So glad you have this second space. You deserve it, girl! ❤️ My process is very different (honestly I feel like I keep changing it with each book🤦) BUT watching yours is very motivational and calming to me. I watch your videos a lot while doing non-writer tasks (especially the dreaded dishes😄) and I end up getting all kinds of inspiration so that when I finally sit down to write, I am loaded and read to go! Thank you so much for sharing
Thank you for making and posting this video. I was getting into a bit of a slump in writing my novel, but watching this reminds me that I should be enjoying writing, bot just pushing myself to churn out that number of words target. So cheers for bringing back FUN into writing! 🥰🥰
I use to be a pantser, but after doing a writing experiment where I focused on plotting a story before writing it I can safely say I will never go back! I can't even write a story now without plotting it out now. I have to say it has improved my writing so much, and helped me stop putting in recurring scenes that I noticed that I tend to do a lot in the different stories I was writing.
You are soooo different from me! The more I plot the less inclined I am to write the actual story. I am not good with planners, Kanban boards make me anxious, writing somewhere with people around me that would be able to look at what I am doing is a big no-go and I couldn't write if the page is not flat on the table (as you do with all the stuff you have in your planner underneath the page you write on). BUT I love watching your videos. They never fail to motivate me. I love seeing how happy you are when you do it your way, I love how we can see how excited you get - and believe you me, we all root for you when it's not working out so well. Because you show us the good and the bad days and it is so relatable. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You've got this, this last book will be so amazing and so very much worth the wait, I am so excited!
LOVE This. Just goes to show that we all have our own process, they are all valid, but we can still learn from and inspire each other along the way. Thank you for sharing that you're rooting for me!
I'm going to be honest and say that you could show us the fully filled out wall so blurred all we could see are the colours and the black borders and I would LOVE to see that. It would be so cool to see how you weave POVs just in that very simple way.
I think I'm gonna get 4 poster boards and tape them up on my office wall. I have tons of sticky notes but I need to see what colors and sizes I have... aka OH LOOK I HAVE A NEW PROJECT THIS WEEKEND! ps. I'm trying to get back into writing now that I'm settled into my own space, so I've been looking up writing vids from all my fav youtubers... thanks for being part of my journey!
I am on book two of the Shadow Demon Saga series! I love it! It has helped me to escape from my anxiety from my medical issues, and family issues. I just got books 3 and 4. I am so excited to read the next few books. I love my me time to just sit and read!
I have probably said this before but I love these videos explaining your processes. They have helped me so much in my writing. The way you track, plan and organize resonates with me. I really appreciate all the help you have given me. Thank you ❤
I'm so happy you are beginning to feel more like yourself again. I've been coming back from burn out since January this year, so I know how important it is to have an environment that feeds your creativity, despite how RL tries to smother it sometimes. In answer to your question, for the most part, I'm sort of a hybrid. The most I plot is the 5 'W's, which serves as my character arcs, then I let everything else within the story occur organically. However, I am a productivity fanatic, so I have a notebook to keep track of my sprints for each WIP I'm working on. The notebook's purpose is also to keep track of how I felt before, during and after writing so I can gauge exactly what's going on within my process and adjust it accordingly. I got the idea from the DIY-MFA, and it's been serving me well so far. Well wishes!
I've really tried plotting, but after all that hard work, I start writing and something comes out that totally changes everything. So I decided to embrace my pantser self, but I use these plotting tools after each act is written to make sure I'm on track with story beats. I'll brainstorm ideas for the next act, then I'll start writing again. Thanks for this video. I love seeing other people's process. Thanks!
I had no idea (somehow, I know) that you were of the witchy spiritual persuasion! *excited* I LOVE your setup! yay for getting the feel back~ I dream of having a space like that one day myself.
I’m a pantser, but the story unfolds in random order, so I want to preserve those future ideas until I get to those points in the story. I also need to keep track of what I’ve written in the story without having to reread entire sections or the whole thing. I love the wall idea. I have a whiteboard, but it’s not big enough. I also use my tablet, but I prefer to see everything at once. I also like the idea of tracking my progress as well as creating deadlines and sticking to them. I’ve had a Happy Planner for years because I like watching planning videos and want to be a planner but never had a practical use for it. I will try to use it for this.
