How To Develop Your Story Idea Into A Novel \\ Preptober 2021
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- čas přidán 13. 10. 2021
- Who’s ready to start outlining their novel idea for Preptober and NaNoWriMo 2021? If you tend to have great ideas and then feel like you struggle with how to develop those ideas into a full novel, I have some fun and helpful tips for you today.
My lighting was totally wonky today, so I apologize that my face is mostly just light in this video but life on the road is what it is, haha. I’ll do better next week, but I hope you enjoy the message above all!
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Still trying to brainstorm what to write? See these videos on brainstorming: • Great Ideas Series
And last week’s video on choosing which idea to write: • How To Choose Your Bes...
I sincerely hope you find these tips helpful in your own writing journey.
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About Me: My name is Sarra Cannon, and I've been indie publishing since 2010. In that time, I have published 26 books and sold well over half a million copies.
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Yay for more novel prep content. I hope you enjoy this! Let me know if you find these tips helpful and how your planning is going! How much prep do you do before you start writing?
I loved this video! So inspiring. Literally got a big idea for a whole new story. OMG. Thanks, Sarra!
I am following your channel and it has inspired me to actually participate in this years nanowrimo. I've already started to plot my novel and your series about that is amazing. I follow your newsletter and I've been using your preptober 2021 and plot your novel workbooks. I love them. Thank you for being an inspiration.
Thank you! I’m about to publish my sequel Hunter Moon: Book 2 of the Crescent Crown Saga and will churn out the 3rd Wolf Moon for nano! 🌙 ✨ stay magical!
I just have to say I really admire you. As a mom myself I understand how hard it is to write especially with NaNoWriMo and I appreciate that you keep putting out very informative and motivating content for us moms out here!
You are so sweet thank you for the encouraging comment!!
Yay! You make things seem so much less overwhelming so I actually can get it done. I was really procrastinating prepping for (my first) nanowrimo but now I'm excited about it
This makes me so happy to hear!
I LOVE this! After writing and publishing 25 romances, I am dipping my toes into adding mystery content in my work-in-progress. This morning my daughter (who is writing her 30th romantic mystery) and I brainstormed scenes. All five of these steps work. Thank you so much for this. Your timing was perfect.
I have recently discovered the plot onion, it combines Harmon's plot embryo with KM Weiland's plot points & the save the cat beats (made circular). By the end I have my entire story at a glance in my filled in completed plot onion working myself through each layer...
@Cam Crystal's video is called "Can an onion help you write a better novel?" Have fun!
I'd be really interested in seeing an example of developing an idea from a much earlier stage. It's very difficult to find anyone talking about how story ideas develop from the bare bones when all you have is a flashy half thought and maybe a vague character. Developing THAT to a place where you can actually write a premise/logline with an idea of conflict/plot is where I could really use some further discussion.
Have you watched the videos on how to brainstorm ideas? For me, that's where the idea comes in and then I follow this process here.
For me it really helps finding a characters name after I know basic things like their gender, age and how they look. Then I'm looking for photographs of actors and models on Pinterest to figure which is resonating with the idea I have for that character. Usually that already makes scenes pop up in my mind. But if that doesn't happen I think of some back story. What is there family like and their life in general. Do they have siblings? Are their parents alive or dead. If dead, what happened and how did that affect my characters life growing up? etc. All these brainstorming triggers more ideas and I write it all down. What also helps is listening to music and trying to see what could happen in the story. As soon as you get an emotional bond to your characters (that's including the antagonist too of course) you start to care for them and want their story to be good and challenging. This way the story is starting to flesh out more and more. And the more you know, the better you can put it into words. It's like starting a chain reaction :)
I know what you mean, I find that difficult too. This video sort of covers developing a random idea from scratch if that helps: czcams.com/video/v-I9N5LsvPM/video.html
@@HeartBreathings I had to go back and watch it, because I knew I had before but couldn't remember the specifics. That one is definitely helpful for a starting place. I may not have articulated this well, because it's such a fuzzy line, but what I'm really talking about is the in between. It's taking all those ideas you generated, at whatever level you've got them, and figuring out what is viable as a story. If you have 3 different possible directions you can take those ideas, plot wise, how do you identify/develop the one that has properly motivated heroes, villains that make sense, work around plot holes, all that. I've read a lot of tips and tricks, but I've yet to see someone do a good example from scratch up to the point of this video. I really struggle with putting together what I *think* is a good premise, only to find out that (for example) the setup for my antagonist will make him too inactive, or that character whose backstory I spent 3 days fleshing out really has no solid reason to stay on this quest against all odds. When I go back to try to fix that, I end up in this purgatory of reworking things to fix it only to find another fatal flaw. Fixing one thing, break three more in the process. I feel like I'm missing something, which is why I'd love to see that part of the process documented (even knowing it differs from person to person).
