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Plotting a story, like every single part of writing, is an incredibly personnel process to the author. No author will plot the same, write the same, edit the same, or have the same characters. The intricacies of writing and the worlds we create can only be created by us, the same idea from a different mind will be a different story and world entirely.
Learning to plot can be a daunting task when you haven’t done it before. I’ve been on both sides of the coin as a teen author, who started out flying by the seat of my pants when it came to my stories. So I’m going to share the method I use now, in the hopes that at least one person might find it useful for getting started, and fighting the fear of that blank page.
My first step when starting a new story is to get a new notebook, this is where I’ll put all the details of my story, the world, and my characters to have it all in one easy to access place. The notebooks I use, (shown to me by fellow FOCO author G.H Fryer) are called LEUCHTTURM1917. I use these, partially because of their price, but mostly because they have a range of twenty colors so I can match the notebook to the story I’m trying to tell.
After that, the first thing I do when starting this notebook is to make character pages. If you’re ready to plot, we’re going to say you have a general idea of the story you want to tell, and the people you will use to tell it. One thing I’ve found that will help you out when you’re eventually editing your book is to make sure you know your characters before you start writing. For me this includes a two page spread, one will have a in depth description of the characters past. What happened that brought them to the current point of the story, are there people in the characters past that effect the way they think of the world. What event’s built the person you’re creating.
The second page is where I take the time to learn the voice of my character. Currently in my own time I’m balancing two projects, I’m in editing for my first novel and am plotting another story. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your characters voice in mind while writing. It’s easy to fall into the trap where you’re characters all sound the same, and trust me when I say fixing this in editing takes forever, and causes quite a headache when trying to differentiate them after the fact.
This technique is new to me, but I can already say that it will make a huge difference in how long the editing process takes. So, on this second page I use dialogue prompts to see how my character will react. While doing this I refer back to the previous page to see how event from the characters past might effect their opinion. Using the same prompt for multiple or all of the characters you’re currently building helps you differentiate them on paper and in your head.
Here’s an example:
Prompt: “We could get arrested for this.”
Penny: “You think I don’t know that? Trust me if there was another way I would take it, there just isn’t.”
Riven: “They wont get the chance, even if they got close enough to try it wouldn’t end the way they’re expecting.”
Erin: “Arrested? Is that the worst thing you can think of? If they catch us being arrested is the least of our worries.”
My next step depends on the type of story you’re writing, as a fantasy author, worldbuilding is a huge part of my plotting process. This process can be as in depth, or a surface level as you as an author think you need, but most of the time I recommend doing a bit of deep diving into your world before you start writing. Most of the time this consists of a few things:
Technology
Culture
Religion
Clothing
History
Let’s say you have that down, you’ve taken a look into the intricacies of your world. You know how it works, and you’re ready to start writing. What’s the first thing you do to make sure that the writing process goes as smoothly as possible. For me, that brings me back to my notebook.
My first step once I have all of my details settled is to make a very basic outline of what I want my chapters to look like. It’s as simple as a few sentences about who goes where, what is the main thing that happens in the chapter, for me it ends up looking like this.
This is a digitized version of my first round of plotting from a story I’m no longer writing, so don’t worry about spoilers. Now, before I started seriously plotting this is where I would have left it. In the past this would have been extreme, as I said earlier I wasn’t one for thinking things through in my writing. However I’ve realized since that it really does help, so now, my next step bring me to this.
Once I have the basic outline down I bring my plotting to notecards where I go in depth for every chapter. I find that this extra step helps the writing process go faster and makes me feel more assured about where my story is going. After jotting down an initial outline I’ll have a better grasp on the timeline of my story and how long I have to foreshadow certain events. This second draft of the outline helps to make sure that everything that needs to be there, makes it’s way into the rough draft so you don’t have to go back after.
For me that’s the final step in plotting, I’ve known writers who do less, and those who do more. Every aspect of this process is unique, but I hope that sharing my process might help someone start their own.
About the author
Milla Picket is a Senior, and this is her first year writing for the Poudre Press. In her free time, she is involved in the school's choir and theatre department. She is also a writer currently working on her first fantasy novel for publication.
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