Writing Planning Website: Mastering the Art of Creative Writing

Writing a novel can be a daunting task, but having the right tools can make all the difference. A writing planning website can help you stay organized and focused, just like the website's user, Emma, who created a comprehensive outline for her fantasy novel using the website's character development tool.

With a writing planning website, you can break down your story into manageable chunks and create a schedule to stick to. For instance, the website's scene planning feature helped writer, Jack, break down his 80,000-word novel into 20 manageable scenes.

A writing planning website can also help you develop your characters and world-building skills. By using the website's character profile feature, writer, Sarah, was able to create a detailed backstory for her protagonist, which in turn helped her write more engaging dialogue.

By using a writing planning website, you can take your writing to the next level and produce a high-quality manuscript.

Writing planning is an essential step in the writing process. A story planner helps establish a strong foundation for a good plot, making it easier to organize thoughts and ideas.

You can start by creating a central project plan, which combines all your ideas and plans into one place. Traditionally, ideas and plans might be scattered across sticky notes, to-do lists, spreadsheets, and documents.

A story planner typically includes your ideas, research, inspiration and moodboards, outline, character profiles, to-do lists, and comments and feedback from others.

You can use a novel planning template to get started, which usually includes your premise, outline, character profiles, and to-do lists.

Some popular novel plotting methods include the three-act plotting template, story beats template, and snowflake method checklist.

Regardless of your novel plotting method, keeping track of time in your novel is important. This template will keep your novel's clock ticking smoothly.

Here are some popular templates for plotting and outlining your novel:

Having a story planner helps you narrow down your ideas and sort them into different buckets, ensuring you don't lose any valuable story ideas.

Organizing ideas is a crucial step in the writing process, and it's where a writing planning website can be a huge help. You can start by grouping similar ideas to uncover patterns in your thinking.

Researching and collecting articles and data can also help you organize your ideas. A moodboard can be a great tool for organizing inspiration and references. You can add images, quotes, and other materials that spark your creativity and help you visualize your story.

To take it to the next level, you can use a story planner to help you narrow down your ideas and sort them into different buckets. This can be especially helpful if you have too many ideas and don't know where to start. A story planner can also help you elicit new thoughts and ideas through probing questions.

Organizing your ideas into themes is a great way to uncover patterns in your thinking. This helps you to see how different ideas fit together and can even reveal new connections you hadn't thought of before.

Start by grouping similar ideas together, just like you would in a story planner. This can help you to identify common threads and themes that run throughout your work.

A story plan can be a useful tool for organizing your ideas and themes. It can help you to narrow down your ideas and sort them into different buckets, making it easier to see the bigger picture.

You might find that your ideas fall into groups like story, location, characters, or scenes. There are no rules about how you do it, so feel free to experiment and find what works best for you.

Here are some common themes that writers often encounter:

These themes can serve as a starting point for organizing your ideas, but remember that the key is to find what works best for you and your unique creative process.

People who fly by the seat of their pants and wing it as they write are often referred to as "Pantsers".

Planning works, and people who plan their novels are miles more likely to finish them, with the basic quality of those manuscripts being much higher too.

If you're a Pantser, you might feel more comfortable with a freeform approach, but it's worth noting that talented and experienced authors who work with quite 'freeform' stories are an exception to the rule.

You're not in that category, so it's worth considering the benefits of planning your novel, even if it's just a bit, before you start.

Having a solid plan in place before starting to write is crucial for any writer. A roadmap that begins with a premise and culminates in an outline is essential for a successful novel.

You can choose from various plotting methods, including the Three-Act Plotting Template, the Story Beats Template, and the Snowflake Method Checklist.

These templates help you keep track of time in your novel, ensuring that your hero gets that threatening letter on the right day and the next scene happens at the correct time.

A story outline helps you avoid problems later on by working out major problems in advance.

A basic planner like the Story Planner Template can help you come up with a plausible excuse for sending your main character's husband away, saving you from rewriting large sections of the story.

The Story Planner Template should have an overview of the main plot points, including the exposition, catalyst, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Here are the key elements of a story plot:

Using a story planner template can lead to better short stories and help you keep moving in the right direction.

Developing genuine personas for your story can be achieved through the character profile technique, which provides a handy reference point for personality traits, backstory, goals, flaws, and challenges.

A character master list can help you remember who's who at a glance, with columns for names, ages, and notes about your characters. You can even drop in a photo or drawing of each character to help you visualize your story.

A character profile worksheet can help you go deeper with your characters, covering everything from their physical appearance to their biggest secret.

