Story Boarding

So while working on my current novel (which I'm co-writing with my friend Andrew (yes, that Andrew)), I've come to find that there's a bit of an order of events issue, or continuity issue. We plotted it out pretty thoroughly before we started writing but once you divide bits and work on them separately, things might pop up in the wrong order. So I sat down on Saturday and started plotting the order of events like this:

While I originally wanted to just read through the text and re-organize, my attempt to do that left me looking at all the edits I want to make and was ultimately too overwhelming. Making a list on Word or in a notebook was still not working for me (it was way too long and also overwhelming to look at). Finally I settled down with a folder and sticky notes and I wrote essential plot points down and put them in order. This way I can easily see what's what (instead of reading through a whole list) and I can easily re-organize when necessary. What I've got in the picture above isn't even the entire book, so I've got more to add but I feel like it won't be as overwhelming to look at as my other two options. Just figured I'd share it with other writers in case they get caught wanting to move scenes around but feel overwhelmed with long lists or reading through 20-30 pages of text.

How I Craft a New Tale

Randomly images/ideas come to me. They may be in the form of nightime dreams, or day dreams, I may listen to music, read a book, or see a movie which inspires me. Some how, in my mind, bits of a story form. If these bits create the beginnings of a story that I think has potential/interests me, then I will persue the tale.

Usually, a story will be like a blurry image. I won't know who or why, just what and then my mind goes to work. Here's an example: a scene with two people fighting. Who are these people?What is their back story? Why are they fighting? Who will win? What is there to lose? What is there to gain? How will their own stories change depending on the outcome of the fight? Where will they go afterward?

Once I start working out a story, big plot points will jump out at me and I'll think - this must happen! - and I will work on connecting the dots, getting from point A to point B in the most logical fashion, while keeping in touch with my characters, my world, my limited magic.

As my tales grow, the characters may pull the story into a new direction, that I would not have forseen until they became complete entites with their own wants and needs. But in the end, as the story comes to a close, I just hope I did the original image justice.