If you follow me on social media, you’ll have heard about my new book, The Novel Planning Journal. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing some insights into this book as well as some information on the different sections contained within it.

Who Is The Novel Planning Journal For?

The Novel Planning Journal is a tool that can be used by all writers, beginner and advanced. It is a guidebook and journal in one and it covers everything you need to know about writing a novel. If you’ve never written a book, The Novel Planning Journal will essentially take you by the hand and walk you through step by step on how to plan out your story and get ready for typing up your first draft.

If you’ve written a book (or twenty) and want to learn more about planning, or just want a journal that contains all your story ideas, The Novel Planning Journal is great. There are pages for your pitch, blurb, synopsis, character plans, setting, and pages for planning up to 40 chapters.

I’m a Pantser, Can I Use The Novel Planning Journal?

Yes, you can. If you follow me, you’ll know that I am a pantser. I love having the story develop as I write. I’m never going to lie and tell you I love planning or that I create in depth plans for my stories because I don’t. What I will tell you, is that there are specifics elements where I have found it really beneficial to plan in advance. These are characters and settings. These are essentials in any good story and having all my character plans and details in one place has been a lifesaver. I’m forever jotting down ideas on scraps of paper or in different notebooks or not making notes at all. What happens then is that my first drafts are littered with ????? because I either don’t know something or I’ve forgotten it.

A typical example of this would be where I haven’t decided on the name of a town, or I forget what colour hair or eyes I said a side character had. It really is a big pain and leads to so much editing when the first draft is complete.

With The Novel Planning Journal, I can fill these sections in and have it beside me while I work, so if I forget something all I have to do is open the book.

I also find that while I may not plan out my stories, ideas tend to pop into my head throughout the day and again, this is where The Novel Planning Journal comes in handy. I can pop the idea onto the page for the relevant chapter or into the notes section at the back of the book.

Do I Have To Create A Complete Outline Before I Start Writing?

No. That’s the fun of writing. There is no right or wrong way to do it, and every writer you ask will have a different way of working. With The Novel Planning Journal, you can fill in the sections that you want to use and leave the rest blank. You can jot down bullet points. You can write entire scenes. It is entirely up to you. You can use this journal any way you want. You might decide not to write in the pages at all and to use it as a reference book and guide to planning your novel and that’s okay too.

What’s Included In The Novel Planning Journal?

I’m not going to list everything that’s included in The Novel Planning Journal. You can see the list of sections on the product description on the book page of my website, but I will walk you through the first couple of sections.

The first thing you’ll find when you open the book is an introduction followed by a page on how to use the journal. Next up is a page where you can write the title of the novel you are going to work on. (If you don’t plan to write in the book, you can of course leave this blank).

There is a page with questions to help you determine what your novel is about, the story you want to tell, your ideal readers, and what your genre is. This leads into a section on how to summarise your story in one sentence, aka the pitch. There are examples included as well as the pitch formula and a page where you can practice your own.

Next up is the blurb section followed by the synopsis. Then we really get into the planning and the first major section is on Characters. This section is all about getting to know the main players in your story and includes a section on their goals, beliefs, and so on. There are pages for the protagonist, antagonist, and supporting characters.

Setting is next and this is another very important area of any story. Then there’s structure, plot, sub-plot, story beats, what agents and publishers look for when reading manuscript submissions (this includes the five stages you need to pass), and the last section is the chapter-by-chapter planning.

There may be a couple of little bits that I’ve left out, but I don’t want to make this post too long.

How Can I Purchase The Novel Planning Journal?

The Novel Planning Journal is available exclusively on my website. You can preorder it now in hardback and paperback and deliveries will begin on the week of the 13^th of November 2021.

I have not made the decision on whether or not to make The Novel Planning Journal available on Amazon.

By ordering from my website, you will receive a signed copy of the book along with an invitation to a private Facebook group where you can ask questions and connect with other writers. This group is only available to those who have purchased the book and you will receive an invitation by email when your book is shipped.

For more information and to order your copy please visit The Novel Planning Journal page on my website. https://www.amandajevans.com/books/the-novel-planning-journal

Until next time,

Keep reading and writing,

Amanda
xxx