Get Organized Before You Write Your Novel
Photo by e-magic
I was involved in a message board discussion the other day about how I organize my novels before I write them. My answer was that I create a series bible. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, a series bible is a summary of all the information you need to write multiple books (or television shows or films or what-have-you) in the same setting/story world. Since I do the same thing for my stand alone novels as I do for series work, I thought I’d share that process with you all.
The first thing I do is assemble all of my organizational materials into a three ring binder. I use tabbed dividers so that I can find things easily once the project has begun. I usually use the same set of tags on every project – Characters, Setting, Plot, Timeline, Research, Unanswered Questions, and Reminders.
– The Characters section contains all of my character summaries, my back-story notes, and a physical description sheet that allows me to easily reference things like eye color, height, weight, etc. I also make a habit of cutting pictures out of magazines or off the web to remind me of what certain characters might look like and I keep these with my notes for visual cues when it comes time to develop descriptive passages.
– The Setting section contains all of my setting sketches (one page summaries of everything I know about a particular place or setting) as well as any miscellaneous notes I might have lying around discussing how those setting relate to each other. As with my characters, if I have any images that I’ve saved, I put these in the binder as well.
– The Plot section contains my one paragraph, my four paragraph, and my four page plot summaries, as well as my individual scene breakdowns. I think I’ll talk more about these in a later essay, but in general they are quick summaries I use to sketch out the basic plot and premise of each work.
– The Timeline section contains my spreadsheet mapping out exactly when things happen in the storyline. If I need to keep track of more detailed events (such as the exact timing of some of the events during the murders in my forthcoming novel THE WITCHES’ HAMMER,) I’ll also draw up one page sheets that outline these as well.
– The Research section contains not only my original list of research topics, but also the research itself. When writing my Templar Chronicles trilogy, I wanted my modern extrapolation of the Templar order to be as close to the original as possible, so this section actually grew so large as to necessitate its own binder. Do whatever feels right to you but remember, you shouldn’t be spending so much time researching that you never get around to actually writing!
– The Unanswered Questions is, appropriately enough, full of unanswered questions. These can be specific research issues (also filed in the Research section) or they can be character and/or plot issues that I haven’t yet worked out. Putting them in their own section and making a point to review it every few days keeps me from forgetting to answer them in the manuscript.
– The Reminders section is particularly important. The last thing I want to do is stifle my creativity and forward momentum by constantly going back and fixing things in my first draft. Instead, I keep notes of anything I need to fix, add, delete or otherwise adjust on a legal pad while I write each day and then transfer those pages into my binder when I’m finished each session. That way I know I won’t forget to come back and do them, which in turn allows my creative side to just get on with finishing the rough draft.
Once I’ve got my binder in order, I’m ready to get to work.
Since I write my chapters entirely out of order, this level of detail ahead of time is necessary for me to achieve my goals. I map out each and every book this way, taking one or two months to get it all squared away. The benefit, however, is that the actual writing time is greatly reduced as I’m not trying to figure out where I’m going while in the process of getting there.
So, do you organize your work before getting started? How do you go about it? If not, why not?
16 Comments, Comment or Ping
AHD
Doing a character section is a great idea. Thanks for sharing. When I wrote my first novel, I was constantly going back to remind myself what my main character looked like. I’m definitely going to utilize some of these pointers!
Feb 16th, 2008
admin
Thanks for giving it a read! I’m thinking about doing a series of posts delving into each section and how I use it/organize it for best effectiveness. What do you think?
Feb 16th, 2008
Christopher
Please, Please, Please continue to add to your site. I can write but my biggest handicap is a lack of organization. This site is necessary! Thank You! –Christopher (MoltenSproket)
Feb 17th, 2008
Emma
Wow, I usually try something similar (and far less detailed) before I write, but it’s never enough. This whole thing is *amazing* and I feel like getting started right away!
Also, I think the bit in your response to AHD is a great idea. I’ll be sure to check back for those posts.