Regardless, thanks for the great videos you create! I learn a lot and really enjoy the variety.
@@fralou_sind_kreativ I definitely do this, and I think it's a great approach. I don't have problems coming up with fleshed out characters so much as I have issues with matching them to each other (protag/antag with opposing wants/needs) and creating plots and characters that work well together. I'll have a fun plot concept, come up with a character I love, then realize as I brainstorm toward the end that their motivations don't match correctly with the bad guy, even though individually they seem good. I constantly back myself into plot corners.
I've found that if I go through each and every stage of my story by numbering them it helps me to organise where everything goes in order of story development.
Also, I keep a little notebook just for character quotes( that may suddenly come to mind) and mark exactly what chapter/scene it will go.
Love this!
👍❤️
Great info Sarra…but can I say, YOU LOOK STUNNING!!!! This road trip…well worth all the effort. Thanks again for this informative video!!! I’m loving the Pretober info. Going to do my best to do NaNoWriMo!!!! Thanks for all the inspiration.
great tips and very helpful. The hardest part of novel writing for me is nailing down the plot
Thank you for posting this. This has been incredibly helpful and it fills in a gap that all other Author CZcamsrs seem to leave out. Very beneficial. Will be watching it several more times to get more out of it.
Thank you for this run-through. It really helped me! I can't wait for your next video!
Great tips! I've already plotted my novel for NaNo but I can definitely go over my plan again in order to put these tips into action! Thank you!
I am definitely all in for NaNo! I've been planning and plotting out my story using the index cards and its branched into so much more! Absolutely love this!
It is nice to see someone talking about genre story beats. I have had difficulty finding information on more general story beats by genre. Thank you for the help and inspiration.
This video is magical! The steps you give and the process you work through on the worksheets makes so much sense and are so helpful in story creation. This was a major lightbulb video for me! Thank you!
This video was SO helpful!! I have your novel plotting outline but was still stuck on how to figure it out. This brainstorming idea and scene writing has sparked me to write tonight. This is my 1st NaNoWriMo that I will complete because your tools are helping me to prepare and plan for success. My confidence is growing using your tools. Thank you for sharing with us. It means a lot!
I am now writing short stories, but love your videos. I always get something out of them. Most of all I love your enthusiasm.
This video is going to help me out a lot on plotting my novel. I enjoyed watching this video. Your tips are a lot of help. I will probably watch it again so I get a better idea on what my story is going to be about and use what you did as a guide to help me with my worksheet. Thank you so much for sharing Sarra
this encouraged me to work on my novel after months of struggling. thank you
Love this video. As a Planster (mostly pantsing) laying out this way is really helpful. I have already done draft 1 but before I edit and create draft 2 I'm going to fill this is so I can flesh out some storyline more. This will show clearly where I have some gaps:)
This is an incredible video. I'm going back to watch it again, right away. I am a moderately-experienced(14 manuscripts, 6 published novels) plotter and found so many useful ideas here. Thank you!
This video is most helpful. I’m quite amped about NANOWRIMO!!! Thank you. 🤗
I'm a plotter and seeing how you walked through these worksheets was absolutely so helpful for me. Now to download the worksheet and set to work on my novel! Thanks Sarra!
This is incredibly helpful! Thank you! Breaking down thought processes is half the battle. (The other half is getting over perfectionism.)
