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killinbills · 5 years

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╰⊱♥⊱╮ the killinbills guide to planning a fic!! (part two)

Normally I don’t make these sort of things, but I get a lot of asks about how I plan my fics so I thought it would be easier to do a tutorial like this. This works for me, but it won’t work for everyone. I think the thing with planning fics/stories, in general, is that everyone will have their own way of doing it, and it really depends on you as a person. But,,, it might help if you maybe take some of the steps that I do, so here is what I do.

(If you don’t know me, hi! I’m Lucy aka bioodflood on wattpad, and in the almost six years I’ve been on there, I’ve completed six Harry Potter oc fanfics... A few more including the ones that have been taken down, including a couple Teen Wolf ones and one for The Flash, but yeah, I’ve written and planned a lot.)

So, in this, I’m gonna talk about:

Titles (including chapter titles)

Dialogue

Staying motivated

Fanfic specific, including changing canon plot effectively and although they’ll apply mostly to HP, they can be changed to suit whatever fandom you are writing for!!

also How I use Pinterest

and More on chapter summaries

In part one I talked about:

Characters

Plotting

Twists (both big ones then lil plot advancers)

Soon, I’m going to write a part three and that’ll focus on first chapters!

I hope this is of use to you guys, and if it is, please consider reblogging so others can see this, too!! 💖💖 (also!! my ko-fi is here if you would like to buy me a coffee and support me!!)

also: special thanks to @starkdnvers for helping me with the gif at the top!

╰⊱♥⊱ READ PART ONE HERE

╰⊱♥⊱╮ one: titles

╰⊱♥⊱╮ step no. one: actual story titles

The way to title your story is pretty simple, really. It needs to reflect upon the entire story. You can take inspiration from things like songs, but personally, I prefer it when people don’t? Obviously sometimes there are exceptions, but for the most part, if you want an effective story title, make sure it fits the story.

Maybe it’s named after the main character. I have a fic called Briar, after the main character Briar, and I also have a fic called Morningstar, which is the main character’s surname, and her surname represents the power she has. Both of these titles reflect upon the story itself.

I’m gonna be honest, one of my fics is called Go Lightly and tbh, what happened was that it was going to be called something else, but “go lightly” was the name of playlist because the character’s name is Holly, and “go lightly” just stuck. I sort of made the phrase have a meaning in the story, which I count as an exception but again, like I said, every writing rule has exceptions.

Sometimes titles can be super hard to think of, but, if you’re like me and you like to give your playlists cute names, sometimes you’ll end up giving them a name, and then that name sticks, and works as the title. (It’s happened twice now, for me??)

The way to titling your story is thinking of what the story’s about. Do some thinking about it, maybe write down a couple you like the idea of, and normally I find that one title will just fit. Same goes for character names -- there’ll be one that just works, and until you get to that point, you just need to persevere.

╰⊱♥⊱╮ step no. two: chapter titles

I love chapter titles!! I’ve been told before that I have nice ones, and I’ve answered this in an ask before, but I’ll break it down here.

Sometimes i’ll pick out phrases from the chapter and use them, but also, i’ll look at song titles and other things. All of my fics have a whole note dedicated to potential chapter titles (which makes it so much easier when you’re struggling!!) and basically I’ll write down idioms, phrases, etc, that could work as a chapter title.

The idea is to try and make that chapter titles feel as if they have a correlation, even if only you can see it. (To be honest, I didn’t think people noticed mine, but apparently they do, so maybe others will see the correlation too!!)

So, for example, my fic Morningstar, for the list of chapter titles I’ve written down phrases taking inspiration from:

Gossip Girl episodes (she lives in the upper east side)

Old school book titles, including The Clique, Monster High, and Clueless (these all fit the main character’s overall vibe and the style that her narration is written!)

I feel like it adds another level of character to the story, if the chapter titles are written in a way that reflects upon the main character. For Clueless, the chapter titles are all a little flirty and playful because that’s what the main character’s like. I wouldn’t recommend having a solid theme (obviously there are EXCEPTIONS!) because sometimes a chapter needs a Specific Title. But, if you guys were wanting your chapter titles to have some correlation to them, this is how I do it!

