{"id":833508,"date":"2025-09-30T10:44:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T09:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=833508"},"modified":"2025-10-28T09:22:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T09:22:56","slug":"the-perfect-way-to-plan-your-plot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/the-perfect-way-to-plan-your-plot\/","title":{"rendered":"The perfect way to plan your plot\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In today\u2019s blog post, I\u2019m going to be sharing the PERFECT way to plan your plot. It\u2019s the method that trumps all other methods. If you\u2019re not using this method, you\u2019re doing it wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joke. I joke. Don\u2019t come at me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been around the writing world for any length of time, you\u2019ve probably come across all sorts of advice about how to plan your novel. Some people swear by spreadsheets and scene-by-scene breakdowns. Others can\u2019t imagine plotting a single thing in advance, insisting that creativity comes from discovery, not planning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can feel overwhelming, especially if someone claims a particular method is a game-changer and you try it, only to find it just\u2026. doesn\u2019t work for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the truth: there is no single perfect way to plan your plot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s not bad news. If you\u2019re someone who came to this post hoping for a magical answer to your plot woes and feel disappointed, bear with me. The fact that there is no one perfect way to plan a novel is actually great news. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing is personal<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Every writer has a different creative process. For some, plotting every beat in advance provides a safety net. For others, too much structure can feel like handcuffs. And a lot of us fall somewhere in the middle, enjoying a bit of guidance while leaving space for surprises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important thing isn\u2019t to force yourself into a method that doesn\u2019t feel right, but to experiment until you find the approach that helps you get the words on the page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take me, for example. I\u2019m editing my fifth book (fifth to be published, eleventy-billionth if you include the novels I tried to write before I got published), and even now I\u2019m still <\/em>experimenting with my process. I\u2019ve tried hardcore plotting: My first and second books had spreadsheets that may have called my sanity into question. I\u2019ve tried pantsing: My third book was written with a vague idea of the beginning and ending in mind. And I\u2019ve tried doing a bit of both, which seems to work better for me, but even now I still experiment with how much plotting works for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re about to dive into Build Your Book Month<\/a>, which has a snazzy tagline of \u2018outline your entire novel in 1 month\u2019. This headline can sometimes scare people. They think, \u2018I\u2019m not a plotter so none of this will be relevant to me\u2019. But the way we\u2019ve designed this month is not to force a particular method on you, but to explore different aspects of story that you should think about before or as you write, whether that\u2019s mapping it out in a spreadsheet or just turning ideas over in your head.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plotters, Pantsers, and everyone in between<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Writers often divide themselves into two camps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n