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Filling the Gaps in Your Story Plan

Tuesday, 18 August 2020 | 0 comments

You want to write a story that’s good, cohesive, and easy to follow. However, you’re not so sure about the story plan you’re working with right now. Sure, you’ve got a basic outline, and you’ve got a few general ideas about where you’re going to take your narrative, but you know there’s still some gaps in your plan that desperately need filling. How do you go about making sure they don’t stop you from writing the story of your dreams? Well, you learn how to think them out and get rid of them, and you can start with the points below. 

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Don’t Lose Your Momentum

If you want to get on with your story, it’s important not to get bogged down in the details. However, you’ve got some gaps to fill within your plan, so how do you go about ensuring these two factors work hand in hand? After all, they’re at opposite ends of the spectrum! Well, you work without losing your momentum. 

You write what you want to write; you get through a scene that you’re excited to write out, and you’re excited to put some imagery and metaphors and clever tones in the passage, but then you come to a stop. You’ve no idea what to write next, because you don’t know a certain detail, or you need to look something up. 

But don’t stop writing! Don’t lose your momentum! Put the thing you need to research, or the idea you need to fit into the narrative at large, into some brackets, and then keep going. Get your scene done and out of the way, and then come back to edit later. That’s what the act of editing is for, after all! 

Consider What You Might Have Missed

You might have missed answering a question or two within your story, but how do you work out where these answers are missing? Look at what you’ve written already – your characters, your dialogue, your settings, etc., and think about their backstories. 

Maybe that town needs a name, and you can’t use the name of a real place as a placeholder. Don’t fret, you can use a random words website to help you come up with something that suits your story. Maybe that character needs a better motivation, or a scene in which they clearly define what drives them. Single them out, and think about adding in a few more details. 

Ask yourself some questions here. If this is the end of the story, how did the events leading up to here work out? Were there satisfying resolutions? Or have you missed some key points within them? Have you developed the chapters you really want along the way? And are your characters different? 

Filling the gaps within your story plan isn’t something you need to work out right now. Start writing your story, and then work backwards. Don’t stop, don’t lose your momentum, and don’t be afraid to use the power of editing to your advantage. 

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