╰⊱♥⊱╮ two: dialogue

This one is gonna be super short, because I don’t really know how best to explain this. I write dialogue with the intention of making it sound realistic. But, sometimes it helps me to write just the dialogue, almost like a script, before writing the scene because then I can focus on what the characters are saying. You can change the dialogue when you write the full scene, but sometimes it helps to focus just on the dialogue -- and, sometimes you sort of have an idea of how you want the scene to go, so by writing the dialogue down you know what you’re doing when you get to it!!

If you’re unsure of your dialogue/conversations sounding unrealistic, I try to keep in mind that certain people have phrases they use a lot, so characters have the same. Harry says “um” and “erm,” like, a lot. All of the Weasley kids (sort of excluding Ginny) say stuff like, “bloody,” “blimey...” You can sort of get a feel, though, for how each character speaks in the books themselves, and I’ve found it useful keeping that in mind. (But of course we haven’t heard a lot of them talking about certain things, just speaking to Harry, so if you’re unsure of how certain characters may speak to a love interest, try and keep it close to how they normally speak, but also, you can go AU if you think it’s what they probably would say.) (For this, I mean stuff like, how they say they love someone, or something.) (If you want to see my break-down of certain HP characters and how I’d write them, I have a whole list here!)

╰⊱♥⊱╮ three: staying motivated

A lot of people tell me I’m really good with updating, and like,,,, to be honest I sort of am? And like it’s not a bad thing that sometimes it takes a while for people to update,,, it’s just that a lot of the time, during school breaks, I have the time to spend on writing. I’m not saying it’s bad that sometimes people take a while to update. People are busy with school and work and life (I literally didn’t update from September to December of last year because of everything,,, and I stopped when I had exams, too) and at the end of the day, we write because we enjoy it.

But here is how I stay motivated. (Or, in other words, how I’ve finished six whole fics, soon to be seven.)

When I get into something I get committed, and I enjoy writing the fics I write, so when I finish a chapter, normally I’ll get the next one ready to go. I enjoy feeling productive. I feel guilty if I haven’t written a story, and tbh if I haven’t been writing a story and don’t want to write it,, I’ll most likely unpublish the story because I don’t want to disappoint readers. However. There are a couple of things I keep in mind when I’m planning and such, and this is them:

I’ll commit to a small handful of fics at once. Three is stressful for me. Right now I’m writing three, but I’m at the end of one, so it’s not so bad. But I’d recommend keeping a low count of unfinished fics, because then you can focus on them.

I’ll commit. When I plan a story it will be in my drafts for a VERY long time because I’ll wait for the moment where I’ve got the time and I really want to start that story. I’ve developed it, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to start it yet. I also want to take time to see if I really want to write something. Like, for ages I thought I was going to post this one fic, and then four months later I decided against it. Taking time before posting a story allows you to sit and think, do you want to spend hours writing this, or do you like the idea?

In terms of beating writer’s block, the only way to beat it is to write. It’s annoying and you don’t want to, but the only way you’re going to get through writer’s block is if you write the chapter.

╰⊱♥⊱╮ four: fanfic specific

I’ve already addressed deciding what canon plots to use in part one, but basically, the idea is: find the plot that fits your character. There should be one that, realistically, they could be included in, and that’s normally the one I’ll go for.

╰⊱♥⊱╮ no. one: changing canon

IF SOMEONE DIES, THEY DIE.

That is the one rule. I think it’s wrong when fanfics reverse canon in that way. I don’t like it when fanfic writers don’t make a character die, when they’re supposed to, because they like the character. They died for a reason.

... But, having said that, there is one exception:

If the death was badly done, or because of your plot changing canon a little it can’t actually happen -- but they’re going to die later, instead.

