J. Thorn - A Documentary Part II

Today we have the next article depicting the journey of author J. Thorn as he

prepares his manuscript for the ultimate goal...publication. If you would like

to read the first installment of the documentary you can find it here.  Now to

J. Thorn's article.

Microsoft Excel. How’s that for a hook? During the revision process of a manuscript, I discovered an unlikely addition to the writer’s toolbox. Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest places.  

Like many writers, I keep a composition notebook on the desk when working

on a manuscript. I jot down chapter and section headings, followed by a brief

description of happenings in that section.  That system worked fine on

the first draft, but by the second draft, I had cut huge portions from the

manuscript, moved things around, and renamed all the chapters. As you

can imagine, my little notebook became a mess.

I know many good writers plot and outline, and there is nothing wrong with

that approach. I do not plot. I sketch ideas a chapter or two ahead, letting the

story unfold. As the author, I enjoy being the first reader too. The

spreadsheet tool will work with any approach, whether you plot or not.

I was preparing a presentation with Microsoft Excel when the light bulb

appeared over my head. Being somewhat of a computer geek, I was not afraid

to get in there and knock cells around. With some minor calculations, I

devised a “plot summary tool” with a “plot and pace” chart.  First, type a

sentence or two next to each chapter and section in the spreadsheet,

enough to remind you of the major events taking place. I label my scene

breaks within a chapter as a decimal point. For instance, chapter 2, scene

3 is “2.3” on my chart. If you type your Chapter 3, section 2, blurb right

after you finish writing Chapter 3, the sentence will be concise and accurate

while fresh in your mind. Once you finish the manuscript, the plot summary

is finished also. Copy and paste all of the lines into Microsoft Word, merge

the cells, and the plot summary will be neatly contained in a workable word

processing document.

Secondly, type a number from “1 to 10” in the “tension” column. This represents what I call “tension” or “pace.” If the characters discussed back story, I register it as a “2” or “3” on my chart. If the chapter and section contains the major battle of an epic fantasy, I register it as a “9” or “10.” Remember that the “tension” level is what you assign as the author. It is subjective to your analysis and should not have to be justified to anyone else. What you label a “2”, someone else might label a “4”. As long as you remain consistent, you will see the pace of your novel unfold in the chart, according to your definition, with the “tension” numbers assigned for every chapter. The visual represents the pace of the novel. A graph that gradually rises from bottom left to top right should illustrate a slow build to the ending.

As mentioned in my first guest blog post, not everyone writes the same way. The composition notebooks work fine for some, and have for decades. However, if you try the Excel file, you will see that it does things you could never do with paper.

I would love to share this with you, free of charge. Simply head to my website
J. Thorn.net and download it from the “links” page. I configured the template to do everything except input the data for you.

The best observers make the best writers. If you have discovered or created a useful strategy for the writer’s toolbox, an idea that came out of nowhere, please share it with us in the comments.

Until next time,
J. Thorn