**This is blog post number 3 on my revised writing process.**
Okay, I’ve so I’ve got an idea. Normally, I’d write the first scene and just start running with it, but I want to run it through this process. I was originally just going to go through the steps and explain it, but I decided that if I’m going to go through this process, I’m going to do it with an example project. So, this post will go over the step in detail, and then next post I’ll apply it to a project.
The goal is to end this step with an outline of the story, and a list of things to World Build, Research and Game out.
There are five processes to this step:
- Flesh out the idea.
- Answer the 5 W’s
- Prepare act list
- Work out scenes
- Build the B, R and G lists.
These are not ‘finish one and then move on to two and you can’t go back to one.’ These are happening simultaneously. I’m making notes on BRG lists while I’m prepping the 5 W’s, and I’ve got scenes in mind as I’m processing the ideas. Back and forth, over and over again.
So, let’s go over the processes.
Process 1: The Idea
First, I think about the idea. Now, you may wonder if I’m starting too simple, but I’m serious. I take my idea, and I challenge it. Is this a good story? Is it unique, or is it too much like another story I’ve written?
These are serious questions I need to ask. Too often I’ve had to make changes to a story, or even abandon an idea, because I realized it was taking the same character from Story A and putting them in a different genre. Or that two narratives were too similar to each other, and they both lost their unique flavor.
This process can take a couple of rounds until I get the idea down to something I’m comfortable moving forward with. And I have to accept that no story will be 100% different from other things I’ve written. There will be some overlap. The challenge is to emphasize what’s new with each story.
Process 2: The Five W’s (and that pesky H)
If you’ve forgotten what these are, it’s the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of a story. At this point, I’m still looking at the broad strokes, without getting into the acts and scenes of the story.
| Who | Who is the main character? Who are the other big players in the story? |
| What | What are the big events of the story? What are the personal events for the characters? |
| When | When does this story take place? How long will it cover? |
| Where | Where does this story take place? How much area will it cover? What sort of terrain should I plan for? |
| Why | Why is this story happening? |
| How | How will the story develop? How will the characters? |
There answers need to be as long as I need them to be. Some will be pretty simple. Others may be entire paragraphs. But I need good answers to the questions.
Here, I’m also taking several passes. What sounds good one day might sound poor the next. But ideas that pass through several iterations are good enough to keep.
Process 3: The Acts
Process four is to divide the narrative into Acts.
In my process, an Act is a distinct section of the story, designed to advance the narrative through one leg of its journey. I plan acts to either provide information to the reader, allow the characters to respond to the story, or cover a major event of the narrative.
Broadly speaking, I’ve found my acts can divide into five categories:
- Introduction: Introduce the characters, location, story, challenges.
- Development: The characters interact with the world, things change.
- Major event: these acts could cover battles or political conflict.
- Recovery: the characters react and respond to a major event.
- Conclusion: the last act, which wraps everything up.
Most of my stories have between 8 and 12 acts total.
For this process, I take a look at where the story begins (the introduction act), decide where it ends (the conclusion act), and then I focus on the middle parts. I look at the five W’s, especially the events, and plug them in, trying to keep track in my head of the pacing of the story.
I usually take several passes at this part, playing with different combinations. It’s important to pay attention to the flow. Multiple event acts in a row may overwhelm the reader. Too many development acts and the story doesn’t go anywhere.
At the end of this process, I will have my act list. And then I move on to scenes.
Process 4: The Important Scenes
I say important scenes because I’m not going to know every scene I will add into the story. I’m aware that as I write, there will be inspiration and ideas that pop-up and get added. So, this isn’t a final list. It’s a guideline.
With each act I have a series of questions and considerations I have to take into account. The overarching question is ‘does the scene advance the narrative?’
It may take several passes before I’ve got a good list on hand. To start, I aim for three scenes per act, minimum.
Introduction Act
This act includes a gimme; the first scene, which sets the tone for the book. Do I want this intro to be a prologue, or a first chapter?
I need to introduce the main character(s), the setting, and the plot elements. Are these different scenes? Usually, yes, because I need to be wary of dumping too much information onto the reader. But I’ll make that consideration here.
Development Act
A development act is simply an act where the characters progress and build themselves (or the narrative) up for the events of the story. Think of it as the downtime between big events.
These scenes will have a lot of little things that lead to the big things.
Event Act:
An event act centers around an important occurrence in the story. This could be a single action (the death of a character) or a longer process (a battle).
These scenes involved the immediate lead up, execution, and draw down of the event. Lots of action and excitement.
Recovery Act:
A recovery act is like a development act, but it has to do with the characters responding to the event. They’re learning and growing, making decisions and acting on what happened.
These scenes should include a lot of introspection and decision making.
Conclusion Act:
This is the second give me of the act process. Every story ends. This is where the consequences come clear and the loose ends get tied up. We say goodbye, and look to the future.
These scenes need to wrap things up, so more introspection and moving on.
Process 5: The B, R and G lists
This process I’m writing last, but in truth it’s been happening the entire time. I’m making lists of the World Building, Research, and Gaming I expect to need to finish before I write.
World Building items are background items that I will need to prepare beforehand. This list will include character biographies, maps of nations, cities and regions of the story, and organizational details. Science fiction stories will include technology and rules of physics. Fantasy stories will include rules of magic, mythology and races.
Research is a list of topics I cannot build but have to discover. In the past this list has included military trains, movements times for horses across various types of terrain, and lots of research into historical military and political organizations.
Gaming is not always going to be something I have to do, but I’ve learned from previous projects that it can be extremely helpful for sequences with a lot of moving parts. In the past, I’ve gamed out land campaigns and space battles. I’ve considered gaming out migrations, civil wars, and political maneuvers.
Conclusion
At the end of this process, I have an outline of the story I want to write. I have lists of items to world build, topics to research, and games to play.
Of course, this outline and these lists are not set in stone. The story will adjust as I review it. The lists will shrink as I cross things off and grow as new ideas reveal themselves. It’s a process that doesn’t end until the book is published.
So, that’s my Planning and Plotting process. Next blog post, I’ll take this process and apply it to a tertiary project I’ve had on my mind for a while.
Until then, keep on writing. Cheers!
Michael