Printable Planning Grids for Writers
I have created a series of grids for writers to use when plotting, writing and redrafting novels and short stories. I have put them below in PDF form and will add to them as I develop more. Please feel free to use them for non-commercial purposes and adapt them to suit your needs. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view and save the documents.
 |
Click on the contents list to go to the words you'd like to see, or scroll down to see them all.
Contents:
- Short Story Planning Grid
- Dramatic Tension Planning Chart
- Another Dramatic Tension Planning Chart
- Chapter Concept Statement Grid
- Monthly Writing Progress Grid
- Character Names A-Z Planning Grid
Short Story Planning Grid
Dramatic Tension Planning Chart
Another Dramatic Tension Planning Chart
Chapter Concept Statement Grid
Monthly Writing Progress Grid
Character Names A-Z Planning Grid
I don't often write short stories but I had the idea for making this grid after I analysed a one-page story in a magazine. The story was clearly divided into introduction, background, current situation, complication and resolution sections. My story ideas lend themselves more to lengthy epics set in complicated worlds teeming with gazillions of characters. This grid helps me to cut down the teemingness into three thousand concise words.
Short Story Planning Grid in PDF form
In a bid to stop myself from waffling, I created a grid that helps me chart the rise of tension from a novel's beginning to resolution. This type of grid is particularly helpful if you are writing action/adventure stories. The one below is in portrait style and has a section for making notes on external and internal tension. Exposition here means background information, and the inciting incident is the event which triggers the story.
Dramatic Tension Planning Chart (Portrait) in PDF form
After I made the portrait-style dramatic tension chart, I found the layout a bit too cramped and claustrophobic for my ideas, so I made another chart, this time in landscape format. This is the grid I use the most for my writing plans. The landscape set-up seems to match the way my brain processes plots.
Dramatic Tension Planning Chart (Landscape) in PDF form
We are told in academic writing that essays should have a concept statement, that is, a simple unified theme behind the information given. I decided to apply this idea to each chapter I write. I use each section in the Concept Statement grid to write a one or two sentence summary about each chapter. This helps me keep the story structure clear in my mind. This grid can also be be used as a redraft plan sheet, in which the intended changes are written in each chapter section.
Chapter Concept Statements Grid in PDF form
Japan is the capital of the universe for brilliant stationery. When I lived there I bought a monthly planning notebook, which, unlike a formal diary, could be customised for whatever year, month or day the user needed. Each double-spread page was squared into boxes, one for each day of the month, and you could circle the required month from a list at the side of the page.
I used my notebook for tracking my writing progress each day. What I tended to do was write down which chapter I was on and how many words I wrote that day, or, if I was redrafting, the page I had reached. I have also used the monthly grids to track fictional calendar events in a story.
I was so disappointed when I finished my Japanese notebook that I made a similar template, that I can print out each month and stick in my notebook. Simply circle the required month and write the dates in each small box.
Monthly Writing Progess Grid in PDF form
Is your story more crowded than a Dickens novel? Are you discovering, like I did, that having a Roger, Rose, Ruby, Rina, Rebel and Richie among your cast of thousands can be rather confusing?
When I was a kid I read the advice that writers should list the alphabet in their notebooks and match a character name to each letter, to avoid ending up with multiple characters with similar-sounding names. Dutifully, I followed this advice, but as my stories grew, and characters changed in importance, and Richie became Toby, then Quentin, and my original notebooks fell to the back of the bookshelf, I found I was in as big a mess as I would have been without the forward planning. My solution was to make a electronic version of the list, to store on my computer, which I can refer to and change quickly and easily. I certainly feel more organised, but Roger, Rose, Ruby, Rina and Rebel refuse to die or be renamed.
I list characters by the name they are most often known by in the story, for example, Roger Harmcroft is listed under R because his surname is rarely mentioned.