Plan and write a novel with Storybook's help

In a world of hectic lifestyles many people find reading a relaxing pastime. Whether you enjoy a classic romance or the latest crime thriller, taking time out of the real world and immersing yourself into a work of fiction can provide a welcome break from the norm.

If you enjoy reading, the thought of writing your own book may have crossed your mind. So why not write your own? This article will explain how, with your computer, Microsoft Word and a free program called Storybook, you can bring your ideas to fruition, from planning to potential publication.

Get the idea
We’re going to assume that you already have an idea for a book, but if you are struggling for inspiration there are plenty of websites and online forums to get you started, as well as tips from publishers about how to submit your work.

The Writewords website contains forums covering topics, including a technique forum for writers to post questions, and a beginners’ writing group. You will need to register for a fee to read all the posts but many comments can be read without registering.

The Fiction Forum contains links to help you start your first novel and offers advice on coping with rejection from publishers.

The Caroclarke site suggests angles to consider when writing your book. It also includes a quiz to find out if you have the skills to be a writer.

If your book’s plot is becoming complicated, La byrinth will map out all scenarios.

Making plans
Once you have some initial thoughts, you need to get your ideas written down. Planning is vital to ensure your characters remain consistent and the chapters follow a realistic plot. Microsoft Word’s Outline View can help transfer your first thoughts into a written format as it allows you to arrange the text in useful lists, making ideas easier to manage.

To access Outline View, open Word and create a blank document. Open the View menu and select Outline. Notice how the appearance of the document changes and, in addition to the standard toolbar, another toolbar, headed Outlining, appears underneath.

As we are in the initial planning stages, let’s focus on two important tools. The first is the Style dropdown menu on the Formatting toolbar, which by default displays Heading 1. Styles are usually a way to maintain consistency throughout a document, but in Outline view they can also help us to structure our story and character ideas with collapsible lists.

The second tool is found on the Outlining toolbar and is displayed as blue plus (+) and minus (-) buttons that let you expand a list when you are working on it, then collapse it when ready to turn to another aspect.

We are now ready to start putting together the bare bones of our book (to illustrate this article we are going use Beatrix Potter’s Tale of Peter Rabbit). Make sure the Style dropdown menu is set to Heading 1 and type the main sections to consider. We used Title, Characters, Plot, Location and Chapters, pressing Enter after each.

One of the advantages of the Outline view is that you do not have to add your thoughts in any particular order, so first we are going to add some ideas to the Plot section.

To add subsections to the plot, move the cursor to the right of the word Plot and press Enter. Now change the style from Heading 1 to Heading 2 – ­ the minus (-) symbol changes to a plus (+) next to the word Plot – ­ and a minus (-) symbol appears underneath. Next to the minus (-) symbol type in your thoughts, pressing Enter to start a new thought process. To move your ideas around the document click and hold your mouse button on the minus (-) symbol next to the section you want to move and drag and drop it to a new location.

If the list is too long to read, click on the plus (+) symbol next to the section you don’t currently need, click the collapse icon ­ – the blue minus (-) symbol mentioned earlier ­ – in the formatting toolbar and the details will disappear. To view the collapsed menu in full again, click on the expand icon.

Fill in the rest of the sections when inspiration springs to mind, moving around the sections until you feel you have enough detail to start writing your book.