The leaves are changing colors. Pumpkin spiced lattes are wafting through the air. And the days are growing shorting. That can only mean one thing:
NaNoWriMo is right around the corner.
The end of this week, to be exact. NaNoWriMo is a huge part of the bookish community, and I—for one—can’t wait to see all the Instagram Inspiration and Writing Prompts to grace my feed during this special time.
This year I’m happy to participate in the best way I know how: by helping you succeed in your 50,000 word challenge! I’m a pantser by nature, so having a resource to help with plotting is a huge benefit to me. I hope it can be just as big of a help to you.
That’s why I put together a Scene Plotting Worksheet!
Here’s how it looks in action:
Download the Scene Plotting Worksheet:
Here’s how it works…
1// Jot down a quick summary of the scene
This is a very basic overview of what you’re trying to accomplish in this particular scene. Don’t spend too much time focusing on the details here, because the details will come into play further along in the worksheet.
2// Break the scene into 7 to 10 active events
The number of active events in your scene is entirely dependent on your goal word count, but as an example, 1,500 words will contain around 10 events.
3// Write each active event as one sentence
I know it’s going to be a challenge, but write each event as one, single, standalone sentence. No more, no less. I promise you’ll be able to expand on it soon!
4// Select the focused action in the event. Highlight it.
Each event should be driven by an action. Based on the event you’ve written a sentence about, determine what your action is for that event. Highlight it.
5// Expand on the event and action by writing 100 to 150 words on it.
Here are the details we’ve been looking for! In this space, take your event and action and write 100 to 150 words of your scene based around those two elements.
6// Highlight your action word.
Can’t find it in your 100 to 150 blurb? Maybe you need to re-evaluate the action taking place in the event. Your event should be built around the action.
7// Rinse and repeat!
Continue highlighting each event until the scene is built out in its entirety! Now you have a great jumping off point to put together a first draft of your scene.
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