Our Patreon Hamster Christie asked a really good question. When you’re new to planning your novel instead of pantsing it, how do you even get yourself started on the planning path?

Simple. Start with the Villain.

This came up while talking to one of our Patreon Bears, Leslie.

Here is a 6-year-old blog post I wrote on the subject.

You have to give the reader the three main story components: Hero, Villain, Conflict. 

Surprised I’d say this? An obvious thing, no? Except we forget. I forget. You forget.

The truth is, if every day, as you go along your life, you allow yourself to be happy, your writing will improve.

When reading a book or watching a movie, don’t try to break your head over the 12 Parts of the story, the Hero, the Villain, the Conflict, and so on. To be able to do this right off the bat you’d have to have years of experience.

Instead, look for patterns (that’s how I learned and am still learning).

Oh, this is hard. How is this possible?

It’s possible if you schedule a fat chunk of time for your writing BEFORE you sit down and write, and it’s what will make your writing that much better. Without the pressure of having to stop (and without the pressure of having to produce words) your writing will come easier to you.

How to make it happen if there is no fat chunk of time to do it?