This chapter wasn't originally going to be about planning a story. It was going to be overcoming Writer's Block (which may be coming soon, depending on whether people still want to see that).
However, this chapter was inspired by one of my readers asking me:
"I have a beginning, and I get so excited to write it. Then, I lose motivation. How do I make it to the end?"
It's a broad question. For some, they lose motivation because they have another story idea they want to work on (whether they lose interest in that one, too, is another question altogether). For others, they simply find themselves struggling to balance time with writing.
But, after asking around, this is what I've found:
Most people have a beginning. They have a very climactic end.
But they don't know what goes in between.
So, in other words, a lot of the time, people lose motivation because they haven't planned their idea out enough. So, for today, that's what we're going to focus on today.
Of course, to do this, we're going to plan a story. And boy, will this be interesting.
Please note that, before we continue, there are many ways to go about planning a story. Everyone has a different method. Some people like to plan every moment in dot points, some people like to draw mind-maps, and some people like to create little characters using paddle-pop sticks and force them to make-out with each other so they can get inspiration for their One Direction fanfictions-- oops, I'm getting carried away again.
I'm going to keep these steps as broad as possible, and keep it to the fundamentals. So, yes, you can keep making your paddle-pop sticks make-out. I'm not judging. I swear.
STEP ONE: PREMISE.
Most people already have this step nailed down before they even begin writing. This is your premise -- your story idea. What is your story about? What genre is it? Who is the main character? What is the conflict?
It's almost like coming up with a pitch for your story. You just need the following:
1. Characters
2. Goal
3. Stakes
4. Setting
So, after thirty-two seconds of listening to Taylor Swift, I've come up with an excellent premise:
A goblin is taken to be a slave for a wizard named Aberycusgentylis because she is the ugliest goblin in Custardille. Instead of cooking and cleaning his tower, though, she decides to steal his books and learn magic so that she can save Custardille from The Rock -- the big mountain that awakes at night and turns goblins into stone.
But little does anyone know that the goblin, the wizard, and The Rock are more connected than it seems...
My God. Sunshine has truly lost it.
... That being said, she really wants to write this. I already have a title: The Goblin, The Wizard, and The Rock. I should have done this for NaNoWriMo.
Also, watch me continuously spell the wizard's name wrong. Watch me.
Okay, but seriously, that aside, we have a premise. Our protagonist is our goblin (who I am yet to name). Her goal is to learn magic so that she can save her village from The Rock. The stakes are that, well, The Rock is literally turning goblins into stone. And the setting is Custardille.
STEP TWO: BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END.
Now, we take that premise, and create a beginning, a middle, and an end. We don't need to work out every single chapter just yet, but we should create our mountain -- where there is a clear climax and resolution.
- Beginning: Where does the story start? What happens that leads into the middle? How are the character introduced? Where are we?
- Middle: Where does the beginning put us? How are you going to get to the end? What development + conflict will lead to the climax? How do the characters grow? What information is leaked as foreshadowing? Be careful with this: the last thing you want is for your middle to be a victim of the Sagging Middle Syndrome -- where the story is bland until the climax. Make sure there is a constant bit of tension here. More on this in a future chapter!
- End: What is the big finale? Who wins? How do they win? At what cost? How does everything resolve?
Beginning: Aberyguscentylis the Wizard comes along to choose 'The Ugliest Goblin'. There is a big ceremony for it in Custardille, and finally, he chooses our protagonist: Gladys. Gladys puts up a fight, but, nonetheless, is sent to the tower to be his slave.
In fact, everyone knew he would take Gladys. After all, it was her father who had run away after seeing her ugly face the second she was born...
Middle: Gladys spends a few days sulking in misery, while simultaneously trying to make life a living hell for Averiguscentylis in a desperate attempt to make him release her. Then, as she's plotting to burn all his books, she starts to read it and takes an interest. From there, she comes up with a plan: she could use the magic to save her people from The Rock.
In this section, Gladys will face even more conflict. The Rock will start attacking children of her village and turning them into stone, and she will face the wizard's wrath by sneaking out to save them. The wizard proves to have a heart -- once he finds her learning magic, he offers to teach her. We also learn that the wizard once put a curse upon Gladys's father for running away from her when she was a baby. He refuses to tell her about the curse.
They work together to learn more about The Rock, and learn that The Rock was once a human -- and he wants something. The pair are constantly faced with the danger of The Rock trying to eat them, especially with Gladys recklessly throwing herself in danger to save those she loves. And, together, they must go to the heart of The Rock, where they must destroy it.
Climax: They make it to The Rock, despite all these small rock soldiers trying to turn them into stone. They fight long and hard, but when they make it to The Rock, Averigalyscentylis, is turned into stone. Gladys panics -- she just started learning magic recently. How could she possibly destroy The Rock on her own?
Nonetheless, as she fights The Rock and uses her magic to get into it, she catches a glimpse of its head. And she realises The Rock is her father. Years ago, Averigalyscamptylis placed a curse on him for running away from his daughter due to her 'ugliness'. And so, he became The Rock. To get revenge, he's been turning all the other villagers to stone -- just so that he can find his daughter and turn her into stone, too.
