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I do not use worksheets. I have a number of them printed out sitting in a folder, but I never really got beyond names and basic appearances on the character sheets and I never actually used the scene-planning sheets. I don't plan much, either; I might brainstorm some, but that's all you've got.

Many people will tell you that you shouldn't use worksheets; others will tell you that they are the most valuable tool in existance. I think the real answer is "whatever works for you", because different people have different experiences. However, let's go over some of the basic types of worksheets/planning techniques, illustrating the good and the bad about each. I will be using a current work in progress, The House Viscera, to illustrate.

Note: I am mostly familiar with the sheets from the Writer's Toolbox, so we'll be using those as well as the more "conventional" tools.






Most of us have experience with this through forced planning in schooling. Some of us continue to stay with the techniques bred in us by our dedicated schoolteachers. Others didn't like webbing or outlining and may still dislike it. But whatever your choice, let's take a look at the different forms.

1. The outline.

Ahh, the trusty outline. It works in one of a few ways, but all of them involve a sequential order of events. Some of them have sub-events listed under bullets. In comics, this tends to take the form of "storyboarding"-- you sketch out a sample image every few images to complete a story or scene, rather than going in-depth as you will in the end.

An outline for Viscera might look something like this.



Or you can do it in bullets or whatever tickles your pickle.

The Good:
-Outlines can help you figure out where you're going and how to get there
-They provide a sense of accomplishment and can solidify your desire in a story

The Bad:
-Outlines can provide a false sense of accomplishment to some. Remember, you haven't written your story yet and you haven't given it beautiful sensory detail and emotion.
-Some people feel that they have to follow their outlines very strictly, which can impede change.
-Outlines at heart are really just a beginning stage. You don't really know the characters and you don't have the little twists that come to you while you mention a detail.

My Analysis:

I believe that the best outline is one the writer isn't afraid to break. Outlines, I think, should really be tools to get you psyched about a story and make you feel like it is within your reach to pull it off. They can also serve as a reminder to keep you back on track if you start wandering off and forget where you originally intended to go-- providing you don't allow them to strangle your creative growth.


2. The Web.

I often use these for characters, actually.

Well, you've probably used these in your English classes. You write a big concept at the center of the paper and then you brainstorm and scrawl down connections until it gets huge.

It's hard to represent these on the internet, but I think you know what I'm talking about.

The Good:
-These ways of planning often force the planner to think about consequences, as things should connect.
-Ideas gained in planning often fit the central concept more than in other methods.
-Generates possibly more ideas than any other planning method except The Disorganized Brainstormer.
-Good for nonlinear stories.
-Possibly the only form of planning (other than The Disorganized Brainstormer) that can give you a full idea without a preconceived concept. Don't you remember when your teacher told you to write your favorite color and play the word-association game?

The Bad:
-Not everything can connect in stories. It's viewed with suspicion by a reader when everything traces back to a central concept: We don't want to read stories in which the evil lord is destroyed, people are freed, your hero is loved, and that bully from chapter 1 is defeated just because Socialism Is Bad (hi, Goodkind). Resist the lure of platitudes.
-Although it forms chains of consequences, it's hard to web and reach a distinct story pattern. Webs rarely work for linear stories.

My Analysis:
I find webs better for my use. Unfortunately, I often forget to actually connect things-- thus why I more often use the Disorganized Brainstormer. I much prefer webs to outlines because they don't tend to constrain people. The form of a web is free-flowing and amorphous, helpful as one of the greatest problems while starting out is over-planning.


3. The Disorganized Brainstormer

You probably just call this "brainstorming", but it's also a way to plan. Many people learn it as the very, very beginning stage.

To those of you who haven't taken a piece of paper and savaged it with our ideas: you're missing a lot.

The brainstorming works like this. You start, like a web, with one word. It can be a character (what I often use), a key concept, an item, or anything you want that holds importance to your story. Set a timer for thirty seconds.

You are not allowed to write for these thirty seconds, just allowed to think on the word. When the thirty seconds are up, GO. Start writing. Scribble down everything you can think of and things that you can't, things that have been eating at your brain and you don't think fit-- everything.

Here's an example:


Phew! That was a lot. It also took me under a minute. And it tied together several plot threads very nicely. Hell, I just discovered that I've got some religious meanings in here.

Note: I would recommend you write on paper. There is no substitute in this case, because your fingers will get confused a lot more than your words will on paper- and you don't want to be going back and deleting because that ruins the point.

The Good:
-Quite possibly the best way for getting new ideas. The act of writing everything down from your head is incredibly helpful, and you may pull up scraps of imagery and other things you didn't know you possessed.
-Manages to segue off very nicely and gets into a lot of nitty gritties that all really tie in. Good for consequence mapping.

The Bad:
-It's disorganized. Plain and simple. If you don't like trying to interpret your own hurried scrawl, this is not the method for you.
-It will not get you a coherent direction if you don't already know where you want to go.

My Analysis:

Do I really need to tell you that this is what I use when I do any planning at all? Mostly, I use it to get stuff down so I don't forget. Honestly, I'd advocate this unless you're really really scrupulously neat.

Also, if you're good at brainstorming anyways, chances are you can do this all in your head.


4. The Worksheet

Worksheets? Oh, yes. They exist. An overall one can be found here, while a more detailed scene list can be found here

Now, these are pretty self-explanatory. You print them or whatever and fill them out.