I am a puzzler author. I write out of order, about half the time. I see things as a big picture. For the longest time I thought I was doing it wrong, or 'weird', but I realized I am not pantser after all, I just see things in a different way, and plot in the way my mind sees things. - I discovered that I am not alone in my style of writing, there are others,
You should totally film the entire plotting process and release the vid after your book comes out, and just put up a spoiler warning. I'm getting way into plotting, and I'd LOVE to see your process in action!
I know you focus on writing videos but would you consider doing a video on your spirituality side? I’ve just started learning about witchy things and law of attraction and would love to hear your thoughts. Loved the video!
Would love for you to join us in our weekly coffee chats on my other channel. ru-vid.com Tomorrow at 4pm eastern I'll be going through my tarot collection and talking about manifestation!
I like to have the main story plots in my head and write those chapters in google docs and then bounce around through the novel and write parts of it as I think of the ideas and once I am done I like to have the first draft printed out and bound up so I can handwrite notes about the book in a notebook and then take all those notes and edit the novel in google docs.
Omg! 🌸I will absolutely be trying my own board on the wall. I am a huge planner and love being able to see what I’m doing and where I wanted to go. I thoroughly loved this video and had to watch it as soon as I got the email. 🎉 I wish I could feel good enough to take part in the writing this weekend but gatherings and writing events with others still send me into imposter vibes so maybe not yet. 🤗 But sending positive creativity your way!! ♥️🍀
Gorgeous! That bathroom tile! That blue floral rug! Great timing as we just moved into a new place & I finally have my own office! 👏🏼 My process is very much like yours, with all the lovely stationery tools. (I always wonder if it’s from all the years as student/teacher, that I share with you, & my library days.) Seems I always reach a pt, however, where I either get dependent on that process & procrastinate or get paralyzed if I can’t perfect the resources, or I’ll finally ditch the extras & narrow my focus to the work alone (the latter being more ideal than the former, obviously). I’m new-ish to your channel so pardon me if these questions were brought up before (still working thru video backlist): The plotting wall idea seems so similar to the story board screen writers use…? And, you’ve seen the sticky white board-style roll that’s meant for temporary wall placement? I sometimes us that; or a combination of flexible rolled or standard white boards, computer software, & paper. As you say, whatever works! ✌🏼💕 Here’s to a productive period ahead! 📆 ✍🏾
‘What tools work to get the dang book done’ -yes, this! I love watching your plotting and planning vids but all the pretty stationary can be overwhelming at first, but you are always inspiring! So many good tips, tricks and reminders that everyone is capable of writing the book they want to write with their own tools! 😁
I am definitely giving this a shot! Moved into a new home, and actually have a writing room as well! Won't be up for at least a month, but this is a awesome idea!
I like everything on a wall, all out to see at once, as well. I have the outline laid out on the big whiteboards with a timeline and then a side board for character growth charts. I even made little magnets with pictures of the characters and recurring themes to put next to each chapter card in the outline. It's all very helpful. I appreciate not having to look everything up online or in binders. It's easier to make changes for me that way too where something doesn't get overlooked.
As I'm attempting to outline first, I like rough draft the three major disasters in my story, then follow the 10 steps of the snowflake method to flesh them out in more details...sometimes disasters change as I move further along in the outlining process. I like to type in a word document, and then hand write out the information on a regular sheet of notebook paper and keep the hard copy organized in a binder. I've tried poster-boards, but they didn't really work well for me, but I also like using lined index cards when I start the first round of scene drafts to include title, synopsis, goal/reaction, conflict/dilemma, and outcome/decision. Then after I get that information, I flesh out the scenes from the Start, set-up, climax, and end of scene. and any other information that might be useful. It's a lot of work but it helps me.
I wanted to add something to my outlining process...while larger white boards don't really work for me, I got a 9 in by 12 in sketch pad notebook and some smaller 1.5 by 2 in sticky notes and use that sort of like a poster board. While one story would take several pages, I really like it. The one story I have pretty much all outlined I took one page for act 01, a page for act 2 part one, a page for act 2 part two, and act three. Though if I need to on other projects, I could always use more pages. This is better for me. It's more portable and when I'm done working for the day, I can close up the notebook and put it aside until I want to work on my outlines more.
It seems like your positive energy is flowing again, and I’m so happy for you! Love the writing room, love the planner wall. Nothing beats being able to see everything at once.
