On Plotting (Downloadable Plotting Doc Attached!)
There are a thousand-and-one ways to plot. To write. To draft and edit and tell stories. I’ll be the first to jump on the no-way-is-the-right-way train, that all ways are valid. In fact, I’ll argue that the way I write now isn’t the way I’ve written before and is not the way I’ll write later. It will always be in flux, and I think this is healthy! It allows for growth and change.
Being aware of the above has meant that over the years, I read craft books and explored techniques on plotting (I’m a reformed pantser), and through it all I’ve taken notes to refer to later and to share with friends. A few weeks back while on a writing hiatus, I started to combine those notes into a Google Doc, which turned into a fill-in-the-blank doc for myself for future works, which turned into a question of, “Huh, why on earth don’t I make this available to others?”
So, if you’re curious about my process, please check it out! I would like to emphasize that nothing you see in it is set in stone. I’m not arguing that this is how you should plot or draft or edit, it’s simply a few things I like to keep in mind when I write. I’ve found that drafting often often includes the willingness to forget certain elements now, and the necessity of remembering them later. This doc is one way I’ll help myself to remember elements for later. I very much hope you find it helpful! Please feel free to download it and use it in whatever way you’d like.
Without further ado, here’s my Plotting Overview doc, as well as an EXAMPLE Plotting Overview doc of how one might use it (I’ve used the book example HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE).
Cheers for your writing! Whatever you’re working on, may the writing-gods provide you with a day of joy.
[…] L. Brandt, blogger and author of MG and YA literature, has a great post on plotting that includes a fabulous downloadable plotting outline. If you’re an aspiring author, you should totally check it out! Juliana is also my critique […]
[…] theme and character arc, instead of based only on plot. One of my mentors, Juliana L. Brandt, has a super helpful plotting doc that I use in all my writing now that really walks you through the process of outlining a story in […]
[…] Lorelei Savaryn: I believe that the stories that resonate with us the most emotionally are the ones that have seamlessly interwoven theme, character arc, and plot. My Pitch Wars mentor Juliana Brandt (Author of The Wolf of Cape Fen- out now!) has created this beautifully thorough plotting doc that helps writers see how all three of those things are connected. I use this and refer to it in my own writing, and any of my mentees for the foreseeable future will work through this document as well. https://julianalbrandt.com/2018/03/on-plotting-downloadable-plotting-doc-attached/ […]