: Re: What else should I plan? I have started writing a novel. I've done some character questionnaires for my main characters, and I've outlined the plot. I want to do this planning to keep my story

@Gloria285

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I believe that you've taken the correct approach in not wallowing over the planning stage. So much of the time, constructing a plot synopsis, writing out character profiles and such ends up contradicting the purpose that it was meant to serve - that is, it goes from acting as a guide and aid to being a novel in its own right.

Of course, that being said, ensuring that you have an outline of your plot, characters, themes, and so on is, I will stretch to say, almost required. In this instance, it really comes down to what you personally need in order to organize yourself. If you don't know how much that is, e.g. if you just need the cliff-notes, or a fully-pledge, wikipedia-like synopsis. Do more than is absolutely necessary and stop when it starts becoming tedious.

Perhaps, I should add, one should not stick too closely to plans - plans have the irritating tendency to get in the way of new ideas. Specifically to your question, Mr. James, I would leave your plan as-is and allow it to remain lucid. A novel changes a lot over the course of their writing - it is simply the consequence that how a novel should theoretically look like is very different to how will have to look like in practice. Indeed, sometimes is changes to the point that you get frustrated and bored of it - at such times, it is good to look back upon your plan to remind yourself why you started writing it in the first place.

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