Luckily, Gladys destroys him. Yay! Her wizard friend also turns back into flesh-and-bone once The Rock is destroyed.
I am having way too much fun.
As you can see, I haven't detailed every single chapter. I've just created a direction - a clear beginning, middle, and end. We see the conflict and stakes throughout. And the middle leads into the end.
STEP THREE: CHARACTERS.
Your characters influence the plot, and the plot influences them. A reckless character like Gladys will not be complacent, and instead, will choose to stop The Rock. However, watching The Rock take down her wizard friend may make her question herself and her strength as a person.
You don't need to be too extra with characters. You don't need to tell us their horoscopes. You don't need to tell us their foot size. You don't need to tell us their favourite bug.
But there are some things you need to know about them:
- What is their name? Does it represent something?
- How will they influence the plot? Why are they the one to tell the story? Why couldn't Dwayne Johnson fight The Rock instead of Gladys? Why must it be her?
- What is their goal? Motivation? What do they gain out of what they do? For example, Gladys saves the people she loves. Averigeegeelyscamptylis undoes the curse that was his doing. The Rock was trying to get revenge for being cursed — because, you know, bad blood.
- Conflict. What is stopping them? Why couldn't they just do it? Why do we need to read a story about them? Was it because Gladys didn't know enough about magic? Was it because Averigeegeelyscamptylitilis knew he would fail if he was on his own, or he was too much of a coward? Was it because The Rock works in slow steps, and can't turn an entire village into stone with a snap of his finger?
- Development. What will they learn along the way that will stop them? Gladys will learn magic. Avrillavignegeegeelyscamptylitilis will learn from Gladys not to be a coward and face his mistakes.
- Backstory. What is their history? Is it important? Will it influence the plot?
- Personality. Likes? Dislikes? Traits? How do they behave?
Now, by this point, most people have already decided what their characters will look like. I won't get too much in description in this chapter, but remember: regardless of your perception, readers will have their own perception of your characters. The most important thing is to keep your descriptions consistent. If Gladys starts with black hair, don't give her green hair in the next chapter because you felt like it.
STEP FOUR: SYNOPSIS TIME.
This is where you look at step two and three and make them intertwine more. Make the plot work with characters more. Make the characters work with plot more. And, finally, turn it into a synopsis.
What is a synopsis? It is not a blurb. It is not what you see at the back of a book. It is what you see on a Wikipedia page -- it details every single plot point in the story. I won't write a full synopsis because, contrary to popular belief, I am not insane. However, it would look like this:
Instead of:
Gladys spends a few days sulking in misery, while simultaneously trying to make life a living hell for Ablefableriguscentylis in a desperate attempt to make him release her.
It would be:
Gladys spends a few days sulking in misery, while simultaneously trying to make life a living hell for Atableguscentylis so that he will release her. On day one, she makes him burnt mashed potato for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On day two, she sneaks cockroaches beneath his mattress. On day three, she throws ale all over the floors and walls. And, finally, on day four, he rolls his eyes and tells her that she smells worse than the ale and the burnt potatoes. In her rage, she storms up to the library and decides to burn the books.
Lots of detail.
STEP FIVE: PLAN THE CHAPTERS.
Now you have a synopsis. You just need to bring it to life. Whenever you write your chapters, now, ask yourself this:
- What will happen in this chapter? Is it a filler, or will it contribute to the plot?
- What character is driving this chapter?
- What is the conflict/tension within this chapter?
- How will the chapter end that will make the reader want to continue? (Note: this does not mean every chapter has to end in a cliffhanger.)
Using those questions, plot out each chapter so it follows your synopsis smoothly.
STEP SIX: WRITE!
First draft time! You've given yourself so much detail that, at this point, it's almost impossible to lose sight of where you're going. And, remember: a first draft is a first draft -- just close your eyes and write. Let it come out. Don't agonise. Don't judge it. You can't improve it until you have it.
STEP SEVEN: EDIT! DRAFT! REDRAFT! CRY! EDIT!
And, finally, prepare. Depending on what you want to do with the story, edit it until you are happy with it.
Of course, those steps are only suggestions. I, personally, don't even bother with the synopsis -- I go into so much detail during that stage that I usually end up skipping to the next step, which involves detailing every chapter.
In fact, I'm crazy when it comes to planning. Before writing a chapter, I plan everything. What each character says, when I will insert descriptions, the first sentence and last sentence -- the only thing I don't plan is how I write my action scenes. I prefer to let those flow out naturally.
How do you like to plan? Did you find this helpful at all? Let me know!
As always, this is not perfect. This is not the 'best' way to plan. This is just a pretty solid way to plan if you don't already know what works for you. It's a foundation of a plan. You go right ahead and use those paddle-pop sticks.
Next time, we will talk about dialogue. The full shabang. How to write effective dialogue, how to make it sound natural, when you should use it, and how to punctuate it (my gosh, my inner-reviewer just screamed). Stay tuned!