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what to write next; wip writers' block edition:

switch POVs (this would differ if you really want it to be limited, but if you do switch, make sure to keep it [somewhat] consistent)

introduce a new character

scrap the planning and go off the rails (literally and figuratively)

kill off a character

turn something the characters have been chasing into something that doesn't exist

destroy the thing they've been chasing just when they get it

introduce another subplot

turn one of the mc's trusted characters into a traitor

what would you do to make your mc's life as difficult as possible? oh, that's evil. do it.

send the mc on a wild goose chase

make the mc screw up really, really badly

enact the Fatal Flaw™—make this make them screw up

the mc does something that splits up their group and renders them not trustworthy

the mc betrays their group

the characters are forced to sacrifice something dear

the villain dies

the villain is killed by an underling who is even worse than the original villain

introduce the person who controls the villain

kill off the mc's motivation

what would give the villain absolute power? a gateway to achieve their goal? do it, or if you can't, nudge them in the right direction

Scottish Highlands, 2017.

why do you charge money for your art

big fan of eating

all for the game is a not a book series it's a mental illness

laptop: PLEASE place me on a hard surface that does not obstruct my cooling fan I am begging you

me: shut up we are going to snuggle in bed :)

How to write a novel using Notion

Hello, hello! Hope you're doing well.

Today I'm bringing you a step-by-step tutorial on how to get your novel done with this free notion template I've created.

So, first of all, imagine you have a bright idea. That's the first step.

Have a Bright Idea

There are many plot generators available out there for you to explore new ideas.

For this post, I'll be using RanGen.

Now that I've generated a couple of ideas, I will write them down in the section "inspo & ideas", to, later on, pick the one that suits me the best.

After picking an idea, it's time to start developing it.

Brainstorm

On Notion, go to the section "my novels" and create a new one.

Go to the menu, inside the novel tab, and open "brainstorm". Now, you'll write small phrases and topics about your main idea. After you've done that, you'll brainstorm some possible titles, character names, and plot twists. Also, I've included a place for you to add images to create some sort of inspiration board - this will be helpful to keep you inspired and to visualize the type of vibe of your novel.

Here are my results so far:

Good, let's head out to the plot!

Plot

The plot page is divided into 10 questions, which will help you understand better how your story will develop. This method is called The Snowflake Method and was created by Randy Ingermanson. It consists in writing down a sentence that describes your main idea and slowly developing it until you have almost every detail to start writing the first draft.

Note: I didn't fill out everything in this questionnaire, since I am doing this as an example for the tutorial.

After finishing the Snowflake Method, you'll have almost every character developed, as well as the main scenes of the story. If you need to add something else, feel free to go to the section "characters" to create another character, "scenes" if you want to create a full outline of your book, or "world building" if you need to add places that will take huge importance in the plot.

When you feel satisfied, it's time to start writing your first draft, based on the "scenes" database.



That's everything for today!

Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful or inspiring!

Get your free Notion template here!

Note:

If you're using my template to develop your story and feel like sharing it, feel free to tag me on your post or use the tag #AuthorsCornerTemplate so that I can see <3

why do all the words sound heavier in my native language?

—  @metamorphesque, Yoojin Grace Wuertz (Mother Tongue), Still Dancing: An Interview With Ilya Kaminsky (by Garth Greenwell), Jhumpa Lahiri (Translating Myself and Others), @lifeinpoetry

˗ˏˋ☕ˎˊ˗        

the buffalo sabres and pittsburgh penguins co-host the NHL’s first joint pride game | 17 april 2021

How to Plot A Complex Novel in One Day

Now first, I have to say, that the plot you’re able to come up with in one day is not going to be without its flaws, but coming up with it all at once, the entire story unfolds right in front of you and makes you want to keep going with it. So, where to begin? 

What is your premise and basic plot? Pick your plot. I recommend just pulling one from this list. No plots are “original” so making yours interesting and complicated will easily distract from that fact, that and interesting characters. Characters will be something for you to work on another day, because this is plotting day. You’ll want the main plot to be fairly straight forward, because a confusing main plot will doom you if you want subplots. 

Decide who the characters will be. They don’t have to have names at this point. You don’t even need to know who they are other than why they have to be in the story. The more characters there are the more complicated the plot will be. If you intend to have more than one subplot, then you’ll want more characters. Multiple interconnected subplots will give the illusion that the story is very complicated and will give the reader a lot of different things to look at at all times. It also gives you the chance to develop many side characters. The plot I worked out yesterday had 13 characters, all were necessary. Decide their “roles” don’t bother with much else. This seems shallow, but this is plot. Plot is shallow. 

Now, decide what drives each character. Why specifically are they in this story? You can make this up. You don’t even know these characters yet. Just so long as everyone has their own motivations, you’re in the clear. 

What aren’t these characters giving away right off the bat? Give them a secret! It doesn’t have to be something that they are actively lying about or trying to hide, just find something that perhaps ties them into the plot or subplot. This is a moment to dig into subplot. This does not need to be at all connected to their drive to be present in the story.  Decide who is in love with who, what did this person do in the 70’s that’s coming back to bite them today, and what continues to haunt what-his-face to this very day. This is where you start to see the characters take shape. Don’t worry much about who they are or what they look like, just focus on what they’re doing to the story. 

What is going to change these characters? Now this will take some thinking. Everyone wants at least a few of the characters to come out changed by the end of the story, so think, how will they be different as a result of the plot/subplot? It might not be plot that changes them, but if you have a lot of characters, a few changes that are worked into the bones of the plot might help you.

Now list out the major events of the novel with subplot in chronological order. This will be your timeline. Especially list the historical things that you want to exist in backstory. List everything you can think of. Think about where the story is going. At this point, you likely haven’t focused too much on the main plot, yeah, it’s there, but now really focus on the rising actions, how this main plot builds its conflict, then the climactic moment. Make sure you get all of that in there. This might take a few hours. 

Decide where to start writing. This part will take a LOT of thinking. It’s hard! But now that you’ve got the timeline, pick an interesting point to begin at. Something with action. Something relevant. Preferably not at the beginning of your timeline - you want to have huge reveals later on where these important things that happened prior are exposed. This is the point where you think about what information should come out when. This will be a revision of your last list, except instead of being chronological, it exists to build tension. 

Once you’ve gotten the second list done, you’ve got a plot. Does it need work? Probably. But with that said, at this point you probably have no idea who half your characters are. Save that for tomorrow, that too will be a lot of work. 

After you’ve plotted the loose structure of your novel from this, see my next post to work on character! 

go here and let me know what your short term top artists from spotify (within the last 4 weeks) are in the tags!