Thank you so much Sarra!! That was so incredibly helpful! Can't wait to start doing this :D
Hey Sarra, thank you so much for the preptober booklet and while I don't use all the pages I am finding it extremely useful for planning my new series. It's helping me get all my ideas onto the page and in order so I can read them and better understand them! I never used to be a plotter and though I still don't quite consider myself a plotter I am not a bit of both plotter and pantser and it's working much better for me than just pantsing. Your booklet is exciting to use and I'm loving it. I've planned out the first 3 books in my mystery series with it. Thank you so much for all the work yiu do to help give people access to these resources that can help them! You rock!!! Keep going Sarra, you're killin' it girl! Keep writing amazing books and helping other writers around you! I hope this comment finds you well and reinspires yiu, encouraging you to continue what you're doing! Yiu truly inspire us, so don't ever stop. ❤👍
Loved listening to this. Especially when you talked about not worring about scrapping words or whole scenes as they all are part of building the story. It made me think of painting ...a painter never builds a painting in a single layer..but in many even covering it all up and continuing on top, but, its ALL those layers that give depth and dimension and interest to the complete piece. So now I see that the art of writing is no different. ALL those words ALL those scenes work like beautiful layers in a painting. You may not see them all but bits of color or texture show through and it's what make an ok work interesting or even WOW.
Thank you Sara . I am so excited to understand better the process and feel less intimidated. ❤
I’ve written two projects in two different ways. This years project I’m writing with ideas but also seeing how it goes as I’m writing.
This content was so useful for my planning toolbox. Thank you so much!! Former pantsed here. Although, I’m still in the learning process, I found these tips so helpful. Helps in thinking outside the box when you’re stuck. Also, thank you for the visual aids.♥️
I am a pantser, and before this video I had a vague idea of a character and a setting. This was very helpful, and now I have some scene ideas worked out so that when I get stuck, I have a basic idea of things to help me move forward. Thank you!
Super-helpful advice for how to further develop that initial spark of an idea. I always get excited about the initial idea but then I flounder when it comes to developing it into a fully-fledged novel. The tips in this video were really helpful - I loved the idea of just brain-dumping everything you know about the idea so far (which, in itself, will probably lead to more ideas and connections between ideas) and filling in the worksheets you showed at the end. Thank you!!
Loved this Sarra, you weren't kidding when you said you came from a family of teachers you had me beginning to be intrigued as to what you might write and what would be the outcome of this novel?Onward and upward Sarra.
I follow this pattern in the video. And my story become 75% ready. It really gives a struckture on my random ideas 😍 thank you so much, Sara 💓
Just watched this in November of 2023, this was the best thing to get my brain going on starting a new project! I appreciate all your videos, but this one hit home today! I already have a ton of ideas running thru my head ! Thank you Sarra!
So happy!
So many good ideas, thanks so much! I'll be doing edits/rewrites of the book I was writing during last year's Nano and never managed to finish. I did complete Nano but didn't reach the end of the book because something wasn't sitting right with me so this year I'm hoping to go in a bit more organised and this has given me plenty to work with!
This is really great advice! Thank you so much Sarra! I love your Videos! ♥️
Thanks. Great ideas. I had to come back and watch this again.
Scene plotting! Love it!
I’m loving your videos. Thank you SO much. I’m still learning my process and this helps so much.
So very happy to hear this! Let me know what else you think would be helpful!
I loved this! Practical examples are my favorite! Thank you! :)
20:31 This is the exact same premise of a populqr video game called Until Dawn. I like this kind of story.
Yes, it's definitely similar! I LOVE that game and recently livestreamed playing it on my Discord server. I can never keep everyone alive, though, haha.
your videos really help me stay productive! thank you!!
this is the best video i have seen on this topic! thank you!
Thank you!!
I'm a planster - I have an outline and an idea but sometimes the characters go elsewhere and I follow them. So I think of my outline as a roadmap because it just helps my mental process.
Thank you for this!!!I’m going to dip my toe into the world of nanowrimo this year… wish me luck.
Nice content! Very informative..... your help with outlining is the best!!!
Hi Sarra, I'm just starting out so I need all the help I can get. This idea seems like somthing I can get to grips with . Thanks for doing this.
So helpful! You are such a great teacher!
This was super helpful. Thank you 💕
I'm a pantser, but I'm now writing a larger story (novel?) than I've attempted before, and I can see how some outlining and checklists can help keep the story on track and properly paced, etc. I'm using index cards with brief scene descriptions, so I can easily rearrange parts as needed.
I think that sounds great! And you can always just follow your intuition to pants when you feel like it and then outline when you need it!
00:00 📝 Developing a story idea into a novel involves several key steps.
01:12 📚 There's no one-size-fits-all approach to developing a story; writers have their own processes.
