Case study: How I started my book + My Formula
As many of you might have already known, I was offline the last few weeks, working on a new project of mine. A novel!
Managing a blog and working on a new novel itself is pretty much filling up my schedule, and for that I took a four month vacation (something I rarely get, lol) and spent the summer working on my book.
contents
Starting a book isn't easy, you need the proper base, a detailed plot, thorough characters and of course, World-building (if you’re writing a fantasy/dystopian novel like me)
It took me almost a month to get my base ready (my plot, the basic characters, and my world) and another months to structure it all correctly (detailing the plot, making a character sketch and full on world-building)
I’m more of a plotter than a Pantzer, so you can guess how much planning I had to do before hand:
(and that's just 2 of the 36 pages!)
This post is a personal case study on how I started my book, the process, the formula I used, and a few tricks you can use while starting your own book!
outlining your story
Often when I talk to audiences about my writing, I am asked: ‘Do you plan your novels in advance, or do you just start writing and see what happens?’ I love this question – it enables me to bang on about one of my great passions, which I will come to in a minute… (Spoiler: it’s planning!)
The best part of writing you book is planning it! Why? One. You don’t have to start writing. Two. Its motivates you to actually begin, so when you are, you don’t feel overwhelmed.
You cant begin writing until you’ve got ten scenes plotted on a timeline and character sketches for all your primary characters. There are lots of degrees of plotting, planning and pre-writing, and extensive outlining can be helpful. There is nothing more comforting than having a road map when the going gets tough.
The main reason I’m a planner is that it’s huge fun! It makes life SO much easier for a writer, and it gives you something concrete to look forward to. I would hate to start writing a novel with no clue as to what might happen from chapter to chapter, or how it might end. I like to look forward to the finished product, confident that I’ll still feel it’s as solid and exciting then as I do at the start. Not all ideas are good; not all inspirations can be made to work. Without a start-to-finish plan of what’s going to happen in my novel, I don’t know for certain that the idea is viable. It’s by writing a chapter-by-chapter, scene-by-scene synopsis that I put this to the test. I’d hate to invest years or even months in an idea I suspected was great, and then get to where the denouement should be and find myself thinking, ‘Yikes! I can’t think of a decent ending!’
my experience and the formula
Starting my Novel was a brand new experience for me, I’ve never taken any of my writing projects this seriously before. I followed a formula I created a while back for one of my short stories, and it worked perfectly!
Its called the 500 to 5 page plot.
The 500 to 5 page Plot follows 5 steps (a lot of 5’s I know) All you need is a blank page ready along with your laptop for research (or you can just open a google doc so you have everything at your fingertips, its your preference. I find it easier to use One-note for my planning, because it simply has more tools that I can use.)
1. Start with the plot.
Take a page describe your entire story in a sentence. (Make sure to include Character+ problem + suspense) Next, extend it to a 5 line synopsis, (include more characters + more details on problem + setting + suspense ) Then make those 5 lines into 2 paragraphs (characters + problem + vague solution + extra details + suspense) and now form those two paragraphs into a full page. (Introduce your main characters Important characters of the book should be introduced and some details such as age, profession, what drives them, key traits should be added to paint a better picture for the reader + Introduce the pressing issue your characters have to face + Add the major obstacles standing in their way + What is at stake?)
2. Build you Characters
Use the next page as a character resource dump, place picture on how you’d want him/her to look like, add in some quotes (or make your character a mood board) Make it a profile (with its basic details that may or may not be showcased in your book) Add some Character notes (pasts, dreams, strengths, flaws, habits) and make him/her a questionnaire.
I have a character template worth 5 whole pages in my newest writing worksheet that is part of my newest service (how to clarify your book idea) along with other scene templates, world-building templates, idea templates and plot templates. To benefit from the worksheet, apply for the service HERE or GRAB THE WORKSHEET HERE
3. Making your world (For fantasy/ Sci-fi / Dystopian/ Historic Fiction)
If your writing a story in any of the above genres, you need a stable world for your characters to live in. Start the page by giving a brief note on how your fictional setting is. (appearance, caste, society and laws. Talk about what makes this world exceptional and/or different from ours. Are there any supernatural elements? Time portals?) And then move on to the necessary details of your world. (Laws, environment, culture, history, language) add in some pictures or maps of how you’d want your world to look like.
