Friday, January 29, 2016

On Spreadsheets and Planning

Itching to write, but I'm still in the outlining and planning phase for my third draft. Currently on Scene 49, half-way through my second draft. At this rate, I think I have 98 scenes by the end of everything.

I've also updated my outlining and planning processes. Along with the scene list, I also added a spreadsheet that tracks turning points and questions raised.

Turning points is borrowed from Coyne's Story Grid and Scofield's The Scene Book. Basically, they are events that changes the mood or the fortune of a specific scene. Things either go from good to bad and vice versa. Or it can go from bad to worse and so on. I think it's beneficial to keep track of these so you can see if a scene is stagnant.

Questions raised came up as an idea and also from years of learning. Previously, I never kept track of potential questions that readers might raise while reading my stories. So in the spreadsheet, I will write up a question that could be raised such as "who is the man in black?" Next, there would be two columns: Answered/Hinted at Scenes and Unanswered.

With the example question "who is the man in black?" that could be answered or hinted at in a future scene. If it's answered in scene 12, then I enter the scene number under that column. Sometimes, you just want to give hints rather than answer a question directly. So in the example, we can sprinkles hints throughout the story. I will then enter the related scene numbers under the column (example: Hints in scene 12, 18, 20).

Other times, you might not want to answer the questions raised just to give your reader a sense of mystery. I think this works only if it is not crucial to the plot. Also, the question might be answered in another book; just not in the one you're working on. In this column, I will write down the answer as a convenience to myself and as a reference. With the same question from above, I can write an answer for myself, stating that the man in black is a magician who orchestrated a disaster (something like that).
Itching to write, but I'm still in the outlining and planning phase for my third draft. Currently on Scene 49, half-way through my second draft. At this rate, I think I have 98 scenes by the end of everything.

I've also updated my outlining and planning processes. Along with the scene list, I also added a spreadsheet that tracks turning points and questions raised.

Turning points is borrowed from Coyne's Story Grid and Scofield's The Scene Book. Basically, they are events that changes the mood or the fortune of a specific scene. Things either go from good to bad and vice versa. Or it can go from bad to worse and so on. I think it's beneficial to keep track of these so you can see if a scene is stagnant.

Questions raised came up as an idea and also from years of learning. Previously, I never kept track of potential questions that readers might raise while reading my stories. So in the spreadsheet, I will write up a question that could be raised such as "who is the man in black?" Next, there would be two columns: Answered/Hinted at Scenes and Unanswered.

With the example question "who is the man in black?" that could be answered or hinted at in a future scene. If it's answered in scene 12, then I enter the scene number under that column. Sometimes, you just want to give hints rather than answer a question directly. So in the example, we can sprinkles hints throughout the story. I will then enter the related scene numbers under the column (example: Hints in scene 12, 18, 20).

Other times, you might not want to answer the questions raised just to give your reader a sense of mystery. I think this works only if it is not crucial to the plot. Also, the question might be answered in another book; just not in the one you're working on. In this column, I will write down the answer as a convenience to myself and as a reference. With the same question from above, I can write an answer for myself, stating that the man in black is a magician who orchestrated a disaster (something like that).
Itching to write, but I'm still in the outlining and planning phase for my third draft. Currently on Scene 49, half-way through my second draft. At this rate, I think I have 98 scenes by the end of everything.

I've also updated my outlining and planning processes. Along with the scene list, I also added a spreadsheet that tracks turning points and questions raised.

Turning points is borrowed from Coyne's Story Grid and Scofield's The Scene Book. Basically, they are events that changes the mood or the fortune of a specific scene. Things either go from good to bad and vice versa. Or it can go from bad to worse and so on. I think it's beneficial to keep track of these so you can see if a scene is stagnant.

Questions raised came up as an idea and also from years of learning. Previously, I never kept track of potential questions that readers might raise while reading my stories. So in the spreadsheet, I will write up a question that could be raised such as "who is the man in black?" Next, there would be two columns: Answered/Hinted at Scenes and Unanswered.

With the example question "who is the man in black?" that could be answered or hinted at in a future scene. If it's answered in scene 12, then I enter the scene number under that column. Sometimes, you just want to give hints rather than answer a question directly. So in the example, we can sprinkles hints throughout the story. I will then enter the related scene numbers under the column (example: Hints in scene 12, 18, 20).

Other times, you might not want to answer the questions raised just to give your reader a sense of mystery. I think this works only if it is not crucial to the plot. Also, the question might be answered in another book; just not in the one you're working on. In this column, I will write down the answer as a convenience to myself and as a reference. With the same question from above, I can write an answer for myself, stating that the man in black is a magician who orchestrated a disaster (something like that).

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