How I Plan A Novel

My approach to planning a novel.

Jan 04, 2025

Hello,

I asked on Instagram yesterday what my followers (why does this always make it sound like I’m some kind of cult leader?) would like to know if I wrote a Substack today. I got three responses because I’m really super massively famous. But I’m grateful for those responses because they inspired me to write this.

A group of question marks sitting next to each other — Photo by Buddha Elemental 3D on Unsplash

Question one was from the wonderful Annie Bennet who published her first fantasy romance this year called SOMEWHERE NEW (Buy it here!). She asked what my plans were for release day. The truth is, I don’t have any yet. I assumed this would be discussed this side of the New Year and I will start planning, ok? So get off my back. I’m a massive introvert so I already know I will be completely overwhelmed but I will also kick myself if I do nothing.

Question two was about when WORK TRIP would be available in the US. Honest answer - I don’t know. But I remain hopeful. In the meantime, you can preorder it in almost every commonwealth country. I shall continue with optimism and will update when/if I know more.

The final question was - how do I plan my novels? So, here we go… Buckle up because this is going to be some almighty waffle.

Step One: Concept/Idea phase

man holding incandescent bulb — Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash

This part is easy for me. I have thousands of ideas. Ask my poor writer friends who have to hear them. But they’re not all that great. Sometimes I come up with just a title with no plot behind it. Other times I have a character in my head but again no plot. Sometimes I have the plot but (for the life of me) I cannot squish said plot into a packageable concept that would sell in this competitive market.

But what is important about this stage is that I won’t proceed with writing something until I have a strong concept. If you are an aspiring author - please learn how to do this - you will not regret it!

Step Two: Outlining

two people drawing on whiteboard — Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash

Ok, so outlining for me is usually done using Save The Cat method - initially. I use it for a few reasons. Firstly, it forces me to think about several aspects - ingredients if you like. I ask myself, does this idea have a start, a middle, an ending? Does it have a character arc? Does it have a subplot? Does it have something to hook the reader near the beginning?

I’ve heard of authors who plot in detail down to every beat. In fact, check Melissa Welliver out on Instagram (@melliver) as she was the one who first got me into plotting. She plans right down to 250/300 word beats. Which I find terrifying but also very impressive. That said, I don’t do this. And the reason is because I enjoy allowing my characters some free movement. I find the real chemistry and humor comes out for me when I just let their voices interact. There’s a writerly magic there that I cannot deny.

I plot chapter by chapter. I like my first drafts to be somewhere around 70,000 words. So I plot to allow for this.

My lifestyle also requires plotting. I have a full time job and a child alongside my writing. I write in the evenings or whenever I get a second. No time can be wasted as I don’t have enough to waste. Having at least an idea of where a chapter is headed is priceless for me. It means I’m not dithering for an hour trying to figure out what happens next.

Psst. I sometimes still do this. It is normal.

Step Three: Ignoring my outline

This is a very important stage (wait are they all important?) and one I swear by. Until you send that book off to copy editors - you can edit, edit, edit. So, if whilst I’m drafting, a character tells me something about themselves, I follow it - I tweak the outline. If an idea comes to me that is epic, I follow it - I tweak the outline. If something isn’t working like I thought it was, I listen - I tweak the… You get the jist.

Luckily, your book is your book and you can do whatever you want to do to it. Follow your heart. And do what you love because (trust me) if you sell that book to a publisher you will have to read it again 1000000x times. So make sure YOU love it!

I hope this helps someone! If not, well, this was a waste of time.

At least I can rave about the books I’ve read and loved recently!