Outlining with Scene Cards
Planning a book is hard work. There are so many little pieces to construct and piece together, from characters, worldbuilding, plots, subplots, magical creatures, that it can be hard to even know where to begin. That’s why breaking everything down into manageable steps is a great way to keep momentum and not lose hope.
Personally, I like to plan ahead and outline, a plotter as some people say. For me, a rough overview often doesn’t go far enough, especially when there are multiple perspectives and a whole bunch of fantasy nuances to keep track of. That’s why I like to create to what I call “scene cards.”
When outlining a story, I tend to have a decent idea of an ending, a vague idea of a beginning with a few snippets of clarity sprinkled throughout the middle. The clearest points are the first index cards I make. On the front I write what happens with a clear intention of where I want the scene to go. On the back, I write all of the subtext elements, such as character motivations, milestones for certain arcs, and various storytelling goals, such as conveying key information.
Cards are especially helpful when dealing with multiple perspectives. In my story, I have two main characters, so I assign each one a color. For one character’s chapters, I use blue cards, and for the other, I use green. Then, when I put all the cards together, I can not only look at how the overall story flows, but how the individual stories of each perspective character work as their own arcs.
Once I fill out cards for each of the scenes I know clearly, I see where there are obvious gaps. Next, I jump back to my rough outline and sketch out what needs to happen to get from scene to scene. Once I get a rough idea, I go back to my index cards and flesh out these connecting parts as scenes.
When I have most of my scenes written out as cards, I sometimes spread them all across the floor. At this point I try to set everything in order to see where there are still some gaps. If there are any, I go back to the drawing board, and if not, then I finally move on to the next step! I put everything into one final word doc and divide the parts into chapters. Usually, as I do this, I make some changes here and there to make the scenes flow better. Sometimes what I imagine as one chapter becomes two. The final document usually becomes my first draft.
While it might not be the most efficient way to outline a book, it works for me. Filling out a notecard with scene details is a small and manageable task. Likewise, having a pile of index cards is a really rewarding way to see your progress. So, if you’re contending with the dreaded “White Page Syndrome,” this could be a great alternative to get your creative juices flowing. The most important thing about developing a creative workflow is finding one you can stick to. Happy writing!
