Notes From the Author: Planning Your Novel
Hey y'all let's seee what's up today! For this post I thought I would share with you ways that you can plan your novel, along with how I went about planning my own novel. As always, this may not work for everyone but these are just some tips that I use and I hope that somehow or another I can help someone else out there achieve their goals! If you have any of your own tips, please feel free to share them in the comments, I would love to see processes that differ from my own.
#1: Make a Mind Map
A mind map is something that I did not enjoy using as much, however I think that it is really good for people who are visual learners. I tried to get used to them, I think that they are great if you are good at taking in information in that way, however for me they do not really allow for enough detail. However, in saying that, the writing software that I use and have promoted a lot on this blog allows for a mind map adjacent feature that I have played around with a little bit and I've enjoyed it much more than making a physical mind map.
#2: Get a Project Planner
These are kind of a new concept to me, I came across these this month actually and it is exactly what it sounds like. I would suggest this for smaller projects or to just jot down ideas, however the one that I saw did allow for quite the summary of any project that you're working on. I believe these are meant to be used by construction or mechanic companies, but it never hurts to use something in a different way than intended.
#3: EA Deverell
I mentioned this website on my suggested resources for writers, and I cannot recommend this more for planning your novel specifically. They offer many of free templates and tutorials, and they even offer mind map print outs. You guys can actually download these for free and use them whenever you need them.
#4: Campfire
You guys knew this recommendation was coming, and guys I promise I am not even sponsored by this company I just love their product that much. Campfire allows for very detailed planning and world building and it's basically a one stop shop for everything that you could possibly need to make an enriching novel. I suggest this so often because of how versatile it is, and how customizable it is, however I have been informed that for some people it can be a bit too detailed and that can make it overwhelming. I personally think that your success with Campfire would largely depend on your planning style. I have a very detailed planning style when it comes to my personal work so Campfire works best for me.
How I Plan
Feel free to skip this bit if you would like but I just wanted to talk about how I personally go about planning my writing projects. As I mentioned above I think the more detailed I can make something the better, especially when it comes to my world building process. I like my characters and everything to feel very three dimensional to add some depth to my story. I have a very easy time with this because I pull from global folklore and I use a lot of aspects from the cultures where these stories originated in my creating process. So here are the steps that I take when I plan.
#1: Write it Down
Whether it's in the notes app on my phone or in a notebook, I always write my ideas down in a physical format first. I find that this is helpful to me because it enables me to continue working. I also have something to reference on the off chance that I accidentally delete all of my work because I have actually done that before and deleted a completed novel.
#2 Transfer the Information to Campfire
Once I have my ideas written down I transfer them over into Campfire that way I can organize them however I need. This is incredibly important for me because Campfire has a feature that will give you a quick reference note when you enter a keyword like a character name or a place which is what makes this program so interesting to me. They also have a dashboard for notes as well that I tend to utilize a lot.
#3 Go With the Flow
I bounce between world building and writing and I do this largely because it is much easier for me to add things that I need when I get the idea for how the story is going to progress next. I let my brain completely take over when I'm writing and I will just write until I am no longer able to write coherently. From there I will simply turn to world building or character design until the next writing session itch comes to me.
While it does take a lot longer to make progress doing things this way, I find that it allows me to better channel my characters and it lets me really get into the right headspace for each scene and situation. I picked this up through a lot of online roleplaying and tabletop RP games like Dungeons & Dragons and it's a skill that's helped me a lot because I don't really get writers block with this method and either way I am still working on something that pertains to my novel.
Closing
That is all that I have for you guys this week. With that being said, I'm going to send you all off with some words of wisdom, don't let anyone tell you that your ideas are too large. I've been told that my entire life, but while it has taken me longer to make progress I have still made progress and you can too! As always, if you have any tips and tricks that you would like to add let me know in the comments. If you want to see more from me feel free to click the link below where you can find my other socials. Y'all take care, and thanks for stopping by!
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