A Company of Writers: Organizing your story plot ideas.

It’s a great time to be a reader. There are so many books out there, in every possible genre and sub-genre that it would take several lifetimes for you to read them all. It’s a great time to be a writer too. Every day more aspiring authors take the leap and follow their dream, only to learn that it isn’t as easy as it looks. There are many things that new writers need to learn if they want readers to keep coming back. One of the biggest obstacles is a plot that makes sense and that doesn’t veer off and away from the original story. I know a few writers who are ‘pantsers’ and that’s wonderful (each writer is different), but even a pantster needs to plot out their story for a synopsis, and so the idea for this post.

I’m an outliner. I outline just about everything for my novels. It helps to keep me on track, but it’s an organic outline; something that changes with a new plot element. There are writing programs that can keep things in order (like Scrivener) or if you’re like me, you have a dozen word files going for just one story.

I’ve put together a small list of online sites that can help you figure out just where you want to go with your novel. Some of these are for world building too.

Story Plot

Writer’s Digest:

http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/write-first-chapter-get-started/how-to-organize-and-develop-ideas-for-your-novel

Life Hacker: (for Scrivener users)

http://lifehacker.com/how-scrivener-helped-me-organize-all-my-writing-1599446028

Write Non-Fiction Now: (specifically for non-fiction writers)

http://writenonfictionnow.com/12-ways-to-organize-your-book-ideas-before-you-start-to-write/

Snowflake Method:

http://selfpublishingadvice.org/writing-how-to-use-the-snowflake-technique-to-write-a-novel/

99U:

http://99u.com/articles/6969/10-online-tools-for-better-attention-focus

Word Hunter: (story structure)

https://hunterswritings.com/2016/09/16/7-point-story-structure-resources/

(another link on story structure)

http://channel101.wikia.com/wiki/Story_Structure_101:_Super_Basic_Shit

 

Brainstorming Techniques:

Blog Entry by Tina Hunter:

http://www.tinahunter.ca/2011/10-resources-for-writers/

Women Writers: (useful article on keeping everything on track)

http://channel101.wikia.com/wiki/Story_Structure_101:_Super_Basic_Shit

 

Women Writers: (link on POV)

http://booksbywomen.org/whose-point-of-view-is-it-anyway/

As I stated earlier, every author is different and will have their own way of writing novels, but there’s nothing wrong with stepping out of your comfort zone for a moment if things get stuck.