More planning
Well we’re almost there. Just a little more planning to do and you can start your book. Yesterday I talked about making a list of the main plot points in your book. Today we are going to expand on that and come up with a chapter plan.
You should know by now how many chapters you are planning on writing, now it’s time to break down your story into chapters so you have a plan which will make writing the book easier. You can make this plan as detailed or a brief as you want. Things to keep in mind while making this plan is to be flexible. It’s not carved in stone and as you start writing your book, you will find that the direction of your story may change. When I do my chapter plan, I have a one to two sentence blurb for each chapter.
When I’m planning a book, I have a brainstorming session and try to think of events and situations for each chapter that build toward each plot point. The beginning chapters are usually easier to plan but take your time and try to come up with a tentative story line for your entire book. Take it in baby steps and work toward each plot point. The middle will be the most difficult part of this process.
If you find it too difficult to plan the entire book, just try to plan out at least the first four chapters. Once you get close to the end of those chapters, go back to your chapter plan and plan the next four. Most beginning writers run out of steam once they hit the third or fourth chapter, so doing some preliminary planning will make the process of writing a little easier.
The format for your plan can be however you want. You need to discover what works for you. When I do my chapter plan, I make a list of each chapter and I put my main plot points where I think they will fall in the book first. I then come up with events in each chapter that build to the plot points. This can be an involved process if you have to do a lot of brainstorming, so take your time. If you need to go over the teaser paragraph to refresh you mind on what you want the story to be about.
So your homework is to come up with your chapter plan. If you cannot come up with an entire plan for each chapter, plan for at least the first four.
In the next post I’m going to discuss breaking down the chapter plan into a scene plan.
Until next time happy writing.
