Writer's Notebook II: Sequel Notes

I received a question from the Fellowship of Christian Writers Newsgroup that relates to the last item on the "Notebook Tabs" list: the nebulous SEQUEL NOTES.

gificor@gmail.com asked, “I am trying to organize some of my short story ideas into coherent story outlines. Does anyone have advice and examples?”

The following methodology serves either long or short fiction:

I begin with a concept, an inkling of story-line and characters, then turn to my SEQUEL NOTES tab to gather up some particulars. My loose outline is left intentionally rough in order to accommodate brainstorms that occur as I create.

Themes: this is where I start. Meaningful fiction carries messages. List here the social concerns that have weighted your heart to address in future fiction.

Plots: I’ve begun with a kernel, but this treasure of notes fleshes out the skeleton.

Scene Ideas: little mind’s-eye concepts that add silk leather and velvet to each tale.

Characters: the heart of any story. By now I have enough of the story constructed that I can fill one page bios.

Concepts: The little things that would otherwise slip the cracks between characters and construct: symbolism, misdirection, strategy, etc.

Snappy Lines: a record of THAT’S-what-I-should-have-said. One of the advantages of our craft is time.

Every writer’s bag of tricks is of unique cloth, but each of us dumps it out our work must have details and depth.

“Trifles go to make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.”
–Michelangelo Buonarroti