Feb 18th, 2008
Joe Nassise
Chris - I’ll definitely be continuing to add to this site. Some up-coming future posts will look at how to make your characters original, how to structure your plot before you start to write, and why not stopping to edit your work will increase your creativity exponentially.
Stay tuned!
-Joe
Feb 18th, 2008
Joe Nassise
Emma - I’ve got this weird habit of writing all of my novels out of sequential order. I find I write best when I write the scene I’m jazzed to write that day, so if I try to write anything else it ends up coming out flat. I had to develop a system that allowed me to write out of order but still be organized enough to bring it all together in the end. Hence, the novel bible I wrote about in my post.
I’m glad you found it helpful. Thanks for commenting!
Feb 18th, 2008
Jack
Actually, I prefer not to map out my stories before I write them. The ending of my first novel was a complete surprise to me, and that suspense is one of the things that keeps me motivated in writing. For me, half the experience of writing is finding out what will happen next. It’s like watching a movie; I don’t want to know what’s going to happen ahead of hand.
Feb 18th, 2008
admin
Jack - There are a lot of writers who feel the same as you do. I’d argue that just because you take some time to plan out where you are going doesn’t mean that you have to end up there. In fact, the act of planning it out might just trigger those latent thoughts that help you find the true ending during the writing process. We all have to write in the manner that works for us.
Thanks for joining the conversation.
Feb 18th, 2008
Tor Michal
Very good!
I’m just into this planning fase of my first novel, and it’s always good to get tips from professionals, those who’s been there before.
Feb 19th, 2008
Jenny
i can definitely use this for november.
Feb 20th, 2008
admin
Tor - I’ve been using this system to write my last seven novels, so it definitely works.
Jenny - Are you going to be doing NaNoWriMo?
Feb 24th, 2008
Harrison McLeod
@Joe: Ah, organization, the bane of my partner’s existence, and mine as well since it usually falls to me to put everything in order. You gave me some good ideas for organizing the mountain of material James and I have for our series. Excellent post, thanks for the link.
Feb 28th, 2008
mari adkins
Thanks for this post, Joe. I do something similar, and honestly I’ve been kicking myself for not keeping all my notes throughout the entire series I’ve been working on (I did for the last two, but not the first two - ouch! - so now it’s a lot of dig and poke when I’m trying to find something I need).
I don’t outline, per se. I make a long list of “working notes” and create a “working timeline”. The notes are a long sheet (or sheets) of nothing but things encompassing “this is what I think needs to happen in this story and why”. The timeline is just that - when these things need to happen. Does that make sense?
Since the location where my stories are set is a real place, I have accumulated quite a store of information - both on my own and from their local CoC and tourism center, as well as from people who live there who’ve supplied me with endless “this happened then” tales and so forth. I also have hundreds of photographs. And I lived there for four years, so I know the local ‘flavor’.
I’m also one of those weird people who make a sketch of the floorplan of the house my MC lives in - and/or whichever house s/he spends the most time in. I have to be able to find my way around. Too, it helps me remember where/how things are located.
And I’m glad I’m not the only one who saves photographs of folks who looks like my characters! I’d often wondered if anyone else did.
All of this (except for the photographs - they’re all on my hard drive) goes into a three-ring binder. I put the sheets in page protectors because I’m bad for spilling things when I’m working. (Ok, so I’m just bad for spilling things LOL) That and the surface of the protectors is great for adhering a post-it if needed. Too, they’re the right size and shape to drop a carefully folded city/county/park/whatever map into, too.
Feb 29th, 2008
mari adkins
I’m so embarrassed. I didn’t mean for my post to be that long. LOL
Feb 29th, 2008
Louise Pool
This is a wonderful idea! I’ve just started working on my first novel and have been jotting things down in a couple of notebooks. It’s already a mess and I badly needed an idea to get organized. This is just what I needed. Thanks!
Jun 24th, 2008
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