite should be a fairly even mix of editing, and adding brand new material.
I'm in the last stages of planning for this next iteration, and I think I've finally got a system that's going to work for me.
Let me show you what I'm doing.
Who is this guide for?
This guide might help you if you'd like to write from a more detailed plan, and ...
- You're hoping to reduce the editing/rewriting burden for a novel you're currently writing
- You have a rough plot summary or general idea that you want to turn into a novel plan
- You need to do a major rewrite and you don't know where to start
A note to keep in mind here is that this kind of planning is likely to lead to a long draft, which may need to be cut down later. If you're someone like me, who tends to rush through first drafts and end up with break-neck pacing and much room for expansion, this might be great for you. If, on the other hand, you're the type to churn out more prose than you know what to do with on a first run through, then you may not need this method.
How to make a plan
Step 1: Get a ring binder
Supplies:
- ring binder (thicker is better)
- 3 hole paper or loose leaf (these likely to tear out - you may want to use either reinforced paper, or hole protectors)
- sticky page markers, binder tabs, or another way to mark chapters
- pencils, pens, high-lighters
I like pen and paper for planning. I have tried a wide variety of tools and systems for writing up digital plans, but for me, nothing has ever beat the simplicity and ease of use of having a physical document in a physical binding.
I'm a software developer by trade, and I have seen a lot of cool digital systems for organizing information. You can absolutely use a digital organization system for this tutorial, however, I would highly recommend that you give the physical ring binder a try, if you are able. Why? Because the ring binder is simultaneously one of the simplest systems of organization you can get, and one of the least restrictive.
It is simple because it's just a list of documents, in a linear, easily modifiable order.
It is non-restrictive because anything you can figure out how to mount on a page can go in a binder. Think, a scene you printed off from your first draft; a notebook page you scribbled on on the train; a doodle; a floor plan; a cool leaf in a page protector--and all this without ever having to worry about wrangling file-formats.
Regardless of what organization system you choose for your planning process, you want to have one central place for all of your planning documents and notes, and it needs to be structured in such a way that you can quickly find whatever piece of information you need. In the end, that's what's important.
Step 2: Gather all the information and ideas you already have
Put all of your notes into your binder.
I like to organize these by giving a section to the setting, one to each of the characters, and then by putting any plot information into roughly chronological (or reading) order.
As I go through this process, I make a note any time my mind crosses over an idea that I haven't written down yet--be this a character detail, or a plot event, or a theme, or any little thing that I just don't want to get lost.
Your most important job at this stage, is to gather every single piece of your idea, and file it away for later use.
If you are planning for a rewrite, take particular care to note down any key ideas that didn't make their way into your first draft, or that weren't expressed the way you would have liked. Mark these so that you can find them later. They will come in handy a couple steps down the line.
Step 3: Make a plot summary
Write out a summary of your plot from beginning to end, reflecting on the ideas that you have just collected.
If you already have a plot summary, revisit it. Is the story you've outlined really the story you wanted to tell? It might be, but perhaps it needs a little tweaking here and there.
If you have a first draft, now might be a good time to reconsider your plot summary from scratch. It might help to summarize the story you actually wrote, and compare it with any plans you had from before the writing, and with any ideas you noted in the previous step. Are the correct points hit? Are the right points emphasized? How does your emphasis match or conflict with your intended themes? With your desired characterization of your characters and setting?
Step 4: Divide your plot into chapters
I'm not going to go into how to size your chapters in depth here. If you have a first draft, or if you've written novels before, you probably have a sense of how big your chapters are, and how much plot should fit into each. If not, a rule of thumb I personally use is that a novel chapter should have a structure a bit like a short story--that is to say, a chapter is structured primarily around one point of highest tension (excitement, suspense, stress, risk, etc.) There are times when a chapter can accommodate two big events, but for the most part you should aim for one.
Starting at the beginning of the story, I read through, and break the story up into chapters. I like to use index cards for this, for ease of reshuffling, addition, and removal. I write a one sentence summary of the chapter at the top of each index card. (If you can't easily summarise a chapter in one brief sentence, take the chapter back to the drawing board. Either you're trying to fit too much in, or you don't have a central, unifying idea of what the chapter is about).
I may make notes of key secondary events on the index cards as I work through them, rearranging until it starts to feel right.
When it does start to feel right, I make my chapter sections in the ring binder. I usually put these in after my more general notes.
