A Template For Getting Started

Some Help Getting Started

You’ve heard the old saying, How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It’s the same with your writing. How do you write a novel? One word at a time.

It’s not easy getting started, especially when you’re doing anything for the first time. If you are writing your first novel, you might be feeling overwhelmed. Not only do you have to deal with the writing itself, but (as an Indie author), you also have to take care of the logistics of publishing, marketing, and sales. When you consider all the tasks that rest squarely on your shoulders, it can seem paralyzing.

This is where some guidance can really help. Chunk the big things down into small, manageable tasks, and organize them in a methodical fashion. This way, you lay down a predictable path to success which is achieved through small, daily bites. Something that you can handle and even get good get. Focus on the tasks for the day, be ruthless in execution, and before you know it, you will have a completed novel in your hands.

Follow The Beaten Path

If you are out hiking, and you decide to go off a forge a new trail of your own, you will have to contend with many obstacles. When you have overcome these obstacles and made it through to your destination, others can follow in your footsteps. In the same way, you can also follow in the footsteps of other writers who have gone before you and encountered the same (or similar) problems you will encounter.

When I was writing my first novel (a thriller), I did a lot of research and study on tips and techniques. I took a lot of what I learned, especially from James N. Frey’s “How To Write A Damn Good Thriller”, and created a Notion template which I used with good results. This template is created with a fictitious thriller novel titled “The Omega Agent”. I just made it up for illustration purposes, as it’s easier to demonstrate the use of the template with some data in it.

Get the template here.

You can copy the template for your use by clicking on the “Duplicate” link, which will copy it to your Notion space.

Walkthrough

The template has the following sections will will take you step-by-step through the process of structuring your novel.

Workflow

Start with the Workflow to get a high-level view of all the tasks involved in the project, from Plotting all the way to Post-Launch. Feel free to edit this list, as there are probably some tasks that don’t match with your workflow. Update, add, remove tasks as needed to make this your own. This is just a template for you to get some idea for the basics.

Pledge To Self

The Pledge to Self is a promise you make with yourself before you begin your writing project. As a writer, it’s important to develop good habits that enhance your skill and give you the best chance for success. This promise is your guiding light when things get dark and dim. Feel free to update any of the bullet points to suit your own writing style and goals better. But make sure it’s something you can adhere to during your writing project.

Germinal Idea

This is the originating idea for your story. Write down briefly, in a few sentences, what your novel is going to be about. It will be a very high level, brief description. No more than a paragraph. This is the starting point for everything with this project.

Process

The process describes the steps involved at a high level. This is more here for reference purposes than anything else. You might refer to this once in a while as you go through the workflow. Eventually, after you have written a few books, you will know this like the back of your hand and won’t need to refer to it anymore.

Title, Tagline and Blurb

It’s up to you when to flesh these out. Some writers prefer to have the title, tagline and blurb written before they start the novel, while others do this at the end. It’s up to you when you choose to write this out. On the main page, you can leave it as “TBD” if you are waiting until the end before completing this section.

Cast of Characters

In this section, you will flesh out the characters. Everything from physical description to personality quirks will be detailed here, from the main character to major and minor characters. You can also write a journal from the point-of-view of the major characters if you wish to do a deep-dive into the characters’ psyche.

Plot Details

As you work on your story, you will start to develop more details about your plot. You can note them down in this section.

Movements

Rather than the three act structure, James N. Frey proposes using the Movements for the storytelling framework. In this section, you can organize your story into movements.

Outline

This is where you can create the high-level overview of the story in outline form.

Step Sheet

Finally, you can write out the story in scenes or “steps” as it happens. After this is complete, you are ready to begin writing!

Video Walkthrough

A very brief video walkthrough of the template and its sections is here.

Get the template here.

Feedback

Was the template useful? Did it help you get started with your writing project? Feel free to share your comments and feedback.