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Question: I have a plot idea, but to turn it into a full novel, I don't know what to do?! How do you flesh out a story into so many scenes/chapters? You have the intro, rising action, climax, etc., but what, for instance, happens in Ch. 2?! How do you outline a novel when you have a general idea and need to get from point A to point B?

While structure is important, the story is what matters the most. You can't build the third floor of a building before you build the second. Take it one step at a time. It can be easy to get an idea, get really excited about it, and then want to put it all together at once. Believe me, that will eventually make you want bang your head into a wall. Don't write your story for the purposes of structure. You want to learn and understand structure but if you put it above the story then you will be trying to weave a story around a structure instead of molding a structure to fit a good story.

With that said, take your plot idea and play out the possibilities in your head. You don't have to do it sitting down. Just free yourself to let your imagination roam. Don't put pressure on yourself to make every word perfect. Think about what characters are involved in your story, how they feel about each other, about the plot, what drives them, how the surrounding circumstances affect them. And know that what you come up with the first time will not be the final product so don't feel bound to the initial brainstorming sessions. You can use the story to guide you but if you find yourself looking to structure to drive story then you want to refocus on what comes natural from the characters and the situations they face.

Part of the answer to this will be revealed when you start writing. You may have the plot sequence figured out in advance (lucky you! I tend to work it out while writing), but then find that something apparently simple actually carries you through a couple of chapters, while something larger may only need one.

Don't let worries about something like chapter breaks interfere - get the story written. Figuring out where a chapter falls can be done during rewrite, or even when you start having beta readers look at it. And good luck!

There is an excellent book which is helpful for this, and it should be available from your library. It is Jack Bickham's Scene and Structure from the Elements of Fiction series.

In fact, I recommend any books in this series.

Thanks for the recommendation!!! I'm looking it up right now.

I'd suggest drawing out an outline or using mind mapping to figure out how you want the story to progress. Also once you start make sure you follow your guide so that each chapter feels like it ended the way it should.

It is worth keeping in mind to set objectives for each chapter - even if it just one objective - have an idea in your mind of how you want your chapter to begin and where you want to get to by the end of that chapter. You don't have to resolve the chapter, but at least have an objective that you want to reach by the end that can be used to open the next chapter.

Using a story board is really helpful. You write out what you want to happen in the book, who you want to be in, critical events, plots twists, eat. It is like a flow chart or round robin for writing. You can then link things together and look at how long you want your book to be.

-- 08 Mar 2014, 11:46 --

Using a story board is really helpful. You write out what you want to happen in the book, who you want to be in, critical events, plots twists, eat. It is like a flow chart or round robin for writing. You can then link things together and look at how long you want your book to be.

-- 08 Mar 2014, 11:47 --

Oops, I think I double posted