Love your plotting wall! I may give it a try because I love the idea of getting up and moving around instead of sitting in front of my laptop. Working on my third release! Thank you for all the wonderful motivation and positive energy you always bring. 💙 Sincerely and respectfully, Billie Blue (aka Sassy Jacksun)
I love all the tools you use. I'm a tool heavy kind of writer. Being a plotter there are times where I can write down the outline right onto paper and it's enough. Or there are times like right now where I'm rewriting the middle of my novel and I need a visual to see where all the plotlines are running. I think I'm going to use a color system to keep track of which plotline I'm doing. My current book is only one POV, but I kept forgetting about key characters and their arcs, so a color system might help me notice when I haven't written about one of the subplots in a while. Thank you for all the tools and your amazing energy! See you at the retreat!
this is so inspiring ❤ i can t wait to have my own space dedidacted to writing. (it ll have to wait though cuz for now i dont even have a computer..) my coffee table is covered with post its! i love your set up! i
I understand! I started out mostly writing on my couch and at coffee shops until I got an office space! The last house, I created my plotting wall just inside the front door hallway. We work where we can!
I'm visual too. So my character wall has descriptions and pics so I can visually see how they look in my head, on paper. Same with the town their in and some of the main buildings or main house. I floor plans and pics for description purposes. I have mine in my living room tucked into a corner. I also have a beautiful wooden room seperater so nobody can truly see it when I get going.
Videos like this make my heart happy. I love seeing different writers processes. I'm a pantser but I do some outlining in the beginning and I always have the three act structure in my mind when writing. Watching this video has made me want to go to my local coffee shop and do some writing! x
I know this is an older video, but that pep talk at the end hit home and I really needed to hear it, especially from you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Sarra!
I like the idea of using different colors for each character. I'm going to repurpose an outdated Happy Planner to use as a plotting notebook. The grid for the Acts are already there.
Thank you for sharing your process! I've been struggling with writing my first book and your messages of encouragement were everything I needed to hear today! Love your videos and hope to join in the virtual retreat this weekend!
I use this sticky paper on my wall for revisions. I use the snowflake method to plot my book and have a list of scenes, but I am a bit of a discovery writer so even though I have all the scenes until the end of the book, I usually have to do substantial rewrites where the end of act 2 into act 3 starts, especially in the first book of the series because I don't really know my characters or what will happen for sure until I write the story for a while. It's usually because I hate being "mean" to my characters so I have to go back and make things way harder! lol But being able to see visually my scenes against story structure AFTER I write is super helpful for me. I can't start with structure though or my brain implodes - too many details for this high N/P girl (Meyers-briggs). :)
I love the idea of the wall (though I don't get along with three act structure) but alas I'm not allowed to stick things to my walls. Do you find planning in your witchy room helps your creativity? I keep crystals (and knick-knacks) next to my desk to look at.
I am such a visual person, especially a visual thinker, and I love seeing the way you organize and plan because it's very inspiring for me! I just set up a big magnetic whiteboard with these color bordered magnetic dry erase flash cards to use for scene cards and it's working so well for me! Thank you for sharing 😊
I'm also a visual learner, and I am a plotter, but I don't do as much as you when it comes to writing, definitely. Each project is different too, so what I use also depends. For my current WIP, instead of making a very detailed outline as I did in the previous project, I just sat down and wrote the summary of each scene in the last third of the story (because I'd already been working on it for quite a while) on post it notes and just put them in a notebook, lol. It's not my favoured method, but for this particular project, it's the only thing I need.
Sadly, they have been discontinued. This is all from the Martha Stewart Craft collection and I got them at Home Depot years ago. i wish they would bring them back!
I loved this video. I wish I had a spiritual/writing room. I think that's amazing that you have your own corner of the house that you can feel centered and be inspired to write. I do have to say that I'm Pantser, plotting is hard for me so I just sit down and start writing but I do love using your writing tracker because it holds me accountable for my writing. I love seeing that you're supporting the local shop near you. I always wanted to go to a coffee shop and write but for some reason I thought I needed to take a bunch of stuff with me. After seeing what you take to help you write, I'm ready to take some time to myself and write a little bit at one of the local coffee shops near me. Thank you so much for this video.
I absolutely love your writing vlogs! I'm in the same boat as you as I am also plotting a new book. Would love to see more writing vlogs and more planning vlogs please and thank you 😄💗💗
Hmmm... crappy unfinished walls here so might need to just do 4 sheets to take up more space. Just have to figure out how to make the post it notes completely flat against the wall or it will be a major temptation to my cat.
