Plotting and Planning

I tried something new yesterday. I did what I am always encouraging my students to do: I prewrote. More specifically, I decided it was time to sit down and actually figure out the timeline for the YA novel.

It was an interesting process. First, I decided about how many days lapse between the current chapter and the close of the novel. Then I drew columns and wrote plot bits down under each column depending on which day events had to take place, working backwards from the denouement. (Fortunately, I learned very quickly that I ought to use pencil for this process, as I erased and rewrote several plots bits many times before they settled). In the end, the rough sketch of the novel even looked like a story arc, with more plot per day until the climax, then less for the final day.

Needless to say, I am very pleased. I learned a great deal from this. First and foremost, I learned that I probably ought to practice what I preach more often. While I talk a good game about the importance of prewriting in my comp classes, I have always been a "sit down and channel the story from the muse as I go" sort of writer. I will probably still write that way, but it's nice to have something committed to paper that I can look back on when I get stuck.

Side benefit: I felt productive without having actually added to the chapter. But it will all work out in the end.