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TahBayEss — Writing Chapters Tutorial v.2
Published: 2009-12-30 07:45:11 +0000 UTC; Views: 15854; Favourites: 209; Downloads: 78
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DaGrblz's Process to Writing Chaptersversion 2
Step 1: Plot Planning
Make a sort of timeline for your whole story.
-Draw a line across a paper
-Start the first entry at the very beginning, but write tiny and sideways, so there is room for every event on your timeline.
-This timeline gives general ideas of what will happen in the story.
-Now go back and mark the events of bigger importance and/or indicates a time skip/flashback in the story.
-This organizes my thoughts of where to begin and end a chapter.
Step 2: Chapter Planning
Write out the specific events of the chapter you are about to write.
-Get a piece of notebook paper and write bullet point after bullet point of happenings in this chapter.
-Try not to put it in complete sentences, unless you have a quick idea or dialogue you don't want to forget.
-You don't have to skip lines every time you start a new bullet point. This wastes space on the notebook paper, and I myself just squish all the ideas together (you won't need this paper later when you've filled it up).
-They must be in chronological order (this will definitely help when you write the chapter).
-The ideas/events you are jotting down that happen in this chapter can be as broad or brief as you want.
-I find myself taking up about half a face for each chapter on college ruled notebook paper with normal sized handwriting.
Step 3: Chapter Writing
Quickly write down your whole chapter on notebook paper.
-This is pretty self-explanatory. Just write, on paper, your chapter.
-Don't worry about spelling or grammar mistakes. You can fix this in the next step, typing.
-Just for reference, my average chapter, in tiny sized handwriting on college ruled notebook paper, takes about three to four page faces.
-Even though you aren't doing any major editing in this stage, you can go back and add any notes you want to remember to include when typing in the next step.
Step 4: Typing
Type up your chapter.
-Open up a clean document in a writing program. There are many different programs I am familiar with, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works Word Processor, OpenOffice, Word Perfect, and Gmail Documents. OpenOffice and Gmail Documents are free.
-As you type, this is when you start correcting your grammar and spelling mistakes. Hopefully you are paying attention to every word you type so it processes in your mind what you need to change.
-Along with grammar and spelling, there are also character mistakes. I once switched a character's name around and still didn't notice it after five times of reading the chapter until my friend pointed it out, so it is an important thing to pay attention to.
-You can also add in any details or information that pops into your head that you want to add.
-Do not just zap through and type whatever you have on paper. To me, this is the most important step. I change things in the story, correct my errors, add anything additional, et cetera.
-Remember to save frequently!
Step 5: Quick Edit
Quickly look over your chapter.
-Correct any small mistakes you may have made.
-This is actually an important step. You never know what simple everyday errors you have made. One time I typed "flied" instead of "flew"!
Step 6: Peer Edit
Have a friend that knows a bit about writing edit your chapter.
-This is also important that someone else other than the writer looks over each chapter. They weren't there when it was being planned, and they don't know anything that the writer knows that wasn't put into the chapter. This gives another set of eyes' view on your writing.
-Listen to ANY advice they give. Don't take anything personally. Constructive criticism gives you a change to improve the writing, not to crumble it up and give up.
-Have them correct any simple, or complex, grammar/spelling/character mistakes you may have missed.
-To help improve your writing: Have them list your mistakes or highlight them in a noticeable color so you can go back and correct them yourself, and you know what you have done wrong, and for future references.
-When you get the edited version back, go over your mistakes, correct them, and once again read it over yourself to correct anything to your own liking.
Step 7: More Peer Edit (optional)
This is if you have another experienced friend that can help you.
-It helps if you have more than one friend that can write. If you can get them to edit your story, it helps even more if the two have different styles of editing. This helps your writing in many areas.
-It is also good if this editor is at a higher level of editing, or takes more time, or just has a much more different way of editing than the first one. (It really doesn't matter, though. It's good if you have two editors to begin with.)
Step 8: Print, Self-Edit
Edit the chapter yourself again.
