What's a good way to have a storyline well-organized in your head?

[CephCepherson]

Hi there, for the past few months I've been thinking on and off about a specific scenario that I believe I could write as a novel. While I do get many solid ideas about it and I've already begun to conceptualize initial chapters, I struggle with really finding a red thread for the story as I am unable to really explain what's going on without delving too far. Should I maybe put everything in a mindmap to make it easier for me to build onto a foundation or are there any other ways of getting proficient enough in storyboarding that it starts to make sense? Thanks!

 

[Lockdown]

You should jot down your ideas in a notebook. That’s what I did. Eventually you can look back and add your ideas together. Once it’s more cohesive you can then create a story around your ideas. I learned a long time ago that keeping your ideas in your head is a bad idea. Sometimes you forget and sometimes you come up with something that connects with another one idea which just gets your creative juices flowing.

You can do this in a private PM too with only yourself as the recipient and send notes to yourself. Or you can also use the journals section of the site to create a thread for yourself.

 

[Citadelle]

I think you might want to still put all your information down somewhere that way if you happen to forget something, you can give yourself a refresher with the sort of backup. With me, I'm constantly thinking about stuff so anything related to roleplay I write it down somewhere before I lose it. You can, if you haven't already, use google docs or Microsoft Word to structure what you need to. Characters, worlds, settings, etc.

 

[Scribbles]

Outline it in your head first, then grab your computer or a note book and write down those idea's in a point form formate to make them concrete.

-> (plot point #1)
-> (plot point #2)
-> (dialogue insert #1)
-> (consequences of plot point #2)
-> (dialogue insert #2)
->
And so on, and so on, and so on...

It makes planning a scene, or a chapter or a whole novel much more manageable task. Allowing you to take a step back and clearly follow that red thread.
It's easier to rework notes, to add/subtract details, then it is rework a fully detailed 4000+ word chapter.