If your writing a story that doesn’t need a new world, its okay to research on the setting you chose, by adding pictures, research on its culture and history, the tourist attractions and any of the places inside your setting that may or may not be showcased in your book.
I’ve also got a world-building template in my writers worksheet, which you can access HERE
4. Outlining your Chapters.
You have your plot in place, characters ready for action a d a world waiting to be known, now what? You need to divide your plot into chapters so you know exactly what comes where in your book.
Lets pretend your book is 12 chapters long. The first three chapters will introduce your character and world to the readers (don’t give it all away though, you need to develop your character as chapters go on) and on the third chapter, you can give a brief introduction on the problem. The next three chapters are going to introduce the problems and its obstacles with a tad bit of suspense. (remember you are only starting with the problem, don’t go overboard with too many complications or details) The next three chapters is going to go in detail about the problem, and a few wins and losses, here and there. Lots of suspense and complications begin to arise (it’s the story’s climax) and the Last three chapters will introduce the solution, the final obstacle (which is usually the biggest one) and the ending of your story.
5. Chapter Notes
Now you’ve got your plot divided into chapters, what's next? More notes. As you’re beginning every chapter plan its structure and add some notes so you actually have an idea on what you’re going to be doing.
Your notes should include the chapter plot, chapter outline of what happens in the chapter divided into three parts (basically splitting your chapter into three parts, the intro, the main plot, and the ending) snippets of some scenes you’d like to be added, Plot points & story ideas, and finally, some visuals (mood boards, pictures, cast) plus quotes if you prefer.
And that’s it! You’ve got your whole book planned and ready to be written! (is it only me whos dreading the writing part?)
my new service
Throughout this post there were many mentions of my newest service: How to Clarify your Book Idea.
*this service has now turned into a workshop*
Heres a bit of description on what its about:
I decided to kickstart this new year by diving into the deep depths of novel outlining. Outlining my Novels was one of the most fun aspects of deciding to write one, it got me excited to begin writing and is something I look forward to every time I begin a new writing project. And I'm here to make it fun for you too!
It's overwhelming to actually commit yourself to writing an entire book. What took me nine-weeks to actually bring myself to start typing on my keyboard for my first book, only took me a week for my second. Its called the 500 to 5 page plot formula, and its what we'll be using to outline our book idea throughout the workshop.
This formula is basically cutting down the 500 pages of your novel into 5 simple pages worth your entire story! The first page is all about the plot, and creating your story pitch, the second page is about the characters and identifying them not only as a simple character in your story, the third page is all about the setting, which is the most integral aspect of your entire novel if it's all about different worlds or a is a fictional setting. The fourth page is about Chapter outlines and what scenes will be going into each chapter, and finally, the last page is your chapter notes.
Now you may be thinking, this looks more than 5 pages, and its true because it all depends on your story. If you have multiple protagonists you may need more pages on the Characters, if you have forty or fifty chapters you may need extra pages for chapter outlines and notes, ultimately it all relies on your plot.
Follow along as I take you through the steps to having a complete outline which as a reference when you're starting to write the chapters of your novels, and as a guide to when your describing the protagonist or setting! There are a lot of ways you can use this outline in your novel so I suggest you print it out, on both sides of the paper to save the environment, and keep it in a folder on or near your writing desk. The goal is to be able to write without doubts and to clarify your story idea, so you'll be able to complete your novel stress free. Keep an extra page along with the outline for when you get random bursts of ideas or scenes for your novel.
Access the resources mentioned in the Workshop at the bottom of the page. Make sure to fill in the 4 day challenge workbook to get a clear and well defined story idea to use while outlining your Novel during the workshop! Download the E-book to access Bonus blog-posts, Podcast episodes, Writing Templates and Samples. The transcript is also available in case I'm going to fast or you're not able to understand the process. The transcript includes the instructions and examples given in the workshop and the details of where you can contact me at the end.
Hope you enjoyed this post Comment in the formulas you use to start writing your story I’ll see you next week!
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