-Print out your chapter.
-Look over it again with your own eyes and a pencil or pen.
-You may want read over it multiple times, looking for different points of strength and weakness in the writing.
-Make sure to mark your corrections in a noticeable way. If it is not noticeable enough, i.e. you are using a pencil, go to the beginning of the line with the correction and make a mark there, so you know which lines have corrections and you don't miss them.
-Go back to the computer and change the text to however you edited it to be.
Step 9: Done!
Publish your beautiful copy!
-Make sure if you use anything in the chapter from a website or book, etc., to source it. A simple title and author or hyperlink will do.
-If you do post it to the public on say, deviantART, text can be a hard thing to copyright. Be careful. Make sure you note in the artist's comments that it is copyrighted to you and you only (unless there are actually other people involved).
-What I like to do is an organized publication: Write the chapters whenever I get the feeling to write it, type it when I get the time, send it to editor(s) when they want it, and post a chapter to dA, say, once a week. This gives me time to write and type, as well as editors time to edit, and also promises the readers a normal schedule. A chapter will be posted [once a week] though I may have [three] chapters to type up yet.
-Try fighting the urge to post it all at once. This just spoils the readers, and they might not be excited for chapters to come. Also, there are people (me being one of them) who just don't favor reading on the internet. It actually takes up time, and if there are so much text to read in a short amount of time, they just ignore the story. You don't want that, now do you?
More advice:
-Thesaurus: Some people love it, some people hate it. I'm in the middle. My advice is you can use it, but just don't abuse it. This means if you are looking for an intelligent word to put here and there, or you are using one word too much, try looking up a synonym. If you use Microsoft Word or Word Perfect, you can look up a synonym right there in the program. Though this is a tempting feature to use, I find actually visiting Dictionary.com much more resourceful. Why? Because it has examples and other forms of the word. You are going to want to know if the word you are using actually fits where you want it.
-Doodling: Character conception is very important for any story. Doodle your characters a lot. Whether it's people, cats, wolves, bats, or cupcakes, it is always a good idea to get the feel of their personalities and looks down on paper. You may want to do this before you post/publish your first chapter. If you don't, you may want to change some description about a character after you have posted a chapter, but it is too late. That would be too confusing for the readers. So draw them a lot, and make a final reference (for the readers or even just yourself).
-Chapter Length: Prologues/Epilogues as well as filler chapters are usually shorter than regular chapters. On paper (small handwriting on college ruled), my normal chapter is three to four page faces long. Typed (normal margins, Tahoma font, size 11 to 12), it ranges from two to four pages long. Of course, this is excluding filler chapters (
nothing important or major happens), prologues (introducing chapter to story; usually something not explained until the climax of the story; also in usually something from the past, future, or in the view of someone other than the main character), and epilogues (outro chapter to story, usually what is going on after the story plot ends and wraps up anything left). Though it is nice to have filly, informative, suspenseful chapters, you are you and you can create your chapter however long or little you want them to be.
-Ideas: The. Idea. Is. So. So. Important. Think the plot through. Think about it at night when you try to sleep, think about it in the morning when you are struggling to wake up, and think about it when you are eating lunch. You must know the beginning and ending to the story before you start writing. Otherwise you may not have enough will power to keep it going. For example, I have my whole plot planned out for the story I am currently writing (as of 12.09), The Brightest Star, so I have the ambition to finish it. As another example, a few years ago I wanted to do my story The Wolf Rising, a.k.a. FLY, starting and stopping many times because I never really had the whole plot planned out. This put my plans falling for this story. Another story (graphic novel) I am currently working on is Silas, and I also have its whole plot planned out, but it takes much more work (and a tablet, of which I am deprived at the moment because mine broke) to create a graphic novel.
-Listen to music: Really, this might help. That is, if you are not someone who absolutely cannot concentrate when listening to music… If the normal music you listen to isn't enough to inspire you, put together a playlist of songs whose meanings have to do with your story. There are many songs out there with emotional lyrics or lyrics that have their own stories behind them. This may inspire you.
