There are several ways to plan writing a story as a First Draft. Some people have a clear idea of what tale they want to spin, they write it, and then they find a way to publish it. Other writers start by testing their market, and then writing a story to reach their specific target audience. In my case, I am pursuing a hydrid approach- we’ll see how it works… I’m still trying to figure out the right balance.
As I started preparing to write my story, I knew the basic plot structure and how I wanted to differentiate it from other mysteries. But having a big idea and making it a reality on paper requires some planning. First, I made a projected schedule of milestones to guide my story development (below). Having some form of protective boundaries like these during the creative process is a must, but my boundaries were carefully established so they were not too creatively restrictive or too lackadaisical. For me, as I write, I need to continuously step back and take a breath and ask myself what’s working and what’s not? Then, I refine my process. But, everyone operates differently, and what works for me may not be the best scenario for you. Moving forward, as I shape my ideas onto paper, I plan to share specific chapters with you, in order to gauge how the story is flowing.
For this post, I’m avoiding the role of an agent, publisher, and marketing requirements for story development and how the first draft is handled. I promise this will be further down the road.
For my First Draft timeline, I identified the following milestones:
*Defining Timeline
- Writing
- High level- Plot Outline
- Opening
- Conflict
- Climax
- Post Climax
- Resolution
- High level- Characters development
- Personas
- Dialogue
- High level- Environments
- Setting
- Subtles of life (my collected ideas for content bridging.)
- Plot, Character, and Environment integration
- Refined Plot
- Refined Characters
- Refined Environment
- Editing Review
- Self
- Editors
*First Draft Completed
