How to Plan A Book: Golden Nuggets

I once watched a really interesting interview with a band on how they write the songs for their number one album. The lead singer said “It is a combination of golden nuggets.” He would carry a notebook with him at all times and when he thought of a lyric he would write it down in his notebook. I thought this was such a good idea that I started carrying a notebook with me. It means no matter where I am or what I am doing if a good idea comes to me I can make a note of it.

What is the point of writing your ideas down?

An idea is like a key that unlocks a door within your mind. One idea gives birth to another idea and that idea gives birth to another idea and so on. By writing down an idea you can free it from your mind and be secure in the fact that you have it written down. This stops the idea from eating away at you and disrupting your thoughts, as we tend to dwell on the ideas rather than building upon them.

Many of your ideas you will never use, but every now and again you will come up with an absolutely amazing idea. This is called a “Golden Nugget”. It may only be a line of dialogue, a description of a character, a location, a book title or something that happens in one of the scenes, but it will be an idea that will go on to make your novel a best seller.

The one mistake many writers make is that the moment they think of a “Golden Nugget” idea, they instantly start writing the novel. This is a bad thing to do. I know it is a bad thing to do, as it is the one bad habit’s I used to have. You cannot base your entire novel on a single great idea. You want to have three or four amazing ideas in a single story and this is to be supported by a hundred good ideas that you have written down in your notebook. Not every idea you write down will be amazing, but some will be good ideas that can add depths to a character, a back story or a scene in a book. This is why we have a notebook. You want to spend at least a month with the notebook by your side. Write down every single idea, thought, character, location, plot, scene, back story and dialogue that comes to mind. This will give you a well of knowledge to work with when you come to the planning stage.

Here are a few key points to remember.

·          Buy A Notebook

·          Keep the Notebook at hand at all times

·          Write down everything that comes to mind, big or small.