-Research: It is important to research. If your story has any history explanations in it, don't just jot down what you remember learning from the fifth grade. Research. Get it right, all the way to the bone. It also should be used to anything in the everyday life, or scientific, like disorders. If you want a good story, you can't just guess how things works. You need to have it realistically and politically correct.
-Suspense: Want to keep your readers interested? End the chapter with a small or big cliffhanger. I like doing this. ;D Though it may seem "cruel" to the reader, they are actually thanking you for giving them such an exciting story to read. Why exciting? Because cliffhangers create suspense, and suspense leaves the reader wanting more. Hence, the excitement. Though the cliffhanger is always fun to write, make sure your chapter is still filled with information and is lengthy enough to be a chapter. For me, the cliffhangers seem to end the chapter in the perfect location. Hopefully it can be that easy for you, too. BUT--you don't want to get carried away with cliffhangers. Just write what is happening in your story. I don't think a cliffhanger happens in real life every half a day, fo real. So just spread your cliffhangers apart. Use one in one chapter, two after that, three after that, a double one here and there. Just don't let the reader expect it, or they may become uninterested. [ some contribution for this advice given by Toki-The-Wolf]
-Programs/Resources: Here's a list of websites that you might find useful for your writing:
Typing Programs;
-Microsoft Word office.microsoft.com/en-us/wor… (costs money)
-Word Perfect www.corel.com/servlet/Satellit… (also costs money)
-OpenOffice www.openoffice.org/ (free)
-Microsoft Works Word Processor www.microsoft.com/products/wor… (apparently also cost money)
-Gmail Documents gspy.blogspot.com/2007/01/open… (make an account on Gmail first. It's free and I just love Gmail for emailing and chat as well.)
Researching Sites;
-Wikipedia www.wikipedia.org/ (though you shouldn't rely on Wiki 100%, it gives good information)
-Encyclopedia www.encyclopedia.com/
-Ask.com Encyclopedia www.reference.com/
-Search Engines, such as Bing www.bing.com or Blackle www.blackle.com/
Grammar Help;
-Thesaurus thesaurus.reference.com/
-Dictionary dictionary.reference.com/
-Grammar Guide www.englishchick.com/grammar/g… (you can find a lot of grammar help by looking up your grammar problem, e.g. "quotation rules" in a search engine.)
Related content
Comments: 45
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I usually respond well to structure, so I think this will help for times I decide I want to work harder on fun writing.
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*Looks at tutorial*
*Sits down at computer and opens Wordpad*
*Looks at the blank Wordpad file for hours*
*Gives up*
*Cries deeply*
*Roll into a tight ball in all the Writer's block and depression deep within my mind*
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I'm writing a book based off a roleplay me and my girl had online once.
I changed the plot a bit to make it longer and more interesting/making sense and I plan to add a few chapters ahead to describe the main character/s, but I feel it's still going to be too short. Can you explain 'filler chapters' to me?
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Yeah. One word.
DON'T!
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My objection to 'filler' chapters comes from being told that I had to write out what I referred to as the 'boring in-between' scenes, the moments when nothing really interesting is happening, but it's occupying the space between two interesting/plot-relevant moments. There's a way to do this right -character interaction- that turns these scenes from boring filler scenes to moments where you can see how characters interact, but that still has a sense of plot, though it is more of a subplot than it is a central plot (two characters setting aside differences and becoming friends, for example, is a subplot).
The way filler chapters are described above is "nothing important or major happens." That is how you kill writing. When you're writing a story, you've created an unspoken contract with your reader. The reader says, "I will give my time (And hopefully one day, money) to read this," and the writer says, "in return, I will give you an entertaining story." The best way to NOT entertain a reader is to give them chapters where nothing happens, chapters that can be easily cut from the story that do not change the characters, the setting, or inform the reader or advance the plot. What you're giving them, instead of an entertaining story, is boredom.