But. In terms of changing canon that isn’t so... important, I think that as long as you’ve got a reason for it, then go for it. At the end of the day, view your fic as it’s own story -- if you need to change canon a little bit, to help further your plot, then do it. If you need your character to, I don’t know, kill Dumbledore, or something, and you need to do it to help further your plot, do it. I am giving you permission to make things interesting and switch canon up.

Don’t stray away too much, but if it’s every so often, what’s the harm? If anything, it’s fun and exciting for readers to see that this fic’s a little bit different.

For example: I have a Peter Parker fic, but, since I know I write better with fantasy elements (by this I mean witchcraft over science fiction) the main character Isabelle’s plot lines, such as her villains and her powers, are all based within mythology rather than science fiction. I know I write fantasy better, so I’ve tweaked it so that the main focus is my strength, rather than science, which isn’t! At all!

Same with dialogue. I’d recommend staying close to the books, or the films, but sis the books have the longest conversations. It’s fine to condense conversations, too, or trim them a little. Make sure you’ve got everything there, so the readers know what’s going on -- again, treat it like your own story,, with the idea that unless you have not told the readers something, they will have no knowledge of it (as if they’re reading your fic but have not read the source) -- but if you need to trim, trim.

I talked about it a little in this ask, which is more on how I write the whole books, but there’s a little bit about conversations, too!

╰⊱♥⊱╮ no. two: writing canon characters realistically

I’ve touched upon this a little in dialogue, with how they speak, but normally if I’m writing a fic, I’ll look on the wiki page about them, so I know about their life and upbringing and such. Sometimes there’s things on there that you don’t think about, and if you’re wriitng with that knowledge, even if you don’t mention it, you know that character better and you’ll be able to write them better!

Speaking of -- if you’re writing a Fred or George fic, there’s a really good essay on Pottermore about the differences between them!!

╰⊱♥⊱╮ no. two point one: writing canon realistically

By this, I mean, writing locations and such like they are in the books. I don’t think any of us will notice if small things are changed, but, what I do if I’m writing during a specific class, or at a specific location (eg Grimmauld Place) I’ll look on the wiki page about that thing, and refer back to it if I’m unsure on anything. Sometimes I make stuff up, but it’s nice to know that if you want to double-check something, you’ve got the page open. (And, you never know when it’ll come in handy!! I had the Grimmauld Place one open and read something about an heirloom the Black family has, and now I can include it in my fic!!)

╰⊱♥⊱╮ five: how i use pinterest

I talked about this mostly in part one, but essentially, I use Pinterest as a means of figuring out how I imagine everything. A lot of the time I find it a lot easier to describe things if I know the specific way I’m deciding to present it, if that makes sense. It really isn’t necessary, but I like to have visuals to look back on.

Basically I’ll make a private Pinterest board, and have different sections for different things. I mentioned I have one for like a character’s wardrobe, and their bedroom, but I’ll show an example of Izzy’s board because it’s come in handy for her fic especially.

So, there are nine boards:

Moroi looks at Izzy’s superhero alter ego, with how she actually looks, and also on things like her powers

Izzy’s outfits and Izzy’s closet look at Izzy’s clothes. Outfits is for specific chapters, closet is for ideas

Izzy’s room is... Izzy’s room. Lol

Oswald penthouse is pretty much different pictures to kind of visualise Izzy’s home, so when I come to writing it I know how to present it

The Monsters has been scribbled out, but basically in that I’ve got pictures of certain creatures and places that will come into play with the villains Izzy faces throughout the story, both the little ones and the Big One. But because it’s literally spoiler city it’s blocked out

Cerberus is Izzy’s dog!! So I made one whilst I was figuring out how I wanted to present him

Marie’s valise is similar to Izzy’s closet, only with Marie (Izzy’s guardian) and her fashion. (Lots of vintage inspired because she’s from that time.)

Mary Immaculate is the section for Izzy’s school. Because I made the place up, I made a section so I know how I’m roughly describing things like the exterior, the interior, even the uniforms with the Blair pictures. Basically it’s just a way of me knowing how I’m going to describe it whenever the scenes take place at the school.

