31 Day Writing Tips - Day 10
@just4him (323168)
Green Bay, Wisconsin
May 10, 2019 9:45am CST
Thank you for all your comments on my writing tips series.
Today, I'm going to discuss plotting your novel, short story, article, poem.
What is the main theme of your work? Are you writing fiction or non-fiction? Is your work mainstream or sweet? Mainstream is what most people read, filled with every kind of vulgarity and or sexual content the author can dream up. Sweet being the opposite and often spiritually based. Even poetry needs a plot when you consider the many ballads written by those famous authors - Shakespeare for instance.
When plotting your novel, you need to know the basic elements - setting/location; historical, present, future; characters, your main characters, hero, and heroine plus your secondary characters. How many characters will you have? What is your genre? There are many genres to choose from - romance, historical romance, contemporary romance, historical, mystery, science fiction, western, chiller/horror and the list goes on.
With the new series I'm working on, I've started plotting my story in Excel to keep it organized. Which also brings up another plot point - will it be a single novel or a series?
Plotting takes place before you start work on your novel. If it's a non-fiction work, you also need to outline and know how many chapters it will be. The chapters define the essence of the book. For instance, you can have several parts to your non-fiction book, and within each part several chapters to explain each section.
If you're a pantser, as I mentioned my first day, plotting doesn't always work well. You are either a plotter or pantser. Most authors or writers can't be both. I don't know any who are.
Once you have your plot, it's time to start writing.
If you're a plotter, tell me how you plot your work. Thanks for reading.
8 people like this
5 responses
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
10 May 19
@DianneN 
Sometimes, I don't feel like I'm in charge of the book at all. There was one time I put the book to bed and went to bed, but my characters kept up a dialogue in my brain. I had to go back to the computer. They insisted. They wouldn't leave me alone until their scene was finished. 
Sometimes, I don't feel like I'm in charge of the book at all. There was one time I put the book to bed and went to bed, but my characters kept up a dialogue in my brain. I had to go back to the computer. They insisted. They wouldn't leave me alone until their scene was finished. 1 person likes this
@MommyOfEli2013 (89473)
• Rupert, Idaho
11 May 19
More great tips.....gives me a lot to think about!
1 person likes this
@MommyOfEli2013 (89473)
• Rupert, Idaho
12 May 19
@just4him Oh yeah, definitely! Great tips so far!
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45111)
• Canada
10 May 19
I have only written poems and a few short stories. I just start with an idea and then build on it.
Here is a story that has had over 25,000 views. I am not being paid anything from this story.
I can only imagine the many angels that appeared in the life of my parents. They survived WW1, the Spanish influenza, WW2, coming to a country where they could not speak the language, etc. In her youth, my mother was a shepherdess and maybe like King David
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23979)
• United Kingdom
10 May 19
Thanks for this article. I have to say when I saw your new picture I thought wow look at you! An amazing transformation. Well done!
1 person likes this
