Ah, pre-writing. That weird stage in a novel's construction where no actual writing takes place. Pre-writing my newest novel over the past few days (the Pinterest inspiration board for which can be found here) has been really fun. I love getting to know my characters better, structuring my plot and researching. Here are the three steps I took while pre-writing my novel:
1. The Idea: The first step in pre-writing has to be an idea. It can be small or it can be close to a full plot. My idea began when I met my main character, standing in the backyard of an abandoned farmhouse and wrapped in a huge sweatshirt.
2. The Characters: Once the idea presents itself, it's time to meet the characters. Sometimes I think of them before their story shows up, but usually I think of an idea first. When the characters do show up I slowly begin to discover who they are by writing a few "chapters" to get to know them. These chapters contain my characters getting to know one another, thereby letting me get to know them. These chapters are rarely keepers, but they help me get a grasp on my idea and my characters at the same time.
3. The Plot: When I know the everything about my characters from their backstory to how they respond to change, I know it's time to plot. This stage takes a while. For the book I'm working on now, I waited for a week before several ideas for an idea or two to present themselves. When I have enough information, I create my plot. Here is an example of how I plot.
a. Begininng
i. The girls meet each other
ii. The girls talk to each other
iii. The girls buy ice cream
b. Middle
i. The ice cream is stolen
ii. The girls run after the thief, but lose him
iii. The girls report the crime and the police laugh at them
iv. The girls track down the thief themselves
c. The End
i. They find the thief
ii. They confront the thief and see that he is giving the ice cream to his sick dog
iii. The girls forgive the man
iv. The girls buy more ice cream for the dog
4. Subplotting: After working out the main plot, I go back and add in the subplot(s) usually in a different color. It's probably the most fun part. I love to come up with little subplots. They're so much fun.
a. Begininng
i. The girls meet each other
ii. They help a lady walk her dog and get money
iii. The girls talk to each other
iv. The girls buy ice cream
v. While waiting for ice cream, they see a man who is very poor and wants to buy ice cream for his kids. They give him some money.
b. Middle
i. The ice cream is stolen
ii. The girls run after the thief, but lose him
iii. The girls report the crime and the police laugh at them
iv. The girls track down the thief themselves
c. The End
i. They find the thief
ii. They confront the thief and see that he is giving the ice cream to his sick dog
iii. The girls forgive the man
iv. The girls and the man have a bonfire, complete with bluegrass music.
v. The girls buy more ice cream for the dog
vi. The dog recovers and the girls adopt her babies.
5. Research: This final stage of pre-writing can take the longest amount of time, or the shortest. Research takes many different forms. For me it looks like a lot of reading long articles about various parts of the U.S.A, getting a small grasp on many different laws and learning as much as possible about ukuleles. However, research could look different if my novel was about a fantasy world. I would have a lot more to do because I'd have to build my world from the ground up.
That’s the end of my "pre-writing to-do list." I'm currently on the research stage which has been pretty fun so far. I hope to release another post on Thursday. I have Christmas Break for three weeks so I'll be spending more time on this blog. Have a wonderful day every one and happy writing!
P.S - It's still Monday!
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