Outlining and/or Templates – Read First Chapter.com

Category: Outlining and/or Templates

Character Development Worksheet

THE ULTIMATE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHEET

MAIN CHARACTER WORKSHEET:

When I started writing several years ago, I came across the standard character worksheet and it focused mostly on physical attributes, occupation but there was a disconnect regarding their role in the storyline, which is the most important part.
My purpose in this blog post is share a more in depth character development worksheet.   I’ll go over the different parts of the worksheet with a brief explanation of the parts that need a little explanation.  Most of the worksheet is self-explanatory.
The first question is:  Is this a Main Character you are developing?  Or  Minor Character?  There is a separate Minor Character Development List on the third page of the checklist.  We’ll begin with the Main Character development.
The following aspects of the worksheet are self-explanatory.  The only prompt I will give to beginning writers is that you want to keep your writing lean.  So think in terms of what background, educational and job information is crucial for the plotline of the story?  That’s the most important part.

THE BASICS:

  • Name of Main Character
  • Job/Position
  • Educational Background
  • Physical description – (age, body type, build)
  • Relevant Background:
    • What background information is needed for the story setup?
    • What background information is crucial to the story itself?

THE INCITING INCIDENT:

Most plotlines need an inciting incident.  This is the occurrence that happens to take the main character out of his/her normal life and into the storyline.  What will this be?
Sometimes it is an incident that happens but sometimes, like in a police procedural, it’s as simple as being assigned to a case.  Either way, the inciting incident is what begins the actual story arc and the character arc.
TWO MAIN QUESTIONS:  
  • Will the character try to avoid entering the storyline?  If so, how will this play out?
  • What will happen in the story that will convince or make the Character agree to move forward into the storyline?  What will be the inciting incident?

CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS:

As a newbie, it took me awhile to remember that a character needs to have an arc over the storyline.  So it’s important — and time saving — to know what that arc will be before you even begin the draft.  This character sheet can help you find this so you know where you are starting from and where you want to end up.  The following questions should help you focus on what this character arc will be:

  • What does the character want?
  • Who and/or What is standing in his/her way?
  • What fear is in the way to conquering this obstacle?
  • How will the character conquer him/herself
  • How will this play out over the four parts of the story?

CHARACTER ARC IN FOUR PARTS:

I write in a four-part story line as opposed to the 3 part storyline.  So I break the character arc into these specific parts:

Part 1:  Where does the Character Arc start out?
Part 2:  How will the Character change in part 2, if at all?  How will this play out in the second part of the plot?
Part 3:  How will the Character change in part 3, if at all?  How will this play out in the second part of the plot?
Part 4:  How will the Character change in part 4?  How will this play out in the last part of the story?

MINOR CHARACTER:

For minor characters, you only need to answer a few questions.  It helps to know what role these minor characters will play and what, if any, background information is needed to support them in the storyline:

  • Name
  • Role in Story
  • Any background that is needed to move the story forward?
  • How will you add background or character traits of this minor character?
  • Will there be any character arc?
  • If so, what is it in one sentence?

Click below

Peek Behind the Novel – Writing the First Draft – Layer 4

LAYER 4 – WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT

PBN-SM-Layer4-Scivener

  • Use the Scene outlines to write the individual scenes.
  • Split Scrivener Binder into Four Parts representing the Four Part Structure.
  • I copy each scene outline into one document under the Part it belongs in.
  • I set up all of my scene documents in the proper sections.  I don’t worry if certain parts are ‘heavy’.  The clues are recorded but the rest of the drama of the story is not.

THE MIND IS ALWAYS WORKING:

  • This process will give you a bird’s eye view of the scenes.
  • I usually decide to move a scene or two closer to the mid-section of the story.   Because it’s only an outline, it’s easy-peasy.
  • By seeing the scenes with the timings and a one to three word prompt, I start to see the story from above.

