Creative Ways to Plan Your Novel (ft. Katherine Perry) | + a Giveaway!

I bear glad tidings…the lovely Katherine Perry from Teen Writer’s Nook is launching her OWN blog!!!! *clinks glass against yours in celebration* 🥂

WOW. I never knew that emoji existed.

Katherine’s such a sweet, talented writer, and I was honored to be published with her in the Tell Me You Love Me anthology!

Today, I have the honor of sharing a guest post by her (along with a fun, summery giveaway ☀️)! So without further ado, read away! *bows and lets Katherine take the stage*

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Creative Ways to Plan Your Novel

I’m sure you’ve planned a story before. But have you planned it like this?

When Saraina signed up for me to guest post on her blog, her exact words regarding what she wanted the post to be about were, “Any writing-related thing that strikes your fancy!” (I love how she worded it, by the way!) In thinking about what that would be, I thought: “Why don’t I do what I do best—be creative?” And that’s how I got the idea for this post: “Creative Ways to Plan Your Novel.”

When it comes to planning your novel, we all know about plotter, pantser, and plantser. Do you outline, or do you skip the outline? But what if there were other creative ways to plan your novel, regardless of whether you’re a plotter or pantser (or a mix of both!)? Today, I’ll be sharing four ideas for ways to creatively plan your novel. Let’s dive in, shall we?!

1. Write a movie script/screenplay:

Rather than just an outline, try planning your novel by writing the main scenes as a screenplay. I especially do this for dialogue scenes. I find it works great to get the flow of dialogue down on paper first before adding descriptions, feelings, and thoughts. Plus, if you wrote the story idea as a movie script first, not only would it be fun but it might also make writing the first draft a lot easier.

2. Make a storyboard:

This is an idea I shared in a blog post once, but basically, with a storyboard, you draw the scenes for your novel. And if you like, you can add a description of each scene under that scene’s drawing. Dread writing lengthy outlines? Maybe visual storyboards are the way to go! 😉

3. Create a Three-act Story Structure outline with pictures:

This one I haven’t actually tried yet, but it sounds like it might be a fun idea. I tried to fill out a three-act story structure outline once before but didn’t make it past the outline’s second act. But next time I try out this story structure outline, I’m going to try adding pictures to go along with each act. Doing so will give a nice visual of what’s going on in the story, help in getting into the mood of the story, and make the outlining process more fun and creative!

4. Act out the novel’s scenes (and maybe dress in some costumes while you’re at it ;P ):

I don’t know how much more creative you can get! This method definitely brings the story to life in an exciting and visual way! Though I haven’t tried this idea personally, I have heard of some writers doing it. It’s creative and really gets you into the feel of the story and characters. (Well, I’m assuming it does, anyways. XP) I’m also assuming this would be a great way to picture how the characters would respond to certain situations.

And that’s all the ideas I have for you today. If you give these a try or have already tried them, please let me know what you thought about the process! Did it work or not work for you? Did you have fun? Is it something you would try again? How do you plan your novel? Do you have any other ideas for creative novel planning? I’d love to hear all your thoughts!!

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Visit Katherine’s blog for more content!

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About the Author!

KATHERINE is a Christian writer who writes a variety of things, from poetry and short stories to novels and anything else that ignites her creativity. She writes to bring her imagination to life and to challenge her creativity. She loves writing about broken characters who find God’s healing. Katherine’s short story, “Talented Mers Competition” was featured in the Level Up anthology, and her short story, “He Wanted My Heart” was featured in the Tell Me You Love Me anthology. Two of her many favorite books are The Princess Companion by Melanie Cellier and Fawkes by Nadine Brandes.

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Follow Katherine!

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Enter the Giveaway!

The giveaway will run from July 1st through July 11th. Enter by commenting on the tour’s Welcome post (at katherineperrycreator.wordpress.com) and then you can earn extra entries by commenting on any post in the tour. Anyone under 18 must have their parent’s permission before entering. 

US entrants will be entered for a chance to win a free pack of summer-inspired stickers!

International entrants will be entered for a chance to win free printable bookmarks!

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What did you think of her tips for creative story-planning? Have you tried any of those ideas before? How did it go? Which are you most intrigued by? Have you ever written a screenplay before? What’s a summer plan are you most excited for? Good luck in the giveaway! ✨☀️