#AmWriting: Using a Calendar to Storyboard Your Novel
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
#AmWriting: Using a Calendar to Storyboard Your Novel
As a discovery writer, I sometimes feel as though I’m just a passenger on this train. I’m the transcriber of events observed. Or a screenwriter giving words to the movie playing in my head. Often, my characters will rebel, refuse, and rearrange the scenes I’m trying to create.
I don’t know about your writing, but getting deeper into the story has caused some drama, and I don’t just mean on the pages. NOLA has been started, restarted, edited, revamped, revised and solidified. And through the past three years of all that activity, it was getting hard to follow.
New Orleans happenings occur every day, and Josie is experiencing as much as she can. Characters, locations, food [oh! the food!], and of course drama, drama, drama.
Keeping Track with Story Cards is helpful with details, but I need something more. Certain events are set in stone, others are more fluid. NOLA takes place during October, and Halloween is a big occasion in the Big Easy. And let’s be real: There’s no bulletin board big enough to hang on my wall to pin over a hundred index cards on to in order to view it all. [Also, have y’all tried carrying a wall-size board in your backpack? Just sayin’.]
Calendaring NOLA helps me note the big events, emotions, and experiences that propel the story forward. This is where my Happy Planner comes into play. I call it responsible scrapbooking. With the month-at-a-glance layout and plethora of stickers, I laid out the story so far. From Josie’s runaway red-eye, to the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, to Cafe du Monde, meeting new friends, reclaiming old habits, there’s a lot to remember about this journey.
NOLA is timeless. That is, events don’t happen on specific dates. So whether October 3rd is a Monday or a Thursday is insignificant. For future storyboarding, I’ll invest in blank calendaring pages. I bought my Happy Planner in November, which meant the pages for October 2016 went unused. Not anymore ~ A few dot/stickers to cover the dates, and I have a full month’s layout.
#AmWriting: Nippers, NOLA, and a Happy Planner
- The side notes allow me to list characters, locations, foods (for the NOLA Companion Cookbook), and other items I need to know.
- The Face stickers let me track emotions: Is a particular moment happy, sad, or exciting?
- Using different colored pens highlight themes: locations, events, dramatic scenes.
- What’s for dinner? Stickers indicate new eating experiences. Coffee stickers? Please. Do I really need to explain these? [whisper: Cafe du Monde.]
- Calendaring keeps it real: Does my story flow, drag, or skip around? [Note to self: Using a pencil helps until you know for sure. #experienceshows.]
Storyboarding NOLA is also a great at-a-glance review that gives forward movement by quickly answering questions:
- When was this character introduced?
- When was the last time it rained in New Orleans?
- What was the last big drama?
- Are too many events happening too closely together?
Of course, any calendaring system will do, but I find the abundance of creative options offered through the Happy Planner system really works for me.
With some sweet tea and responsible scrapbooking,
~Molly Jo
Now it’s your turn: How do you keep track of your storyline?
CLICK TO TWEET: Frankly, My Dear . . . : #AmWriting: Using a Calendar to Storyboard Your Novel.
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for my new series which takes place in the span of less than a year, I had to keep track of what happened when. I use https://www.timeanddate.com/ for past and future calendar years. I printed out the dates for my current WIP in list format to make notes of significant events as they occur. I differ from you, though, in keeping track of what day of the week it is. My MC, for instance, does her marketing on Mondays. and if there’s a weekend event, I don’t want to peg it on a day that was [or will be] mid week.
Thanks, Robin. I’d not heard of that website. Keeping track is essential, isn’t it?
absolutely! Happy New Year!
Thanks for some great suggestions. I also like the website that Robin suggested.
Beckie Lindsey recently posted..BEFORE YOU MAKE A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
Thanks, Beckie. How do you track your storyline?
Molly Jo recently posted..#AmWriting: Using a Calendar to Storyboard Your Novel
Molly Jo, I’ve been using notecards to summarize each chapter. I might just incorporate the calendar idea as well.
Beckie Lindsey recently posted..BEFORE YOU MAKE A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
Sounds great. Let us know which calendar system you choose and how it works for you.
This is definitely something I need to work on. If I’m honest, the whole process seems intimidating so I think I need to start small. Currently, I’ve been writing notes on the pad of paper that I use for grocery lists which is not effective and gets confusing. Is milk supposed to be in my story or am I out of it? My sister did buy me a writer’s calendar for Christmas so that’s probably a good place to start!
Thanks for stopping by, Jenna. Yes, too many notes gets confusing. I’ve not heard of a writer’s calendar, sounds like something I should look into.
I keep notes of timelines and things like that in a folder in my email.
William Kendall recently posted..Dawn Arises On A Brand New Year
That’s a good idea, too, William. Instant access.
Molly Jo recently posted..Frankly, On Faith