I DON’T FORGET MY LANDMARKS – PART 1

  • The Hook (Which we haven’t talked about yet)
  • The crime scene or the acknowledgement of the mystery
  • The Inciting Incident – When the detectives start off to solve the crime.
  • By the end of Part 1, I want there to be at least 2 suspects or even 3.
  • By the end of Part 1, more than one person looks guilty.

LANDMARKS OF PART 2:

  • Interviews begin – they point to different people
  • Clues begin to trickle in – they may seem to clear one or another
  • One of two secrets are exposed in Part 2.
  • The end of Part 2 is the midway point.  There could be a big surprise or shock

LANDMARKS OF PART 3:

  • More interviews
  • More clues
  • Even the rise of another suspect, an unusual suspect.
  • This rise of an unusual suspect can twist the story into another direction.
  • This midway point could also be a Dark Night of the Soul where it may seem that the culprit may get away with it or it won’t be solved or solved in time.

LANDMARKS OF PART 4:

  • The first part of this section will be a big reveal.
  • The crime will be solved between the start of Part 4 up to 2/3 of the part.
  • There needs to be time to wrap up the crime and show how it affects everyone involved.
  • The last part of the story is for the ‘wrap up’ where you tie up all the loose ends.

ABOUT WRITING THE WRAP UP:

  • Reveal the guilty party and solve the mystery.
  • Reveal why the red herring couldn’t be guilty.
  • Do a quick review of the whole crime to confirm for the readers
  • Show a ‘new normal’ for the main characters, showing their character arcs completing.
  • In a series, you need to drop a clue that this crime is finished but their story continues.

TIPS ON WRITING A FIRST DRAFT:

  • Write forward only.  Don’t look back.
  • Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, verb tense, too many over-used words.
  • The goal of the first draft is to get it down on paper and make sure you put everything into the story from your scene outlines.
  • Think of it as ‘blurting out the story’.

I’LL BE BUSY OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WRITING:

  • I’ve reached Layer 4 in my present novel.  This layer takes time to get it all down on paper.
  • By not worrying about prose or grammar, I’m free to just be creative about the story and whatever dialogue pops into my head.
  • The first draft will be just that — a first draft.
  • Rest assured that the first draft is important, but by the time I get all the way to Layer 8, it will be polished and not look anything like it looks in the first draft.

I HOPE THIS SPURS SHARING

  • I hope my revelations of my writing techniques will prompt other authors to reveal their process.
  • I love to learn new techniques and when I was brand new, learning from experienced authors was so very helpful.
  • Be sure to sign up at ReadFirstChapter.com to get on my mailing list.  I send book promotions once a week and notices of new books and notices of when my books go “free” on Amazon.

Here is the YouTube video that goes along with this blog post.  I have the timestamps below in case you want to watch a certain part over or just skip to the relevant part.

00:01 – How I set up Scrivener into the Four Part Story Structure 01:15 – This process gives you a bird’s eye view of the entire story
02:00 – Showing in Scrivener how I set up the Binder, the documents, the Title and Synopsis sections and how I can use the Outline view to see a bird’s eye view of the entire manuscript as it comes together.
03:00 – Tracking case time and personal time in order to weave in the subplots
03:36 – How I use the screen outlines, moving the scene outline into the Notes section to keep it safe
04:25 – The Corkboard vs. Outline View 06:10 – Keeping the writing landmarks of Part 1 in mind: The hook, inciting incident, etc.
07:15 – Landmarks of Part 2, how the evidence trickles in – middle of the book
08:20 – Landmarks of Part 3 – Names the suspects and a dark night of the soul.
09:20 – First half of Part 4 – The big reveal and the wrap up of the mystery. 11:03 – Tying up all loose ends and the subplots. Showing the new normal. Ending the character arcs for this story.
12:00 – Writing series and letting the reader know the crime has been solved but their personal lives continue.
12:37 – Five tips to Beginner Writers 13:30 – The story crafter vs. the story author.

