word count

• short fiction
  • short story 2-5k
  • novelette 7-17k
  • novella 17-40k
• target group
  • ya novel 50-90k
  • adult novel 80-100k
• genres
  • fantasy 90-125k
  • romance 70-90k
  • mystery/crime 80-90k
  • thriller 80-100k
  • historical 80-120k
  • horror 80-100k

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ chapter: 2-4k (60k = 15-30 chapters)

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ some word count examples:

• Fahrenheit 451 (46k)
• The Great Gatsby (47k)
• Lord of the Flies (59k)
• The Fault in Our Stars (67k)
• Harry Potter 1 (76k)
• Persuasion (87k)
• The Hobbit (95k)
• Wuthering Heights (107k)
• Harry Potter 7 (198k)

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍

three act structure

• act 1 (0-25%)
  • exposition / the status quo
  • inciting incident / complication
  • doubts / crossing the threshold
• act 2 (25-75%)
  • obstacles
  • midpoint
  • obstacles / temptation
  • disaster/crisis
• act 3 (75-100%)
  • climax / final conflict
  • resolution / return home
  • end

‎‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ alternative: fichtean curve (rising, crisis, falling, rising, bigger crisis, ... repeat)

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ sideplots: 1-3, always connect with main plot!

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ obstacles:

• intellectual obst. (eg not knowing something)
• physical obst. (eg a river)
• temporal obst. (eg a deadline)
• social obst.
• political obst.
• emotional obst.
• monetary obst. (eg not having enough money)
• moral dilemmas
• self-inflicted wounds
• health
• god/destiny
• antagonist

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍

planning

• 4 basic story elements
  • main character
  • goals of mc
  • conflict hindering goals
  • setting
• things to plan
  • genre, target audience, stand-alone or series, voice, pov
  • characters: protagonists, antagonists, mentors, characters with power, minor characters
  • plot: ending, beginning, middle (with conflicts and twists)
  • subplot (romance, relationships, other character arcs, backstory, exposition, ...)
  • world-building and setting
  • create a timeline
• snowflake method
  • 1 sentence summary
  • blurb
  • characters
  • plot
  • setting
  • voice, style
  • chapter outline

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍

characters

• archetypes
  • hero (protagonist)
  • villain (antagonist)
  • antihero
  • sidekick
  • mentor
  • etc...
• questions
  • values (most important for them, e.g. money, friendship, fun, health, honor)
  • ambition / abstract goal / internal motivation (what they want in life)
  • story goal / external motivation (what they want in the story)
  • personality type ( e.g. myers-briggs )
    • people: introvert vs extrovert (I / E)
    • facts: data vs intuition (S / N)
    • decisions: thinking vs feeling (T / F)
    • lifestyle: plans/rules etc vs flexible/free (J / P)
  • virtues, positive traits
  • flaws, negative traits
  • quirks, mannerisms
  • voice
  • sense of humour
  • fears
  • backstory

most important:

• ✫ internal/life goal
• ✧ external/story goal
• ♡ values
• ☼ virtues
• ϟ flaws

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍

world-building

• animals
• buildings, infrastructure
• clothing, fashion, beauty standard
• communication
• culture, art, manners
• economy, money
• food
• geography, climate
• government(s), legal system, law
• history
• jobs
• language
• literature, books
• politics, war
• religion, philosophy
• schools
• social classes/hierarchy, slavery
• special occasions, holidays, celebrations
• technology, science, magic
• travel