To create a believable character, think about who they are, what kind of person they are, and what they want. Ask questions like: What do they want? What do they need? What are they afraid of? What are their secrets?

Here's a rough outline of the character development process:

A novel has a lot of moving parts, so it's essential to keep everything organized. Consider adding a dashboard where you can manage the whole project and a checklist for bringing your completed work to the world.

Add a "dashboard" to your shortcuts for easy access, and insert links to related notes to save time on searches. You can also paste the file or link into the body of this note and jump into your manuscript with a click.

Project trackers are a game-changer for managing multiple tasks and notes. Consider adding a dashboard to keep everything straight, and insert links to related notes to save time on searches.

A dashboard provides a quick overview of your project's status, and can be added to your shortcuts for easy access. You can also paste a file or link into the body of the note and jump into your manuscript with a click.

Tracking your project's progress is crucial, so create a checklist of all the important steps, from writing a blurb to editing, design, and proofing. Copying this checklist into your dashboard note makes it easy to track your project from start to finish.

Using a template can help you keep track of time in your novel, ensuring that your hero gets that threatening letter on Tuesday or Sunday, and that the next scene happens on a sunny morning or in the dead of night.

Having a clear plan in place can also help you avoid story stagnation, a common problem many writers face. I've seen it happen to my kids when they're working on short stories - they get stuck and don't know how to bring their characters out of bad situations.

A story planner template can help you develop a well-rounded story, including a premise, plot, and characters. By breaking down the story into smaller parts, you can see the big picture and make sure everything fits together.

With a template, you can also create a character master list, which helps you remember who's who at a glance. This can be especially helpful when you have a large cast of characters.

Using a template can also help you write a more realistic story by getting you to think in depth about the setting. This can be as simple as considering the time of day or the weather, but it can make a big difference in the overall feel of your story.

A template can also help you keep track of your progress, making it easier to see what you've completed and how much lies ahead. This can be especially helpful when you're working on a long project like a novel.

Using a story planner template can help you generate ideas, develop well-rounded characters, describe the setting, and plan out a plot with lots of twists and a satisfying resolution.

Having a clear plan helps you avoid getting stuck and losing momentum, as seen in the author's own experience where they would often stop writing due to fear of tackling endings.

A story planner template can also help you identify the emotional wounds of fictional characters and the universal life lessons that will help them overcome those wounds, as the author's children have started to do.

You can use a story planner template for short stories, flash fiction, or novels, and it can be especially helpful for writers who need to know where their story is going before starting to write.

Using a story planner template can save you time and frustration in the long run by helping you avoid getting stuck and ensuring that your story stays on track.

The author has found that using a story planner template has improved their own writing and that of their children, and you can get a free download to use on your own or with students you teach.

Getting inspired is key to writing a great story. Neil Gaiman's advice is to read everything you can lay your hands on.

Reading widely exposes you to different writing styles and genres, helping you understand what makes a good story. Neil Gaiman suggests reading outside your comfort zone to discover new ideas.

Day One is a great tool to capture those ideas as they come to you. It's a journaling app for iPhones, iPads, and Macs that lets you jot down notes on the go.

Simplenote is another simple yet effective way to keep track of your ideas. It's free, clean, and backed up, making it easy to access your notes whenever you need to.

The best time to plan a book is while you're doing everyday tasks like doing the dishes.

The Snowflake Method is a rigidly structured approach to planning your novel, but it's limited and works best for genre novels.

Randy Ingermanson's method starts with a simple one-sentence story outline, then moves on to writing about characters, and eventually circles back to the story.

This process is similar to the one we're discussing, but the Snowflake Method's precise format can be restrictive and doesn't encourage thinking about broader aspects of the book, such as settings and themes.

The method involves breaking down the story into smaller parts, but it's over-prescriptive and may not be the best fit for all writers.

The Snowflake Method's "three disasters plus an ending" summary of a book can be a bit crude, and it's worth considering a more relaxed approach to planning.

This part of the exercise is relatively easy and can be completed in an hour or two, which is a good starting point for your writing planning website.

Setting in the story planner is crucial as it can vary depending on the complexity of the story. A good story planner will include details about the setting, which can be influenced by factors such as the plotter's approach and the story's length.

The amount of detail included in the setting will depend on how much of a plotter the writer is. For example, a writer who is a plotter may want to include detailed descriptions of the setting to help them visualize the scene.

The setting can be a real-world location or a fictional one, and it's essential to consider how it will impact the story. A story planner should cover all the important details a writer needs to consider when planning out their story.