I was convinced that you have to write these 'filler' chapters in books. Quickly, after actually writing a book (available on Wattpad) I realized that you don't. Even scenes in my story that don't advance the main plot advance sub-plots, or show character interaction. The most successful stories in the genres I read (science fiction and fantasy) have excised these scenes, and the one genre which I loathe with the undying and eternally-burning passion of a thousand suns (literary fiction) is the one that uses this so much.
The problem with filler chapters is that nothing happens to them. They are, in effect, pointless words on a page, wasted space where an author disillusioned from the lie that 'you have to write filler chapters' could instead put a character arc that's memorable. If you're writing a fantasy story, I don't need to see your character doing mundane things, unless he's doing those things to help another character, or to spite another, or in some way adding conflict. If he was collecting water to use for tea, and returns to camp to find two of the characters trying to beat each other up, you don't need to show him wading into a stream and filling up a jar. The best place to start that chapter is right as he's returning to camp.
Filler chapters do not accomplish anything. Nay, they accomplish worse than nothing. I was going to call filler chapters the literary equivalent of an appendix (the useless organ, not the thing at the end of a book), but appendixes don't automatically make you sick (unless you get appendicitis, but not everyone does). Filler chapters do, by automatically inflating your book with non-scenes masquerading as scenes, boring readers instead of entertaining them.
TL;DR: Filler chapters are a waste of space where you could put in character interaction or subplots. Readers read to be entertained, not so they can see your main character cook breakfast, brush teeth, and floss every single day. Entertain them, and avoid filler chapters.
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My pleasure. It was fun making it (:
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Wow. It's a great guide, but I'm more of a wing it then go back to fix it kind of person.
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And that's perfectly fine! Everyone has their ways. 
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This should help me organize my story alot better. Thankyou!
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Very nice guide, but I have a question for you. I don't use chapters; instead I use 'books' (for example my first actual book I wrote is comprised of two smaller books, Book I and Book II, and in the second actual book there's Book III and Book IV and so on) but I've been told not using chapters makes the story very tedious. Do you think this is so?
--
You have encountered a Wespe Blitz.
A.) Die screaming
B.) Die crying
C.) All of the above
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Do what you want! But if you really wanted to change it, I would go for something other than "chapters" to make it divided up a little more. Try "days" or "episodes" or things like that. Or just separate text every so often with blocks of space. You could try it out or you can keep it the way you have it. Thanks for the comment!
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I'm glad I found this. I've been direly needing it.
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Thank you so much for this!
This will really help.
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Sorry for the late reply but my pleasure, and I hope it does come in handy! (:
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Thank you so much! This helped a lot, especially the timeline for getting all the events organized! This is a great tut and very well written. Thanks again!
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I am glad it helped 
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I wish I read this years ago. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.
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What an excellent tutorial!
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Thank you very much! (:
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Thank you (: I hope it comes useful C:
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You're welcome
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This is simply wonderful. I already do some of these steps(I ALWAYS write and then type with anything I do. I can't imagine it any other way,) but I also learned a few steps that I think are great. Thank you for creating this. I'm sure it's going to help a lot of people out!
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Thank you so much for your feedback! C: Yeah, I know friends who just type straight away, but I always think writing first and then typing can change it so much, which is very helpful.
I hope it will (:
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Thank you, I hope it is C:
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No problemo :3 I hope so ^^
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This is awesome! I'm going to use your planning techniques to start my new story that I have been developing for quite some time now. Great job!
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That's great!!! Thnx for using
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Wow very nice! ^_^ I think this'll actually help me a lot. One thing to add: When it comes to cliff hangers, just don't do it every chapter, or every 3 chapters. It gets annoying when you use it too much, and then the reader begins to expect it. Try to make it as random as possible. Maybe cliffhanger one chapter, then 6 chapters later another, then 2, then 11, then 6, then maybe a double cliffhanger, etc...
~Toki-chan
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Yay 83
Thanks! I'll add it.
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