Great idea! And I find the best way to make the post its as flat as possible is to take them off sideways instead of pulling the upward off the sheet, if that makes sense. Then maybe you could put an extra removable tape at the bottom?
Love your little witchy writing room! It's a lot like mine - though I need to put my big plotting whiteboard back up so I can get on with my WiP. Excited for next month's bootcamp, and looking forward to more videos 😍
I definitely need a notebook for the purposes of outline, and then I'll take the scene beats from that outline and write them out on colored index cards so I know which act correlates with which color. I *love* the idea of the plotting wall! I did something like this with a kanban board a couple of years ago and it was so helpful. I'm so happy you've found your passion for writing again! Best of luck with Book 12. :D
Love this video! I have a notebook where I bullet point scenes then write it out on the next page. I am trying to get back into writing the second book in my YA series. Some days I feel like things are going well and other days I'm struggling to get words out. I've started this book over four times and I'm hoping that four times a charm! :) I can't give up!
Hi Sarra, I would like to ask what you do if the story changes from your plotted index cards when you actually start writing? Do you go through the whole plotting process again to take those changes into account? I cannot seem to stick to any outline! Any help gratefully received.
Best video I have seen anywhere on RU-vid in such a long time. You are so motivating and uplifting. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to plan, make, and upload these wonderful lessons and messages.
Sarra, Might I suggest you get a dog soon? Most dogs are good about killing snakes. I don't know a whole lot about it, but I talked to my sister, who raises dogs, Yorkies mostly, and she says they are good about killing snakes, and mice. Also chickens will peck snakes to death.
This is so helpful. Thank you. I have seen people that just put the sticky notes directly on the wall for plotting. I might do that making the grid lines with painters tape directly on the wall. I love the idea of making your own board because the boards I have found are way too small for what I need to do. I suppose there is huge ones somewhere, or a had thought of using corkboard tiles on the wall but this seems easier and more affordable, too.
Do you have a notebook the helps you plot your book with prompts or tips? I love how you are using the colors for each character! I just started using transparent sticky notes
I would try out a plot wall but I share a room with my sister and have no space for it 😅 personally I'm a daydreamer kind of a writer though it is pretty fickle at times. I like to see the story progress in my head before I write scenes, and I have tried to plot out the story, before and after, but most of the time I can't pull everything together in the middle and I lose what to do next, at months at a time, and it's incredibly frustrating. 😤😑
I do that with the progress in my head, as well, like scenes from a movie! It's definitely frustrating when it just doesn't come together. Don't give up!
I'm kind of a plotting pantser. I start with my characters and their trates, jobs etc . I list places for location. I write ideas. So I write all the little details. When it's time for more broad strokes I will write or list short descriptions of possible events. Then when I sit to write I use all those notes as suggestions. As I go things often develope and change. When I get stuck, I bring out my notebook of ideas. And brainstorm. It's kind of weird, but it works for me. I do use post it notes, colors, notbooks the laptop. I love all my supplies. :)
I'm a new subscriber :) I have an idea for a book and you have just motivated me to get going :) I have post-it notes all over my wall but this is definitely a better way to organise my thoughts.
I am finally back to reading books for worldbuilding notes. Its rebuilding time cause I lost it all when my external hard dive got broke. My notes will be going into Campfire and scrivener eventually.
I am lovin' that witchy writing room!! Thank you for always inspiring me to try new things to keep my productivity up while enjoying the fun and creative planning stages, too. And thank you for the sticker links! So appreciated!
I'm just getting started in this room! I can't wait to get it all together, and I'm so enjoying the process. And I need to place a new sticker order, haha.
Love, love, love your videos. I’m repurposing a happy planner that I haven’t used at all this year to model your 3 act structure for my plotting and I need want to use some of your inserts to figure my writing❤️ thank you for all you do ❤️
lol i did the same thing last week in my office! lol love seeing the plot out in the open so i don't have to go back and forth searching through documents!!
Yea I don't necessarily need all the tools you use but I have figured out a way to combine parts of your system and my own. It's been awesome. Especially the plotting notebook with the HP (Lord knows I have enough of them lol) & the index cards. I also use an EC productivity notebook for notes/outlining/writing.
