Available in paperback, Kindle, and Nookwww.vincenthoneil.com

Using Excel to Plot Your Story

and keep track of characters, and brainstorm different ideas, and

much, much more

OUTLINE

• Introduction

• Developing an idea

• Developing a plot

• Developing alternatives

• Conclusion

Brainstorming

• Even if you have a full-blown story in your head, ready to be written, take the time to brainstorm it anyway

• Brainstorming is nothing but the process of letting one good idea lead to another

• It really pays off – and it’s fun (you get to indulge your creative side)

Standard Brainstorming

• Do some research (if applicable)

• Write phrases and words on a sheet / sheets of paper in random order

• Jot down everything that comes to mind, no matter how irrelevant it might seem

• Don’t try to connect the ideas yet

• The less sense it makes, the better

Glory Main Initial Ideas

• Story of survival

• Small cast of marooned characters

• Almost no resources -- starvation

• Barren planet

• A micro story of survival inside a macro war for survival

Brainstorming: Include everything

Scout character

How did they get there?

Role of technology

Nature of the war

Gulf between charactersWhy are we fig

hting?

Large organizations

Who is the enemy?

How long has the war been

In progress?

Just War or Unjust War?

Psychoanalyst characterFood, w

ater, weapons

LT’s motivation?

Type government?

Associate some of the ideas

Scout character

How did they get there?

Role of technology

Nature of the war

Gulf between characters

Why are they fig

hting?

Who is the enemy?

How long has the war been

In progress?

Just War or Unjust War?

Psychoanalyst character

Food, water, weapons

LT’s motivation?

Type government?

Consider Options and Develop

Scout character

How did they get there?

Role of technology Nature of the war

Gulf between characters

Why are we fightin

g?

Large organizations

Who is the enemy?

How long has the war been

In progress?

Just War or Unjust War?

Psychoanalyst character

Food, water, weapons

LT’s motivation?

Type government?Don’t know each otherDon’t know where they are

A little water and nothing else

New character: PacifistIdea: Each character has somethinghe / she is hiding or something about

him / her that’s unexpected

Revealed as story moves along

Who is the enemy?

Unknown?Similar to humans?

Alien but material?

Alien and immaterial?What do they want?

Focus on One Aspect of the Story

Then expand on them

Who is the enemy?

Unknown?Similar to humans

Alien but material

Alien and immaterialWhat do they want?

Expand on Each Item

Advantages and Disadvantages

Similar needs

Similar environments

Resemble humans?

Greatest fear

Flying blindHow to fight them?

Their needs can be a weakness

Is it acceptable?

Is it a trick?How do they fight US?

What is their power?

Visible Physical target

Food and atmosphere

Developing the Plot

• Flesh it out – identify the points and ideas you want to get across

• Index cards – write the events on separate cards; these can be easily rearranged

• Spreadsheets – computer form of index cards

• Follow the characters, events, and themes all the way through to ensure they make sense

• Identify the high points / key action as such

Outline vs. No Outline

Maybe let the rough draft write itself:

Difficult because you might end up with a LOT of re-writing to do (inconsistencies will show up in a close read-through)

Helpful because it doesn’t force the story—the real story develops as it is written, not as it is conceived

Index Cards or Excel

Write each scene / theme / character on a separate card / in a separate cellYou can rearrange them and add to them as the story develops

Jack and Jill went up the

hill

Jack fell down

Initial idea:Why were they going

up the hill?

Why is it significant that Jack fell down?

We’ve lost track of Jill.What did she do?

Index Cards or Excel

Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water

Jack fell down

Jack and Jill went up the hill

Initial idea: Developed idea:

Jack fell down and broke his

crown

And Jill came tumbling after

Why were they goingup the hill?

Why is it significant that Jack fell down?

We’ve lost track of Jill;What did she do?

Fill in the blanks by asking the Five W’s and adding the answers

Basic Plot in Excel

To fetch a pail of water

Jack and Jill went up the hill

Jack fell down and broke his

crown

And Jill came tumbling after

You now have a long column describing all of the main events of the story

Character and Plot Matrix

Morning Afternoon Evening

Jack Asked Jill if she would go with him to fetch a pail of

water

Went up the hill with Jill. Fell and

hurt himself

In the hospital

Jill Agreed to go with Jack

Tripped while running for help

Explained what happened

Doctor Seeing routine patients

Summoned by Jill Treated Jack

Characters

Time

This can show you where an overlooked or missing character is needed

Glory Main Plot Creation

Find themselves marooned

on a barren planet

Characters meet; scout

wants to leave

Search the lifeboat and

then abandon it

Go to higher ground to

determine where they are

Concepts Tab (Excel)