Another example is the Clueless board, which hasn’t been used as much, but like, to be fair, the only reason Izzy’s is so used is because most of it is AU. So.

Here we have:

Briar’s trunk which is Briar’s clothes (all of mine have one similar)

Beauxbatons which is me figuring out how I’m going to describe the school. There’s also a couple textposts about people’s headcanons, and tbh it’s helped out, keeping in mind how other people imagine the school to be like. (This is also super unnecessary but I also did research in the differences between the UK and France!! Did not need to do it at ALL but it’s helpful to know!!)

Carriage is basically me figuring out how the inside of the carriage looks like, same as Beauxbatons only not as much detail into it??

Honestly if you do this, the sections can be super messy if you want, it’s sort of just a way to visualise your fics! I know for me it’s really helped me out!!

╰⊱♥⊱╮ six: more on chapter summaries

OK, so. I like to write chapter summaries because it means that when I get to that chapter, I know what I’m doing. But, there are two type of chapter summaries:

The ones done ages in advance, super in detail, by the time you get to the chapter they don’t make much sense but if you’re familiar with the fic you can figure out what to do with it

The ones that are literally scribbled down before you start writing, so you map everything out. These are the ones I end up doing at the end of stories, because it’s literally a way of me being like “ok so this is in this chapter, so this will be in the next,” and having it all written down so I wont forgot my plan

Normally by the time I get to the end I’ll know how i’m ending it, so I won’t pay much attention to the chapter summaries, but sometimes I’ll super quickly write down what I’m doing so I remember. Also, with first chapters, I sort of always have an idea of what I’m doing, and I’ll just freestyle it, but I’ll show an example of a thought-out chapter summary:

It’s in detail but it’s so messy. Like, it’s difficult to explain it, because in some parts there’s me shortening words to write them faster, also there’s things in quotes because I might include the sentence in the chapter, and also there’s additional notes. (Like, how Briar will be on the train longer than Fleur, in case I mention it in the chapter.) Basically, I write down everything I need to keep in mind, it barely makes sense to anyone but me, but it helps me remember what I’m doing, and that’s the important part.

Also! Since in the fic, the main character’s a werewolf, at the top of the note with the chapter summaries I left a little message to myself about how the full moons will affect her.

Mostly it’s there so I can refer back to it, and it is really helpful. So if there’s anything you wanna keep in mind, you can always leave it at the top of your chapter summaries!! (If you have a lot of stuff, though, I’d recommend making another folder for just notes on planning -- I’ve got one for Morningstar.)

Sooo, it basically has: the monsters, chapter titles, her powers, a Bible verse lol, and then a planned out summary of part one... That I never finished... And instead made a super quick one that I have in another folder on notes, which literally just says when events will take place. (E.g., ‘Lagos,’ then ‘Start of the Bride,’ then ‘Berlin.’ Since I know what’s happening it’s easier just to jot down when they’re going to happen, as a way to remember.)

Then, the other way of summaries is the quick ones. I did this for the end of Holliday Dearest, one of my fics I finished last year, and tbh it helped just as much as a detailed one.

It’s literally the shortest thing ever, but since I knew what was going to happen, I just needed to know which chapter they’d be happening in, it really helped when I was writing it! (I literally think i wrote this on my phone before I went to bed, and like, it was just as useful as a detailed one.)

Chapter summaries really don’t have to be detailed, they just have to remind you of what you’re doing. If there’s stuff you want to include, then write it down, because you never know if you’ll forget, and even if you don’t use that thing in the end, at least you’ve written it down just in case.

For those of you that read my stuff, I didn’t do this for Briar, but then I knew the books well enough to have in mind what was going on. For Blue and Mean Spirits I made sure to write summaries because it’s marauders era, therefore it’s all up to me, basically. I’m not sure if I did one for Bones? But from Go Lightly onwards, I’ve done them for every fic, and it really helps me out!!

That’s everything for part two!! If you have any more questions, let me know!

My wattpad is here and my ko-fi is here, if you’re interested in either!! 💖

#killinbills tutorials

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