Plotting my 2nd Novel with Sticky Notes
Plotting my second novel (a sequel to my first)has been a fun and challenging experience. I’m getting the gradual rush that I once got when I wrote the first novel some years ago. However, I’m trying something different that I didn’t before.
I’m a visual learner, first drawing lines that rose and fell displaying the flow of the first novel’s plot. Most writers are either architects or gardeners. Those that plan and those that improvise. Since I was learning a lot about writing when I wrote the first novel, I didn’t have an identity of either of these so I largely had a funky mesh of both. I planned loose stuff I knew was important and improvised how it all strung together.
Nowadays, I’d say that I heavily plot large-scale projects like novels and make up short stories as I go. And now that I have a solid idea in place, plotting the second novel has been more exciting that before.
Back to my visual learning, I recently took up an idea that other authors have picked up on occasion. A big board or wall comprised of so many colourful sticky notes, they look like scales on a dragon’s back!
Having docs on docs regarding the plot of your story can sometimes be too wordy and confusing for me, so having everything compiled together at an immediate glance has been an amazing experience in helping me see my book in a new light.
I have my own system on what each colour represents or the way in which the board is compiled, but the beauty is that you can try this out in whichever way is most comfortable and effective for you.
Here’s what I’ve done as an example:
Yellow – Story Beats and Key Points across the Three Act structure
Pink – Plot Points
Blue – Character Developments
Green – Twists, Secrets and Hidden Info important to me the Author
The freedom to switch and change certain notes back and forth so that it all fits makes the process so much easier. It’s like literally rearranging and piecing each part of the puzzle, and really that’s what storytelling is all about. It’s about swaying through an impenetrable mist, and every now and then, as Neil Gaiman once said, the mist may clear once in a while and you may find pieces along the road.
It’s then a matter of making the pieces come together, even if it means deciding which ones stay and which ones go. So, if any part of my writing style is like yours and you’re a visual learner like me, I highly suggest you try this when you can!
Thank you for reading and have a beautiful day!
Daniel
