Without Sacrificing Creativity
Writing a full-length novel is a big project. It involves developing complex characters, a compelling plot, and strong dialogue in addition to writing vivid and engaging prose. It’s a lot to keep track of and a lot to forget as you get further in your manuscript.
For years I was afraid of outlines. They seemed boxes to imprison my imagination in. But with the right approach, some level of structure doesn’t have to cement you into a plan and block your creativity. Rather, it can become a road map you refer to when you’re starting to feel a little lost on your journey.
So here are 7 tips to keep your novel organized.
1. Freewrite a fast summary of your story idea before beginning. Take the pressure off yourself to impress people with your clear and beautiful prose, your wonderful descriptions, and you’re compelling dialogue. Just get the idea out. Don’t worry about the structure of a formal outline. Don’t try to put your imagination into a box. Just let your imagination go on fast forward and take some fast notes. This will be your reference point as you continue on the journey.
Because this will become a reference sheet, it’s best to try to keep it brief. Don’t spend a whole lot of time on it. Write what you can in one sitting and let it be. You can figure out more details later.
2. Start sketching out a few of your characters. These don’t have to be complete. Ideally, you’ll update these as you write and learn more about your characters through the creative process, but you’ll need a starting point. If you’re looking for help, Evernote has a free Character Master List template and a Character Profile template.
3. Start Your Crude Working Outline. This doesn’t need to be neat, and like the character profile, you’ll want to continue to update and modify it as you write. If you want a lot of freedom, keep the layout simple. Type out your plan for a chapter or scene in whatever manner works for you. I would only advise that you keep later chapter descriptions brief as they’re very likely to change as you near them.
If you’re looking for some more guidance, Evernote has some free writing templates you can download. I recommend the Novel Plotting: Story Beats template.
4. Create a clean outline of already written content. Once you’re on your way to writing your manuscript, it can be a good idea to either clean up your outline or create a new one briefly summarizing the chapter or scene using bullet points. Personally, I like keeping it separate. One is a reference guide on where I’ve been. The other is a plan on where I’m going.
5. Create a new file for each chapter. Rather than scrolling through pages of a huge manuscript, it can be a good idea to have one file for each chapter or scene you write.
3. Invest in Scrivener. It isn’t free and does have a bit of a learning curve, but I highly recommend purchasing a copy of Scrivener. It’s well worth the investment and is a great tool for organizing your story.
4. Learn as you go, and do what works for you. Don’t get too bogged down with formal how-to’s. It’s really up to you to find your own balance between pantsing and planning.
Got any of your own organizational tips? Leave them in the comments below!
For more free creative writing templates from Evernote, visit Evernote's blog.