02:06 🎭 Understanding the genre and its conventions is important in shaping the development of the story.
03:39 🧠 Step 1: Start with a massive story brain dump, including setting, characters, conflicts, and backstories.
05:44 🤔 Step 2: Define the story question that will engage readers and drive the narrative.
07:06 🌪 Step 3: Identify the main conflict that will challenge the protagonist's journey.
08:30 🚫 Introduce obstacles and challenges that make achieving the story goal difficult.
11:45 🏁 Step 4: Consider the resolution of the story and how the main question will be answered.
13:22 🎬 Step 5: List out at least 10 scenes that you can imagine happening in your story.
16:52 🧩 Experiment and explore while writing, and don't be afraid to try out different ideas, even if you end up cutting them later.
20:26 📖 The video discusses how to develop a story idea into a novel, focusing on outlining for Preptober and NaNoWriMo 2021.
22:45 ❓ Defining the main conflict is crucial. In this murder mystery example, the main conflict revolves around uncovering what happened to the character Vanessa.
24:47 🎬 The resolution section is where you think about how the story will end. Even if you don't know all the details, having a general direction can be helpful.
28:21 📝 Instead of rigidly plotting, create a list of potential scenes that could happen in the story. This provides a flexible framework to start writing.
32:46 ✍ Emphasizes that your first draft doesn't have to be perfect;you can refine it in edits. The key is to get your best effort forward. This advice applies to both plotters and pantsers.
tysm 💖
I have printed out two copies of your preptober workbook. I am reworking the manuscript I started in April and then I am using it to work through what I want for its sequel.
Another great video Sarra.
Love this! I'm not doing Nano but it still helps anyway :)
Hi! New listener and pantser here, and I love your ideas and I’ve taken a load of notes. Who knows? I might just be a new part-plotter? Cheers from Australia.
I have always been a pantser but I think I'm following your advice, with some modifications, to try to have a better sense of what is going to happen for editing the book after it is written.
3 minutes in, and I love this video, Sarra.
Thank you so much Katrina!!
@@HeartBreathings No problem! :)
Thank you for this! I am working on the fourth book in my middle grade series right now. It’s a dual POV book and I want the second POV to primarily be a cute fluffy age-appropriate romance book and I can’t quite figure out how to make it at work with the initial plot line and character arc going on in the other POV. Hoping this video helps
This sure makes it easier to get the story out on paper.
This was so helpful Thanks 🙏🏽
I see my stories play out as movies in my head too
Very helpful. Thanks.
This is so helpful. Thank you! I have to ask - tell me about your lashes. They look amazing.
This year I had really wanted to Nano-Nano. My husband was cheering me on to get back to writing. And then he unexpectedly passed away a few weeks ago. I'm not sure when I will return back to writing. But, I'll be cheering everyone else on for sure.
Sending kindness and love your direction. I am so sorry for your loss.
Very helpful. Thanks!
🤩 Thank you!
I use the program Plottr to get own my rough ideas
Hi, I really love your videos. I would really love to see how you are doing a kanban board while travelling. I dont have the space to have a big board at home and have been struggling to find a portable option
So glad you mentioned this! I'm working on my Q4 reset for the weekend but since we are about to move again, it might be two weeks before I can do it. COming soon though!
OMG!!! I need help to stop procrastinating and almost dreading getting down to details and making myself stay at the computer or keep the ink pen in my hand!! It's getting to me so bad!! I want to write this book/novel/screenplay/movie!!! I'm so happy to have been given your website to watch and Yes, I have already gotten a lot out of your video's. I've only watched half of 2 of them however I am going to get a chance I know to watch more. Any suggestions you have are appreciated. I keep thinking I need someone to walk me through this and yet I want it to stay somewhat hidden. Anyway, Thanks
Seriously perfect timing! (Panster wanna be plotter.) As I wrote in the FB group, one of the things I really want to do is roughly outline books 1 and 2 during the retreat as well as write 1000 words towards book 1. Though I know how book 1 ends (thanks to July’s Nano) and as I’m trying to add more words to book 1, my characters keep taking me somewhere else. I’m going to make another hot cup of tea and print out/work on your Preptober worksheets. QUESTION: would it be crazy/too much to try and write out more than 10 scene ideas? Thanks, Sarra! Barbara
No, go for it! Write out as many as you can think of! So excited for you!
