People have many different ways of thinking and
processing information in their brains. When writing your book or novel you may
think: well I can just write one day at a time and eventually get the story to
how I like it. And that very well may be true; however, most people do not have
the mental capacity to think so far ahead, before they write their novel, that
they can anticipate small changes that need to occur before certain important
events can happen. A general rule of thumb is that before something new is
introduced into your book it should be mentioned at least three different times
in subtle ways and in different contexts so that the reader subconsciously transitions
from one idea to the next. For example, if Lord Prestwitch is going to betray
Aunt Tilly, the subject of betrayal should be mentioned three times before Lord
Prestwitch actually does, but not in a way that the reader can guess that Lord
Prestwitch will betray Aunt Tilly. Writing like this requires a lot of practice
and a lot of planning as well.
Yes that’s right I said the ‘P’ Word. Planning is one of
your most helpful tools. It will help you to develop your ideas so much as you
write, and will allow you to make necessary changes in the plot before certain
events ever happen, eliminating the need to go back and add them in later.
Do you remember that awesome dream that you had last
week? It was so incredible that as soon as you woke up you wanted to tell all
of your family and later your best friends, but when the time came to actually
tell them, the idea didn’t sound half as good as it did while you were actually
dreaming. In fact as you try to explain that dream to your family you realize
that it was actually really not that cool at all… It didn’t even make much sense
really.
You may have fantastic ideas, or ideas that seem
wonderful to you, but right now you have to realize that those ideas are jut
fragments of something much, much larger. Many times when I start writing a new
idea, I have just brief segments of really cool fight scenes, or concepts. Yet when
I start to write without planning I realize that they are really half-baked
they need to go back into the oven to be cooked for a bit longer before I can
actually serve the idea to my family and friends and hopefully future customers
of my published books.
So let’s start at the beginning a very good place to
start, and we will use your notebook and your favorite pen to do some exercises
that will help you to develop your ideas and turn them into something
incredible.
Find a clean sheet of paper and write on the top: My
World/ Universe.
This is an exercise that will help you to first develop your
setting. It will probably take a lot a time. The more time you take during your
planning the less time you will need to take fixing your overall plot later.
1)
First you have to establish what time your World takes place in. So
write time:______ and then whatever you want for your world. Is this in the
Past, Present, or Future. Is this a Past where there is awesome technology, is
it an alternate Present where they live as they did in the past, or maybe even
a future that has been destroyed by an apocalyptic zombie attack. The possibilities
are endless. Is there a numbered year even, such as 2012AD, for your world?
2)
City, or Rural, or none of the above. Depending on
where they live your characters will speak and act differently based upon location, that is why it is important
to establish where they live before you start to write. A Potato farmer is likely to speak differently
than a rich city kid. Write notes about what colors you see in this landscape
what kinds of buildings or rocks or trees there are in the area where you are
going to start your book. Is this a snowy tundra? or the African plains? Is
this Japan, China, Russia? So many different possibilities. Maybe in your world
there is nothing but Green Jell-O for oceans.
3)
Atmosphere
can be used to describe many things, the weather
and even the overall mood of your book.
Maybe in your world, due to an old mages curse, fire and brimstone rain
constantly from the heavens. The sky is grey with heavy clouds that scrape the
tops of buildings with their wispy tendrils. Everyone in this city walks with
eyes downcast and their faces somber. Of course, a good witch could just as
easily make sunshine turn into gumdrops and ice-cream making everyone joyfully
dance through the street lithely, like merry jesters. If there were a song that
went along with the mood of your book, what song would it be? In a book there
is no such thing as normal weather, because although the weather may change
from day to day the mood will be the same or different depending on what you
want to do. That is the difference between sunshine that is sultry and oppressive,
and sunshine that is merry and light upon your face. Rain that is mysterious,
scary, or playful.
4)
This is about all of the setting development
that you will need for now. Take a look at all of the notes you have written and
be sure that they represent the world that you envisioned in your head. Is this
the world that you want? If not keep add details to your notes until you have
something that you are pleased with.
5)
Now, after all of that, a useful exercise that
you can do, is write a one page history of your world. Write about how people
first came to be in this world why things the way they are. How did the zombies
manage to take over New York City? Why is it raining Fire and Brimstone from
the heavens? I think that this is an essential part of you book, it puts an
explanation behind everything that is happening in your world. Even if your
readers don’t know why gumdrops are falling from the sunshine it is important
that you, as the creator of this world, understands why. Who knows it might
come in handy later, if you choose to reveal some interesting information later
in your book.
This is your assignment for now. Next we will be talking
about character development; you definitely won’t want to miss that.
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