The Overlooked Writing Fundamental - Planning

Don't cringe if you read this thinking..."hey, is he talking about me?" I'm not, don't worry. We've all suffered with the curse of the 'unfinished manuscript', there are few writers who haven't.

But, what's missing is the understanding of "WHY?" Why do some writers -- well many, many writers, actually -- begin writing a manuscript only to never finish it? Hands up who has done this very thing... If you did raise your hand, it's okay, you're not alone. There are few writers who could attest to not having a filing cabinet draw with at least one or two unfinished masterpieces in it, myself included.

Fortunately, the half-written story does have a cure: planning.

Other than a good grasp of the language in which you write, story planning is so key to story writing, so fundamental, that perhaps it has also become the most overlooked step in writing. Definitely, there are experienced writers who can write without a full plan, but their negligence of the plan is really a matter of their experience.

For the rest of us planning is a very, very important matter. Do not neglect it.

Planning must also take into consideration another point: the component parts of a novel. Naturally, any novel has a beginning, middle and an end. But, these can be further broken down in a book: firstly, any novel has an 'introduction', then an 'assemblage' of the characters and plot, then the 'climax', followed by the 'dénouement' and, finally, the 'conclusion'. The more accustomed you are to each aspect of your story, the more you will be able to negotiate and better handle the telling of it (We write more about these components in the book "Get Your Book off the Ground"; but we can at least discuss them briefly here). But most importantly, if you make a plan of your story you will prevent finding yourself, half-way through your story writing, wondering what you should do next or where you should take your story? With your story already 'planned', you've already worked that out. A writer's plan, encompassing what their characters will do in each part of the story - from beginning to end - will go a long way to preventing writer's block, something which generally precedes the packing away of an unfinished story into a filing cabinet.

So, how do you do a plan? Easy - it should not take more than a few hours, if that. You can do it on a piece of paper, or more thoroughly on a computer. You can make it as complex or as basic as you like. But, as advice, I would suggest that you make it as simple as possible. Remember, you're not actually writing the story...only planning it...roughing it out.

Some may thumb their nose at the above, saying that it's too simple, that no way could story planning handle writer's block or prevent the story from being completed. Well, my personal experience is, naturally, quite the opposite. Analogous to writing a story without planning it would be going on a day-trip without knowing where you are going. Sure, this is okay if you don't plan to end up anywhere in particular. But for a writer it's not this way - a writer wants, at least, to get to the end of the book. Best you, the writer, have some idea where the 'end' is and what basic shape it may take.

Story planning is not a rote process - so don't be robotic about it. The plan is only a thorough guide for your story - it's not set in concrete, ever. You may choose to change it as the purposes of characters become more clear to you. If so, change it; the plan is only there so you can keep your eye on the mountain which, for a writer, is the end of the story. The plan will stop you becoming bogged down in the jungle on the way to the top of that mountain; when you get stuck and don't know what to do next, simply refer back to the plan, find your path, then continue.

Sure, I've oversimplified the story writing and planning process. But then...this is only a blog. If you want to know more, you can...the catch is, you'll have to get a copy of our book: "Get Your Book off the Ground - What You Need to Know to Write and Publish Your Book". Planning deserves all the pages we devote to it, we even give you a complete example of one, start to finish.

Good luck with planning and story writing. I've never written a book without one!


Anthony Santoro's new book, 'Last Decent Man', is due in stores in September 2009. His first novel, 'The Deception' was published in 2005. He co-authored 'Get Your Book off the Ground' with Suzanne Male. Anthony is the founder of the Writers' Resource Centre. www.writersworld.com.au. To get a copy of 'Get Your Book off the Ground', click here.