How I Structured My Entire First Novel Using This Simple Tool
Or, what's a poor writer to do when her characters get out of hand?
About halfway through my first draft, I couldn't keep all my characters straight in my head any more.
It was a scary moment. I mean, I felt like I really knew these people, but I was losing control over them. I needed to have all their details somewhere outside my head.
I decided I needed to write things down. Information like:
when and where were they born
who were their parents
who were their siblings
where did they go to school
what kind of work do they do, and has it changed
what are their hobbies
and on and on.
There are lots of ways to keep track of stuff. Some people like to throw all this kind of information into a spreadsheet, but that's not my style. I like things visual. (Which is why some recent events in my life were pretty unsettling. More on that next time.)
Fortunately I had the perfect tool.
For me.
I'm not saying it's the perfect tool for everyone. Your perfect tool might be paper and pen, or a notebook, or an app like Evernote or Notion. You do you - it's ok. Just find a tool that works for you.
My tool is called Milanote.
It's platform agnostic, so I can use it on any device, and there's a browser-based version as well. It calls itself the note-taking app for creatives, and that's an apt description.
It’s designed to mimic a bulletin board or a whiteboard, and you can arrange your information any way you want. You can include text, images, lines and arrows on the back of each one explaining. . . oops, got carried away there*. You can create a mood board, a mind map, whatever floats your boat. It’s hugely flexible.
It even has a bunch of pre-made templates for novel writers. Woo hoo!
I was already familiar with it — in fact, I’ve been using it for other things, including planning my newsletters.
If you want to know more about Milanote, here's an article I wrote about it for my Anywhereist.com audience. . .
Read: Are You a Professional Creative? Here's Why You Should Use Milanote.
It comes with a bunch of pre-made templates already installed, including a collection specifically for novel writing. (Or you can make your own.)
For example, here’s what their Character Template looks like.
Now, isn’t that a great way to keep important information about your major characters in one easily findable place?
I also created a board where I keep track of my chapters and a timeline. This is cool because, if I decide to write a flashback scene, I can just move the chapters around to put it where I want it.
Each chapter card can be minimized to line them up nicely, and then expanded to work on it, like so.
There’s lots more you can do with Milanote — your imagination is the limit. So if you’re a visual thinker, check it out. And if you do, let me know how you like it!
Favorite Quotes This Week
I don’t only read cozy mysteries, although that’s where I spend most of my reading time. Because it’s so well written, The Queen’s Gambit captivated me and held my interest strongly, even though I’m a pretty unskilled chess player and not terribly interested in the game. I thought this was a beautifully evocative sentence.
This was not the attack chess she had made her American reputation with; it was chamber-music chess, subtle and intricate.
The Queen’s Gambit, by Walter Tevis
Or how about this little barb?
It was quite unreasonable to get annoyed about it — but then, reason and Lucy had merely an occasional friendship of convenience.
Death of an Old Goat, by Robert Barnard
This made me laugh. Back in the days when I planted a vegetable garden, I never even dreamed of planting zucchini. I knew I’d have more than I could eat anyway.
In the twenty-five years she’d lived in Three Pines she’d never, ever heard of a crime. The only reason doors were locked was to prevent neighbors from dropping off baskets of zucchini at harvest time.
Still Life, by Louise Penny
Full Disclosure: Some of the links I include may be affiliate links. That means, if you click and purchase, I earn a small commission. The newsletter’s a labor of love, but it helps me buy a few chai lattes. Thank you!
Tools
Did you know there’s a database you can search to find books written about a specific US location? I just found out about it.
Go to https://crossword-solver.io/books-set-around-america and search by zip code or location name.
Thanks for reading Murder! She’s Writing, my newsletter about starting a novel in my late 60s, and writing in general. I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
*Did you recognize this? I’ll give you a hint. It’s from a song that was very popular in the late 60s, especially among the folk music set. If you recognize it, drop your answer into the comments below.