 

 

 

 

Author’s Tips – Plotting with Freemind

ALL AUTHORS NEED A PLOTLINE:

Each new book requires a new plotline.  I used to come up with a plotline and go with it.  But I noticed I had a lot of insecurities as to whether it was good enough or whether I was choosing a plotline too soon.

By the third book, I started to write four potential plotlines from the beginning.  Each one was good enough.  They all had a crime or a mystery, they had suspense and even a satisfying or surprise ending.  By writing four plotlines, at some point, the one plotline that I “should be writing” clings to me and I to it.  I know instinctively that ‘this is the one’.

HOW TO QUIET WRITING INSECURITIES:

When I had only the one plotline, I still had an insecurity as I began to write.  What I found with starting with four is that I know I worked on all four and I know I’m writing the best one I came up with.  I feel like the plotline I chose wants to be written.  The characters are already coming alive before I even finish the plotline.

It’s more work to start with four plotlines, but the satisfaction of knowing I’m writing the right book, and being able to let go of any self-doubt and insecurity, it’s well worth it.

THE TECHNIQUE OF OUR PLOTS WORKED, BUT I GOT SCATTERED!

So I could tell the four plotlines was a working strategy going forward.  The first time I did this, I opened a new Notepad document, plotted a crime and a potential storyline.   When I finished, I named it the first potential plotline and filed it.  Rinse and repeat.  Sounds pretty straight forward, right?

Well, after I chose the one potential storyline, I went on to write the book.  The technique worked but, as usual, I got scattered pretty soon thereafter.  What do I mean?  I mean I couldn’t remember where I filed each plotline.  Did I put it into my blogging folder?  Was it in the last book folder?  Was it filed as a general document in my website folder?  I couldn’t find them no matter what.

I don’t know if everyone is like this, but as soon as I have more than three pages of anything, I start going upside down if I don’t have a “system” to keep myself organized.

ALL IN ONE DOCUMENT?

Then in response to getting scattered, I just wrote all four plotlines in one document, but then I was overwhelmed by how long the document was and it wasn’t easy to see which plotline I was in.  The Notepad has a tendency to return to the top when you flip out of it to check a spelling or anything.  Ugh, I again went upside down.

FREEMIND – The solution:

Then I found Freemind.  Of course I saw it on YouTube, where I learn all of my author tricks and tips.  Freemind allows me to keep all four plotlines on the same ‘board’.  BUT I can close each one and it is very easy to determine which plotline I’m on.  This is also a way where I can scan over all past plotlines to get ideas when it’s time for the next book.

This was a game changer for me, which is why I pass this on to other new authors — or just authors who go upside down like I do!

I made a very short video on YouTube showing how this works.  Most of the FreeMind is intuitive and self-explanation when you begin to use it, but it’s always helpful to just see it in action.

 

 

A Simple Mystery Plot

TEMPLATE – SIMPLE MYSTERY PLOT

I spent a lot of time in researching novel templates and wound up getting more confused than organized.  I may have a mental block on this, or if you are a beginner, you may find the same difficulties in getting your plot or story line to fit exactly over a template outline.

Below is a general and loose outline that I put together after writing my first draft and reverse engineering my two favorite books.  I hope this will help you get organized in writing your first novel.

ACT ONE

PRESENT THE CRIME – HOOK  

You will need something to happen or raise a question or mysterious circumstance in the initial first chapter to grab the reader’s attention and make they want to find out what you are talking about.  This is called a “hook”.  This is different from the “inciting incident”.

INTRODUCE THE SLEUTH:
Introduce the sleuth and mention his/her weakness that will be overcome  while solving the crime.  Introduce what inner conflict is bothering him/her, and what he wants in life or his profession.  Keep in mind this character’s arc (where he starts out, how he changes, and where he ends up).
Introduce the sluth’s helper, sidekick or mentor.  You can also introduce the romantic interest in this first section of the book if it fits.  How he or she wanders into the story.

