I passed the 10,000 word mark earlier today, which means I’m well on track to completing the first draft of a 50K-word manuscript. I’m actually aiming for 70-75K, which is a typical length for a work of contemporary commercial fiction.

I’ve been studying plot and structure for the past few years, since that’s the toughest part of the craft for me. Jack Bickham’s Scene and Structure. Chris Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey. Screenwriters Michael Hauge and Alexandra Sokoloff. Robin Perini’s Discovering Story Magic. Between these and many others, I’ve patched together a storyboard-and-index-card method that – SO FAR – seems to be working.

Hopefully, I’m not jinxing myself, here.

This is what my writing work-space looks like:

This big newsprint sheet is my “template” of where I need to have certain structural elements, and at what percentage of the story, according to the final word/page count I intend my book to be. It’s all very mathematical and smart. I like it a lot.

Then I lay out my index cards, one for each chapter. I want 20 chapters in total, allotted as follows: five in Act I, 10 in Act II, five in Act III.

The cards marked with red are for Act Climaxes. As I write the actual text, on my laptop, I make notes of the scenes on the appropriate index card. This helps me keep track of what happens when, and where, so that it’s easier to write my synopsis later. This also allows me to write scenes out of order, without getting completely messed up. You might notice that I’ve got a scene written in Chapter 7, even though I haven’t written Chapters 4, 5 or 6 yet.

Isn’t it kewl?

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6 Comments

  1. Palm Trees & Bare Feet November 6, 2011 at 3:50 am

    Congratulations on your 10K! I just reached 10,000 myself yesterday, so I’m also very happy for that!

    I love your story board! Wish I could take the time to do that, but see, I’m not as organized as you! ;)

    Thanks for sharing your NaNo updates! It helps motivate the rest of us! :)

    • Roxanne November 6, 2011 at 9:50 am

      10K is a big achievement – we ROCK!

  2. thebangzats November 5, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    See, I’m too much of a techie to be doing this, but I want to! Feels… like I’m serious or something.

    Anyways good luck with your NaNo :D
    I’m also doing a NaNo blog and hopefully I can reach my quota (cause between projects and competitions, I barely have time to sleep)

    • Roxanne November 5, 2011 at 7:17 pm

      Good luck to you, too, and get some sleep!

  3. Rocket November 5, 2011 at 6:34 pm

    Several of my bloggie friends are doing NaNoWriMo2011, I’m not, I lack dedication etc. But this is so cool, you’ve got some awesome organizational skills! :)

    • Roxanne November 5, 2011 at 6:51 pm

      Thanks, Rocket! I’m such a seat-of-the-pants kind of writer that external structure is the only thing between me and utter incoherence. Well, that’s the hope, anyway.

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