Plot ,
The perfect way to plan your plot
By Becca Day
In today’s blog post, I’m going to be sharing the PERFECT way to plan your plot. It’s the method that trumps all other methods. If you’re not using this method, you’re doing it wrong.
I joke. I joke. Don’t come at me.
If you’ve been around the writing world for any length of time, you’ve 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’t imagine plotting a single thing in advance, insisting that creativity comes from discovery, not planning.
It can feel overwhelming, especially if someone claims a particular method is a game-changer and you try it, only to find it just…. doesn’t work for you.
Here’s the truth: there is no single perfect way to plan your plot.
And that’s not bad news. If you’re 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.
Writing is personal
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.
The most important thing isn’t to force yourself into a method that doesn’t feel right, but to experiment until you find the approach that helps you get the words on the page.
Take me, for example. I’m 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’m still experimenting with my process. I’ve tried hardcore plotting: My first and second books had spreadsheets that may have called my sanity into question. I’ve tried pantsing: My third book was written with a vague idea of the beginning and ending in mind. And I’ve 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.
We’re about to dive into Build Your Book Month, which has a snazzy tagline of ‘outline your entire novel in 1 month’. This headline can sometimes scare people. They think, ‘I’m not a plotter so none of this will be relevant to me’. But the way we’ve 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’s mapping it out in a spreadsheet or just turning ideas over in your head.
Plotters, Pantsers, and everyone in between
Writers often divide themselves into two camps:
- Plotters carefully map out their stories before writing. They might use beat sheets, the Three-Act Structure, or even a chapter-by-chapter outline. They like knowing where the story is headed and feel more confident when they can see the big picture.
- Pantsers (short for “seat-of-your-pants” writers) dive straight into drafting without a clear plan. They thrive on discovery, letting the characters take the lead and uncovering twists as they write.
But a lot of writers actually live in the grey area between these extremes. Maybe you sketch a rough outline but let it shift as you go (this is what I do). Maybe you write the first act freely, then pause to outline the rest. The beauty is that there’s no wrong way to do it as long as it gets you writing. Maybe you plan out the direction of the story, but you do it all in your head before drafting that scene.
During Build Your Book Month, you’ll get to experiment. Want to see how character flaws can generate plot? That’s exactly what Liz Monument will cover in Designing Characters That Drive the Plot. Curious how multiple POVs could work in your novel? My Multiple POVs Without the Chaos workshop has you covered.
The point isn’t to pick sides. It’s to discover what blend of planning and discovery helps you finish your novel.
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By Becca Day
About the author
Becca Day is Head of Membership and Marketing at Jericho Writers. She lives in the middle of the woods in Surrey with her husband, daughters and cocker spaniel. She studied acting at Guildford College and went on to start her own Murder Mystery theatre troupe. It was this move that inspired her love of crime fiction, and she has since thrown herself head first into psychological thriller writing. Her debut, The Girl Beyond The Gate was an instant Amazon bestseller. She has since published a further three novels. Her fifth book is currently undergoing edits and she is currently writing her sixth.