INTRODUCE OBVIOUS SUSPECTS (minimum 2)
INTRODUCE CRIME COMPLICATIONS

INTRODUCE PRIVATE LIFE/SUBPLOT:
Introduce Hero’s home conflicts, work conflicts or or inner conflicts.
Introduce the Sleuth’s romantic interest, which in a mystery romance is the subplot.

In the beginning, something happens that will call the Hero into action.  This is called the “inciting incident”.  This interrupts “normal life” and presents a situation that the hero doesn’t want to bother with or think she can handle it simply and quickly.  He/She is expecting this will not disrupt life as he/she knows it.  (In a mystery romance, it’s usually the first dead body!)

ACT TWO

Act two is the longest act and this is where all of the mystery investigation will take place.  The sleuth will begin to collect evidence, question witnesses, suspect some people and think others are innocent.

This will include the initial police investigations and early forensics (medical examiner, bullistics reports, etc.)

Working from your Reverse Engineering Worksheet, decide how you will drop the clues into the various scenes.  You will want a minimum of two suspects that both look guilty.  Depending upon your plot line, you can have any number of people who could be a suspect.  All of your scenes will revolve around the investigator finding clues and following them to the next clue, and you dropping them for the reader.

There could be another murder, the disappearance of a suspect, and any number of tension-building things that can happen.  You always want to keep the drama moving, especially in this middle section where books tend to lag.

Raise the stakes:  If they don’t find this killer soon, what will happen?  If the killer gets away, what will happen or not happen?  Make sure you write in the stakes, the risk and why the sleuth needs to find the murderer.

WEAVING THE ROMANCE – During the first and second acts, you will also be weaving the romantic beats of the story throughout the action.  Before writing the romantic parts, have in mind the “development of the romance”.  You need to know where it begins, where it goes and how it ends up.  For example:  They couple starts out as trying to be professionals on the case and hiding their attraction, maybe having a conflict on how they see the case, and then the heat or being together makes one of them make a move, they both admit they are attracted to each out, and in the end, they both find true love.  In today’s world, you can find something a little more enticing that this flat example, but you get  my point; you need to know where they are starting, how they will both change with romance, and where they end up.

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL/ALL IS LOST:

At the end of Act 2, the investigation of the crime is not working out or things seem to be going against the sleuth and any of his helpers.  He/she or they reach their darkest moment, they feel like they should give up, their “Dark Night of the Soul”.

ACT THREE

SLEUTH RISES LIKE THE PHOENIX, REGAINS HIS/HER ENERGY AND MOVES FORWARD.

In this section, the sleuth regains his energy and his will and he/she decides that he/she is all in, is going to fight to the death to prove this case no matter what.  He goes back to the beginning, reviews his clues, re-evaluates things, and finds something that was overlooked in Act 1 that suddenly has greater significance.  This will be the new avenue of approach and this will lead to the ultimate solving of the crime and hopefully to justice.

CONFRONTATION OF THE PERPETRATOR:

At the end of the mystery, as it is solved, you may well have a confrontation of the perpetrator by the sleuth or there will be a scene where the cops run in and take him down, depending upon who your sleuth is.

RESOLUTION OF THE SUBPLOT/RETURN TO NORMAL:

Once the crime is solved, the sleuth will be a better person, he/she will have grown through their character arc, an they will be at a better place, more sure of who they are.  If it is a mystery romance, this will also contain a scene or two of how romance has now changed his/her life for the better.

You may also have a scene where your sleuth is explaining the whole plot to someone who still doesn’t understand.  Most books no longer have this, but I like it when the author “ties it up” in the end.  I think it makes the book more satisfying to go over the plot and see and hear it summarized.  I maybe old school, but I just think this adds to the experience of the story.  I don’t have to tell you how much I dislike these movies and stories where the readers decides what the book means?  I feel like throwing the book at the wall, so I like to have a summation, so to speak.

I hope this helps you if you too are just beginning to write stories.