A starting place for chapter notes is to glue your index card down onto a piece of three hole paper, and put it in the binder. I like to add a sticky-note tab with the chapter number to this page, for ease of reference. I rearrange and renumber chapters as I go. When I add a chapter between, I stick on a ".5" tab, so between chapters 22 and 23 is chapter 23.5. These numbers will be a mess by the end, but don't worry about it. You can straighten out the numbers when you're finished your draft, and in the mean time, you will have a system for quickly looking your chapters up and referencing them in your notes.
Once you have a page or section for each chapter in your binder, look back on your general notes. Sift through them carefully, and move or copy any information relevant to a specific chapter into that chapter's section.
Take some time here to go through each chapter, and rough in the events, making note of any new ideas you have pertaining to each.
Congratulations! You've got the start of a chapter by chapter plan.
Step 5: Collect and place key points
Now that you have an outline of your book, it's time to take a step back and think about what you are trying to say.
Some broad categories to think about for this are,
- Characters. Who are each of my characters? What do I want my audience to understand about them?
- Themes. What am I trying to say? How will I communicate that?
- Setting. What do I want my audience to understand about the world my characters exist in?
- Motifs & symbols. Are there any motifs or symbols I want to use in this story? What does each one mean, and when should it be used?
For each category, create a point form list of ideas to communicate.
For instance, for my character Petra, some of my points were:
( ) she plays social chess all the time
( ) she never knew her oldest brother until she reconnected with him as a teenager
( ) she values mentorship, both as a mentee, and a mentor
You can add to and remove from this list as you plan and write. The goal here is simply to get down all the little idea fragments that you want to make sure to get across.
If you have a first draft, these lists are a great place to note down any ideas you had that you didn't manage to communicate the way you wanted (we highlighted these in step 3).
When you have started to slow down on making these lists, you can start roughing in how you'd like to develop the items.
Pick a list, and start at the top. Look at each item, and think of how you would like to communicate it, given the plot structure you have to work with. When you notice a place in your plot where you have a chance to develop your idea, go in, and mark it down.
If you can't see how an idea is going to fit, leave it for now.
When you've given each list a once through, you will hopefully be ready to start on granular planning.
Step 6: Granular planning
Now comes the slow part of the work.
Start at your first chapter. Add a new page behind any that already exist. Take your concept for what happens in the chapter, and divide it into scenes. Briefly summarise each.
I didn't think this was going to be much work when I first tried it, but it was. It took me, on average, a little under an hour to write the scene plan for each chapter.
The reason it takes a while is because the transition from rough outline to scene plan is where a lot of the logistical problem solving for the story events has to happen.
"I roughed in that character G gets from point A to point B, but now I have to figure out how he actually did it. How does he get around the whatever-it-is? What's the sequence of events?"
I found the key here, for myself, was to be patient. I couldn't plan more than three chapters in a sitting before I was burnt out, most days. I could tell I was fading when I started to rush, or to gloss over problems rather than addressing them. Whenever that happened, I stood up and walked away. No one is served by me torturing myself to make a plan that's full of holes.
But eventually I got through it.
As I did, I found lots of opportunities to develop more of the ideas from my key points. Sometimes, they will just jump out at you if you keep a lookout for them.
Step 7: Editing the plan
It might be a good idea to take a short break before you jump into this. Clear your mind. See a friend. Do a hobby. Give it a week.
When you feel up to it, go back to your general notes. Review your summary. Do your chapters match the plan? Do your chapters emphasize the right things? What does your emphasis say about your themes?
Now is also the time to revisit your key points lists. Now that you have your scenes, did you accomplish any of these without knowing? Are there scenes that could be improved by the addition of one of your key ideas?
Do any of your chapters have way more scenes than the rest? Or way more notes? Might any of these chapters benefit from being split in two?
Are there any chapters that start more abruptly than you wish? Are there any chapters that feel particularly rushed toward the start or end? Are there sections of antecedent action that might benefit from being rewritten as actual scenes? Might some of these places benefit from having chapters inserted between?
Do you have any chapters where nothing happens? Are there chapters with abnormally few scenes, or few notes? Could these chapters be cut?
Deciding how long to stay here and how much work to put into it can be difficult. All I can say is that I stayed here until it felt right--until I was confident that if I followed the plan I'd made, I would end up with the novel I'd dreamed of making.
Parting words
I am about to start rewriting The Roots We Grew and Severed based on the plan I made. I will let you know how it goes, and in time, I'm sure I'll have revisions to make to this process. As always, I'll do my best to share my learnings.
Thank you for reading!
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