#planning and plotting

Thinking of making a video game in a normal farming rpg style, except... you're a skeleton!

You (Max/Maxine/Maxwell) live in the spirit realm called the Garden of Life, where you and the other Gardeners care for the souls of living beings and then lead them to the afterlife.

You, a recently resurrected gardener, are still finding your place. You're shown to your new home, only to find a spirit that's been dead for a long time in your house, talking to a... cat? These are Reggie and Esther.

You need to find out what their deal is, find your place in your new community, take care of new spirits, all while learning about your neighbors and the mysterious Grim Reaper keeping watch over the Garden.

okay, I know I'm not the only writer who struggles A LOT with plot. like, I have the characters, worldbuilding is done, I also have a begging and an end, but what the hell is gonna happen in the story itself?

here's my tip for planning your whole story very easily! it worked incredibly well for me (I plotted in a week a very complex story that I’ve been struggling with for months). it might not suit everyone but maybe it will work for you!

(also sorry in advance if there are mistakes, I’m not fluent in english.)

okay, first, try to have a begging and an end. if you don't, it's fine, but having an idea of the end will really help. also don't put too much thinking into it, it's just a direction to help you know where you’re going. also you can totally change it later if you find a better idea.

now, think of your story as a series.

I mean a series like Games of Thrones, Sex Education, Rick and Morty or whatever you're into. don’t worry, you will come back to the novel format once you're done, but this should help you to build your plot.

first of all decide how many seasons you want your story to have. this means dividing your story into big parts. for this you only need to have a vague idea of your story. if you have none at all, make up one, even if it's poor. you can for example have something like “season 1: Anna and Lucie fall in love. season 2: they confessed to each other, agreed not to see each other again but fail every time. season 3: one of them is getting married, the other one decides to stop the marriage.” in this case the ending is the two characters finally getting together - or not. the most important is to know how and when each season begins and ends.

once you have your seasons, decide how many episodes you want in each one. it's better if every season have the same number of episodes, but it's not an obligation.

now let’s focus on the first season. decide how every episode begins and ends, and what happens in it - without to much details. again, if you really don’t know what could happen, try to make up a story, no matter if it’s good or not. example : Anna meets Lucie at the office, and they immediately feel attracted to each other. a few weeks later they go on a business trip together, during which they get to know each other better. on the last night of the trip, they’re both drunk and they kiss. that’s it, no need to be more precise! one sentence per episode is enough. do this for your whole first season and write everything down. for me it’s easer to plan this on paper. so i made a line for each season, and then divided it in five episodes because that’s what works for my story. i wrote the global event in one or two word (ex: ”they meet”, “trip part 1”, “trip part 2 + kiss” etc) on the top of the line, and how the episode ends (ex: Anna receives a text from Lucie: “we need to talk”). for me it looks like that:

now it’s time to add details. try to picture each episode it in your head as if you were watching it. this is really helpful to me; for example it’s easier for me to imagine the first scene of the first episode as if it was a movie than to write the first words. write down what happens in the episode, but with more details than in the last step. you can extend each sentence to a short paragraph. to get back to our example: how do Anna and Lucie meet? what is their first interaction? what happens next? this, again, is pure imagination. you can invent anything. and don't worry if it's cliché or not as good as you'd like to be. remember it's only a first draft of your plot! also think about the characters: how would they act in this precise situation? what situation could make them evolve? when in doubt, put them in uncomfortable, painful or any extreme situation. this should put a bit of action into the story. do this for every episode until the end of the season. also, try think of a cliffhanger for every episode's end. doesn't have to be a big one, small revelations are good. (example: Anna learns that Lucie is her new neighbor.) the last episode’s end should have a big cliffhanger. (ex: a few days after Anna and Lucie’s first kiss, Anna discovers that Lucie is engaged.) it can also be helpful to decide the approximate length of your episodes, so you know how much action you can put into each one. on paper, for me, this step looks like that:

congrats! you now know the big lines of your first part of the story. but it’s not finished yet.

once you've roughly plotted the first season, it's time to get to the subplots. subplots add action and complexity to your plot. (if you don’t want any subplot in your story, you can skip the next two steps.) each subplot should be based on one character or a group of characters. do the same thing you did for the main plot: just invent a story. of course it is easier to say than to do, but remember it doesn’t have to be good. you can even take a story from another book or movie, and you’ll change it later. write this story down. for example: Anna’s sister just lost her job, so she decides to go back to her childhood dreams and open a restaurant. you can then develop on and on about every difficulty she meets on the way to achieve her dream. make her have money issues, meet new people, argue Anna who doesn’t believe she can make it... it’s the same process as for the main story: make a short paragraph about the big lines of the story, and then expand each sentence to another short paragraph. remember it’s not your main story, but write it as if it is. you can write this subplot from begging to end, or only to the end of the first season.

then divide this new story into episodes. again, think of the begging of the episode, and try to have a cliffhanger or a complicated situation at the end. write down what happens in each episode just like you did for the main plot.

repeat the last two steps as many times as you want. i think having three subplots is enough; if you choose to have more it may take some focus off the main plot, and will also make your story more complex. but of course that’s entirely up to you to chose! to keep the example of our love story, you can add the story of Anna’s best friend, who has feelings for Anna’s sister, and as a third subplot, show one of Anna’s coworkers who is extremely jealous of her and would make everything to destroy her life. making links between your subplots will add tension to your story; and of course, each subplot will add interest to the main plot. the link between a subplot and the main plot doesn’t have to be obvious from the beginning, but they all have to get together at the end. (also, when you start a story, you have to finish it. so no matter if it’s a happy ending, a heartbreaking one or in-between, each subplot should have a clear end.) write everything down! looks like this for me:

now, last step. let’s go really into the details. make a timeline of every episode, and write precisely what happens, from begging to end, as if you were writing the script for this episode to be filmed. this is the moment where you decide which scene is following which scene, how many space you want your subplots to take... for example, write what happens in the first scene: we see Anna at the office, having lunch. her friend who tells her there is a new director. right at this moment, Lucie comes in. she’s the new director. her eyes meet Anna’s eyes. Anna blushes. “oh no, she’s hot”. cut. next scene. we see Anna’s sister, crying. she’s just been fired. but then suddenly a picture falls from her bag. it’s her, age six, a cooker hat on the head. she smiles when she sees the picture, and wipes her tears from her face... etc etc! do this to every episode, take all the time you need to do this.

now you already have a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen in every episode of your first season. yayyy! at this point, ideas should start to come more easily. links will appear between your different plots and different characters, and this will bring even more ideas for plot twists, secrets, revelations... this is a great moment to go back and read everything you’ve written, as your story probably evolved since you started. don’t be afraid to change what you wrote, cut off or add some parts. as always, when in doubt, think about your characters. what would they do? what could happen to them that would make them grow up and learn? what relations are the most interesting to develop?

once you’ve finished the first season, go back to the first step, and do it all again for your second season, your third etc. of course you can have only one or two seasons, or for example decide each season will be a book for your novel series. again: this method worked for me. take what works for you, leave what doesn’t!

now, it’s time to write. forget the series (unless you have decided to send your series to Netflix), go back to the novel format, and write. write! this is also a very difficult and scary thing to do, but it should be easier now that you know what happens next. also don’t forget that everything you’ve planed can be changed at any moment! this is just a tool to help you. so get a cup of tea/coffee/anything strong, stop procrastinating, and just start writing.