The Conflict Characters Situation Themes

Intergalactic war

New LT Marooned; little water, no food, no weapons

Survival

Long duration

Jaded Scout Don’t know where they

are

Maximize resources

This can also be a useful arrangement of your research

Characters Tab (Excel)

New LT Jaded Scout Psychoanalyst

Basic officer training; leader

in sports in college

Serving against his will; distrusts higher authority

Not allowed to perform her

usual job

Ignorant but learns fast; good leader

Self-reliant; would want to

leave the others

Has learned many skills

outside her job

These separate tabs can be combined to form matrices

Cut & Paste Information

Characters

Character A

Character B

Character C

Events

Event 1

Event 2

Event 3 Event 1 Event 2 Event 3

Character A

Character B

Character C

Timeline can be event-driven Or actually time (Monday, Tuesday,

Day 1, Day 2, etc.)

Fill the matrix with detail about what each character is doing / thinking / feeling

Combine Tabs to Create a Matrix

The Lieutenant Taking stock of the situation

Convinces the scout to stay with

them

Realizes he is in over his head

The Scout Attempts to leave the group

Leads them to high ground

Figures out what planet they’re on

The Psychoanalyst

Argues with the scout

Annoys the lieutenant

Grudging respect for the scout’s

abilities

The Pacifist Obeys orders Helping out Pleased by developments

Cut and paste information you’ve already considered

Marooned Abandon lifeboat High Ground

Character Tab Events / Plot Tab

Expand and fill in from Events / Plot Tab

More Advantages of Excel (1)

The Lieutenant Taking stock of the situation

Convinces the scout to stay with

them

Realizes he is in over his head

The Scout Attempts to leave the group

Leads them to high ground

Figures out what planet they’re on

The Psychoanalyst

Argues with the scout

Annoys the lieutenant

Grudging respect for the scout’s

abilities

The Pacifist Obeys orders Helping out Pleased by developments

The matrix allows you to switch actions from one character to another

Marooned Abandon lifeboat Higher Ground

More Advantages of Excel (2)

The Lieutenant Taking stock of the situation

Convinces the scout to stay

Impressed by the mapmaker’s skills

The Scout Attempts to leave the group

Leads them to high ground

Sees they have a chance

The Psychoanalyst

Argues with the scout

Annoys the lieutenant

Sees the pacifist as a potential ally

The Pacifist as a mapmaker

Helping out in any way

Sketches a chart of the area

Figures out what planet they’re on

Switching actions can help develop characters and the story

Marooned Abandon lifeboat High Ground

Identify the High Points

• If you consider a segment to be a high point or key area, the reader should feel the same way

• Build it up, make it clear, or just hit them with it, but a high point really shouldn’t feel the same way as explanatory passages

High Points

Beginning End

Other TechnologyThe beauty of the “Find” function

The beauty of the “Find” function

• Track characters all the way through

• Make sure characters’ names stay consistent

• Go anywhere in the book quickly if you have a question about that sequence

The ‘Making Of’ Approach

Imagine you’re being interviewed on a variety of topics, (characters,

plot twists, settings, events, intentions, etc.) as if it’s the ‘Making of’ part of a DVD

The ‘Making Of’ Approach (2)

The Town

“I imagined the town as a living thing, a bodywith a fatal illness . . .”

The Gun

“At first the gun was just the murder weapon,but then I asked, ‘Where would this averageguy GET an untraceable gun?’”

“I’ve always felt that murders came in two varieties: Planned and Unplanned.”

The Murder

The ‘Decision Tree’ Approach

Start withthe big ones

Write out the pluses and minuses of the big decisions:-1st person versus 3rd person-‘Whodunnit’ versus a story wrapped around a murder

A little laterA little more specific (once you have some ideas):

-The murder weapon: Found / not found-Witnesses: Saw but won’t talk / saw but undiscovered

Circle back and reconsider:-What if they DID find the murder weapon?-What if there were no witnesses? (Play with this;

what could happen if there were no witnesses at first, but then they found one?)

Much later

You have LOTS of choices . . .

Conclusion

• Get an idea by brainstorming or letting the research inspire you

• Decide how you are going to get your idea across or tell your tale

• Flesh it out using an outline, index cards, a spreadsheet, or whatever works for you

• Follow the characters / events all the way through

Available in paperback, Kindle, and Nookwww.vincenthoneil.com