Just random things that come to mind... Pretty much my brain exploded on a computer screen XD
Idk what all is going to be in here. Might add art or little relatable quotes, songs, etc..... We'll see :))))
So it's been a bit since I posted the first part of my author's journal tour but I've been pretty busy so I haven't gotten the chance to post the next part. But I'm free today so here it is!!
(If you haven't seen the first part of my author's journal, I would highly recommend going and reading that part first so you know the background of this :) )
SO HERE GOES PART 2!!
Okay so I realized that I didn't include something for the character development section that was actually really fun for me and I highly recommend doing so I'm going to add it in here.
So most writers hear about character arcs and types of character arcs and I really wanted to make one for my characters to show how they change from start to end to help me understand the direction I am going a little better. So I did a little research and found a chart to base my character arcs off of.
(Ik its actually called a story arc but I used it for my characters in the same way)
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Here is a character arc for another character in Reign of Frost (Vallie Eversy):
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(Sorry to blur part of it out on you guys but I can't be giving away spoilers, now can I XD)
As you can see, I used the same format as the first chart but focused individually on one character and their emotional journey/how the events of the story affect them from start to finish. I also color coded it just so I know the feel of where the story is going. If you struggle with figuring out how to get your character from the beginning to end, I would highly suggest trying this out because it is really helpful!
So the next section/tab that I have in my journal is plot development which encompasses a WIDE range of things about plot. In this section, I put basic timelines, important information for the story, and basically everything about the story. I also have individual chapter plotlines that I plan out so everything in this section is pretty crucial for fleshing out my stories.
Here is the first few points for Reign of Frost on my timeline (again, sorry I can't show you more of the timeline, but I CAN'T SPOIL, GUYS!):
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So as you can see it's a very simple, basic timeline to just get the plot on paper. Sometimes I will go a little bit more in depth if I haven't thought about it as much, but I like to keep it as simple as I possibly can.
Another thing that I did for this story specific was write out some questions that I still needed to answer at the end of the timeline. I was having a bit of a hard time figuring out how Vallie and Amyas should meet, for example, and by writing out these questions and some possible solutions, I was able to land on one that I thought was best after going through multiple scenarios:
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NOW FOR THE LAST SECTION!
This section is for individual scenes and plotting/planning them out. For me, it is easiest to go by chapter and then divide it into scenes from there.
For an example, I haven't done one of these yet for Reign of Frost because I am still trying to figure out how I want to start the first few chapters, but I have it for one of my other stories called This Isn't Happening:
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Chapter one for this story has two scenes so I split it up into those scenes and then established the characters in the scene, the setting, and the main elements/plot of the scene. By planning out each important point in the chapter, I know I won't get as stuck or lost as I write it.
In these types of sections, I've also done a few charts and tables that are fun and really help too!
Example from one of my magic stories that I currently don't have a name for XD:
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So yep! That's my author's journal. That is everything that I include as I'm planning out my stories. Obviously, I don't use my author's journal for every single story I write (I actual don't use it for my short stories at all) so it isn't absolutely necessary but I think it is still really fun and helpful and if you like the idea, I completely say GO FOR IT!
If you have an author's journal or get one, I would love to see what you include in yours! I always love talking to other writers about their process :D