Hello! I have already been working writing my screenplays first and then turning them into my upcoming novel versions. Long process! ...still working!
You're doing great!!
@@HeartBreathings I've learned something about myself. Humbling. I learned as I work for myself creating, I had no idea how "programmed" I was working for other people who promised a paycheck. How "conditioned" I was to ONLY working so hard, long long hours for a promised paycheck.
Now that I work in an office/studio environment I created with my own 401k after 10 years of Vegas City bus driving, working against my own conditioning is the real Mount Everest.
The Mount Everest of my own mind.
However, I need to change all of that. I am to determined to achieve so that I may "entertain humanity" for the rest of my life.
Thanks so much for being my inspiration!!
@@HeartBreathings Thanks writing mentor who I look up to. Your leadership and passion for writing is an inspiration to me. Thanks fellow Artist.
I have been playing with this idea for a novel for about 3 years now. I have most of it worked out except the beginning. I'm struggling with working out where to start.
Hi Sara. In a video you posted, on a day before today, (this is like going into a bookstore and asking for the mystery novel I liked 15 years ago that had the blue cover), I think you mentioned you had a post-apocalyptic series. I looked on your website and was a bit overwhelmed by all the covers, none of which seemed post apocalyptic. Did I imagine this memory of you writing that sort of series? If I didn't could you please point me in the right direction? Thank you.
Scott Card had this process where you listed ideas in an hour. He says never to settle for the ovious.
To help me, I have a list of books I am reading that goes with my genres. I am taking notes on the first to chapters to find their commonalities, that way I know what I need to hit to start the book off.
Do the main plot and the subplots have the same beat structures...separately?
Blake Snyder's Save the Cat Goes to the Movies is full of Categories and includes requirements for each...and by the way: you're rocking the make-up,!
yes, thank you for that suggestion!!! I love save the cat but I've never read the goes to the movies one! I'll grab that!!
@@HeartBreathings It has 10 categeories and each of them has 5 subcategories...plenty of genre and subgenre to choose from...50 stories possibilities...It's my peanut butter jelly jam!
@@medusa3592 niiiiice!! I know I will love it!
Thank you😊. Nice idea for the "Rewards Planner" section of the Preptober notebook.
@@starrystarryknight Thank you. I hope you enjoy the read and find it helpful. To a successful NaNoWriMo!
nice video
I wish I had understood earlier that it is best to pick a genre and stick to it ESPECIALLY in a series. Duh.😎 My first book is a fantasy, lesbian love story. My second book (that I'm tackling for NaNo) is a fantasy, coming-of-age with an asexual MC. And the third will be a fantasy with the same MC as book 2, only grown-up and an FBI Profiler/Agent where she saves the world. Would you consider those all the same genre because they're all fantasy (the same element of magic for all three books), with an LGBTQ protagonist? Or would it be seen as Romance, Coming-of-Age, and Crime/Adventure? Would I lose readers from one book to the other?
I just usually only brainstorm mostly when I first start writing
I have an other question for you 😇 if my story is a fantasy novel can I mix the eras for example can I include people and costumes that existed in a specific era for example middle ages and also elements from an other era for example a train?if yes what subgenre is my novel?
Yes, you absolutely can mix things. Sometimes this will go into a Steampunk category, but it really depends what exact elements you mix. It might end up just falling into 'historical fantasy' categories.
Thank you so much😊
is there any tips on story arcs
Have you had a chance to watch my plotting series? It goes into more detail on story arc! Linked up in the description. If that's not what you're looking for let me know and I can work on a better video for you!
I might need a video on story arcs
If the story is about one sided love 💘 is it still romance?
Yes, it can be! Mainly, to determine if it's a romance, ask two questions: 1. If you removed the romance from the story, would you still have a full plot? If the answer is yes, then it's not a romance. In a true romance, you can't remove the romance or the story doesn't hold up. And 2. Does it have a happy-ever-after or at least a happy-for-now at the end? If not, it's not technically a romance. Hope this helps.
@@HeartBreathings thank you 😊
Ok well now I need to know what happened to Vanessa.
Haha, it's a secret!!
@@HeartBreathings well I need you to unsecret it for us to read 😝
beginner writer
You don't actually like this group of teenagers, do you?🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
😅😃😝