So how do you plan a story? I have to admit that in the past I didn't really plan anything at all, I just got an idea and started writing. This wasn't very practical of course and back then in the prehistoric times before computers it could be very time-consuming! So, when I started taking my writing a little more seriously I knew I had to become a planner.
When the idea for Prudence first came into my head I thought about the story for a long time before ever putting pen to paper. She sat outside the office of the headmistress of her school (where the books begin) for about two years waiting for me to continue her story. I made a list of all the things I needed to know before I could move forward; who was Prudence? Why was she here? Where had she come from? Who were her friends, her family - if indeed she had any? What were her likes, her dislikes, her hopes, her fears? Once I had all of this worked out the basic plan of the story came quite easily and so did the ending. I knew before I wrote anything else exactly how I wanted the story to end.
I then began to develop a few character bio's for those who would be joining Prudence on her journey, principally Maggie, Sam, Rupert, Miles and Alaia. I also had to think about the 'bad guys', Gideon, Tristan and of course, Mareck.
With the beginning and the end of the story sorted and all the major players in place, plot points naturally began to form; things that I wanted to happen and things that needed to happen to not only propel the story forward, but also to develop Prudence's character from the person she was at the beginning of the story to the one she would be at the end. Entwining her story into the Arthurian Legends was the final link in the chain, the element that brought the whole thing together.
So, armed with my beginning and the end, the plot points and character bio's it was then just a case of creating little stepping stones to thread it all together. And, that's when I started writing.
I'm not going to say that I have stuck rigidly to the plan; the bane of a creative mind is that the creating doesn't tend to stop and new ideas - even now - are still popping into my head, but having the plan has helped so much with avoiding constant re-writes. I'm actually quite proud of how it's gone so far. Being the disorganised person I have always been, having the patience to sit and sort through the plot like this was really quite an achievement!
It is definitely a process I intend to use again. Once you have found a successful formula it only makes sense to stick with it and this is definitely the way forward for me. I have become a planner!
Keep writing, keep planning.
Kim
