Planning your novel

by susan Russell
22nd July 2014

I have what I think is a great idea for my next attempt at writing a humorous fantasy/adventure novel for children and have roughly drafted the first two chapters. I want to go about drafting the rest in an orderly fashion, rather than the haphazard stringing together of scenes that I usually end up doing, tying myself in knots in the process. How do you writers go about planning your novel?

Replies

I used to do what Adrian did apart from planning the ending first. Now I sometimes think 'how many chapters do I really need in this book?'

BUT I'll bare the advice in mind more often. Sometimes planning is good but sometimes it's not...

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Jannine
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Jannine Smith
23/07/2014

Adrian, Mark & Jonathan - all excellent advice & very helpful. Hopefully I'll make less rods for my own back this time!

Very much appreciate you taking the time to pass on your tips, thank you.

Sue

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susan
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susan Russell
23/07/2014

I've just discovered this site: http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com, which is very rich in guidance for planning, structuring and writing. It covers many aspects of novel writing and details them clearly and succinctly, and it's helping me find answers to a few questions I hadn't yet thought to ask. Well worth a look, at least during the initial stages, whatever your preferred approach.

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Mark
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Mark Davies
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