The Good:
-They're neat. They don't get terribly sloppy. They're also structured.
-Their structure can help you define the precise concrete things you want to happen.

The Bad:
-They are structured. It can be hard to fit your plot and your concept into the worksheet's idea of what it should be.
-Once you've spent all that time filling out the worksheets, you've probably spent more time than it would take you to write the scene.

My Analysis:
I sat down with a sheaf of these when I was without computer access. I tried to write on them. I couldn't.

I dislike the lack of flexibility and the structure. If you like it, go ahead. I happen to not.

Character Planning

For character planning, you can use one of the methods like brainstorming for plot planning, or, more commonly, character sheets. Because I'm not all that familiar with other possibilities, I'll go into character sheets and character sketches.

Character Sketches

Character sketches are "slice of life" bits of prose meant to illustrate to both reader and author how the character looks at the world. Readers, in this case, mean anyone who you want critique on character from; character sketches do not belong in published writing, or at least the majority of them. Why not? They're incomplete or they're too complete. Many don't have a climax, but they do end on a very final note.



The Good
-Possibly the only way to solidify your characters before you start on the work, as characters only become complete when you write them.
-Very informative and a good reference point.
-Especially useful in terms of getting into your character's head.
-Can be used to give a character a distinct voice and to clarify how he or she sees things.

The Bad
-If you're going through all that effort, why not just write the story?

My Analysis:

I used to do these a lot. Then I realized that they were kind of a waste of time, however much they got me into a character's head. I don't honestly see why they're all that necessary (except perhaps in a third-person story where you're having trouble with characterization), but if they tickle your pickle, go ahead.


The Character Sheet

Ooh, there has been a lot of debate about this recently.

Character sheets are handy little things with categories to fill out about your character. They vary in detail. Some just include personality, motives, history, possessions, story relevance, and appearance; others include everything from blood type to breakfast cereal of choice.

Here are two examples:

The simple: http://www.thescriptorium.net/sketch.html

The complex: http://www.thescriptorium.net/biography.html


I'm not going to fill them out because they take a while and a lot of space.

The Good
-They make good reference sheets for details, so you don't end up saying Nail's eye color is brown in the first chapter and grey in the tenth.
-It can be useful to know every detail about your character, if you're one of those people who panics when they realize they need to find out their character's cereal preferences.
-Many people feel comfortable when they've got a character sheet to go on.

The Bad
-Once they've come up with Nail's blood type, a lot of writers seem to think that it needs to be included in the story. It doesn't.
-Many of the categories seem to be a waste of time.
-A lot of profiles split up strengths and weaknesses and other personality traits. This makes it hard to gain a sense of an overall personality if that hasn't been developed already.
-When they've got all the facts figured out, a lot of people forget that the audiences don't have the profile. Either that, or--the horror-- they try to put profiles in the story.

My Analysis

Unless I'm in a roleplay, I do not use character profiles. They don't belong in writing, I don't feel they help, and they don't really do much for me when I can recall that Nail's eyes are brown and not grey.

If you use them, make sure that you recognize not everything mentioned has to be included in the story.


Character Interviews

These are often touted by some people. What happens? Well, you sit down and "interview" your characters. You think up questions, you think up the character's answer to the questions in the character's voice.



The Good
-They're fun.
-You wind up asking questions that you'd probably ask in a game of Truth or Dare.

The Bad
-If you run out of questions, what do you do?
-Why not just think it up anyways without that whole question- in character answer process?


My Analysis

I honestly never had much interest in this. I'd ask myself what Nail's favorite childhood memory was.

This tends to be more popular among the "my characters come to life" crowd.








Alright! There's a brief overview. I didn't really get into worldbuilding and for that I'm sorry, but that's life.


So, now, discussion:
-Do you use any of the above?
-What do you like?
-What do you dislike?
-What would you recommend?
-Do you have your own system of planning?

Of course you're allowed permission, Vieve! Every single topic you make is like an article.

I love how you've gone in detail about every method and listed the pros and cons. It ought to help out those people who just can't seem to write.

*claps* Well done.

I like to structure chapters seperately. I use a bulleted list system write out the things I want to accomplish in that chapter, and make note of how those things will progress the plot. That way I can avoid writing too much needless filler and I can pretend to be organized.

I've always liked the idea of character sheets, but everytime I sit down to fill one out I get bored half way through. I'm one of those writers who couldn't give a rightious damn about my character's favourite Monkees Album, or even what their favourite childhood memory was. Although, god help me, I do love thinking about their worst memory.

Endrael, I'm like you in some ways. I try to plan things out, but I almost always abandon those plans and just fly by the seat of my pants. It can be exciting, because I rarely know what's going to happen next, but it can be a pain because I'll often write myself into a corner.

I myself don't use any of those methods. I skimmed over it, mostly because I have NO methods. Sometimes a section of dialogue or narrative will pop into my head, and I'll write from there, like I'm doing now, or I'll just sit down and say to myself "I need to write something," and write. The latter is the exception to the rule though, as I often start a story with something I mull over for a few minutes.

very interesting, Im mostly the brainstormer version, though perhaps I shoud try out the other types of planing, very good job here

Ye gods...I took a look at the plot outline worksheets, and I RECOILED IN COSMIC HORROR.

For me, that s**t is the very stuff writer's block is made of.