Planning before Writing a Novel

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Why are you calling it 'elusive' if it's freely available all over the internet?

Because Papel is no longer supported by its original creator and it can sometimes be hard to locate the version which isn't on a site which mass-holds software and may contain viruses.

I like outlining too, which is why Papel is just a note-holder - a way of jotting down, in a easy to see at a glance format - thoughts about a novel, locations, characters. I've re-jigged the icons and their purpose to suit my own methods of working, so don't use it 'out of the box', but create my own themes.

Outlining using Word's outline view is an important part of my preparation process, where the actual plotline comes together and sometimes is altered, but I wouldn't know what to put in the outline if I hadn't already jotted down the basic ideas: location, characters, scenes, etc, in Papel.

[SciFiWriter]

MS Word is all you need. Use OneNote to hold your notes.

Let the characters write the story! If you make them strong enough, motivated, and embroiled in conflict, they will write the story for you. Outlines and methods stifle creativity. Okay, they can keep you on the story line if you wander, but hell. If you are not writing, you don't know if you need them. So why are you not writing?

Throw away the crutches and write! Write every day. Think the story in your head when you are not at your keyboard. Dream your story at night. Live inside each character's head and write what they would do.