Plot Bookkeeping 101

In previous blog posts, I've talked about a variety of tools and processes that make it easier to set up a whole book. Today, I'd like to talk about bookkeeping!
No...nothing with numbers. Simple tools for making sure your time line works, and so that you don't let your subplots fade into oblivion. Editors and contest judges and readers will notice! But how on earth can you keep juggling your subplots, and make sure you stay on track?

Maybe some writers have that kind of memory, but I simply can’t do it without help.
And what if you sell your manuscript, and are suddenly faced with revisions--and need to find out exactly what you had where in your huge, complete manuscript?! If the editor starts questioning time line problems, you're going to have a challenge on your hands!

Even lighter revisions are a real challenge. Just think about it....if you change something about a subplot or character---that element may have octopus tentacles throughout your entire book! So... consider using a calendar--either a hard copy, or a computer file. Jot down every chapter, every scene number in the appropriate date square, and add a very brief note about the biggest action in that scene. You would not believe how much this simple tool can help make sure that you keep your ducks in a row.

I also print off an "ARC" copy (Advanced Reader copy) of every chapter, as soon as I finish it. This goes in a three-ring notebook by my keyboard, for instant reference. What does an ARC look like? Just open a novel and look at the two facing pages. I go one step further, and create this in a vertical alignment instead (portrait instead of landscape) because so many lines of dialogue are quite short, and thus I can fit even more on a single page--approximately four pages of Courier New/double space 12 point font!

The benefit? I can see those four pages at a glance, and easily catch repetitions. I can check the flow of the scene easier. I will use this to go back and write myself all sorts of notes in the margins--things to remember when I get to The End and want to start revising. I'll cross out paragraphs, circle sections and sketch in arrows--it becomes a wonderful worksheet, so I can keep plowing ahead to the end of the story and not get sidetracked with all the "fixits". I may even go through and use color-coded highlighters to track the progression of the suspense, or romance, or a subplot that isn't quite working.

To create an ARC file like this. Save you chapter with a new name--like Chapter 1-ARC. The:
1. Select "ALL"
2. Change to single space Times New Roman, 10 or 11 point.
3. Set the margins at 1.0 at the top, 0.7 on the sides, 0.5 on the bottom, and set the footer to 0.1)
4. Turn off Widows and Orphans.
5. Set columns to two, with a center gutter of .2 and click the box for a center dividing line.
There's still plenty of room to write notes in the margins, and you can plaster your pages with sticky notes, too!

It would be fun to hear about some of the handy tools you use when you write! Until next week...here's wishing you great success with your writing!

Roxanne