Splat | WiseTome.com

© Gego

I have been participating in NaNoWriMo and I have been using a handy technique to keep track of the plot. I am writing a fantasy fiction, and it involves a handful of characters. As some of you who have attempted or written a novel would understand that it can be quite cumbersome, because it becomes a bit hard to keep track of them, their motives, and all the plot scenes in general.

There are many different methods that writers of novels follow. Some keep notes in a general notebook, and others write on cards. I found that using a spread sheet application comes in quite handy. I write my novel on my computer, and it helps to have the spread sheet open in the background that will have related notes.

All the details of the characters and their motives are kept in one sheet, the brief on the plot in another sheet, and a detailed plot on yet another sheet. Short description of a scene are kept in a separate row, and they are in the order I would write the novel. I can easily plan the plot by inserting and removing rows, at a later part.

All in all, I found that keeping notes in a spread sheet is quite handy, and it seems to be a good novel writing tool.

Do give your views on use of spread sheets for novel notes.