Get Your Story Straight

This week I'm going to take a break from filling your brains with the creation histories of Rukan and instead give you more tips for writing. They say the devil's in the details and I agree with that. Have you ever thought of a really good idea, whether it be for your characters or for the world itself, and forget to write it down so it gets lost in your thoughts? Or worse yet, you thought of a great detail, wrote it into your work, then promptly forgot about it. Now you have a vague feeling that something special happened but for the life of you, you can't find it without flipping through every single page you wrote to track it down. That kind of thing happened to me all the time and still happens every once in a while if I'm honest, but what can you do to limit it from happening to you? Here are a few ideas I've found that help me keep things straight in my stories.

• APPS

There are all kinds of apps out there to help writers organize their thoughts so you will have to figure out which ones work for you. Pay attention to what you need help with and what the apps are offering in order to find that perfect one.

I personally like to have a detailed profile on all my main characters as well as basic information on my minor characters. I also like to have details about the setting in which I put my characters, such as the native population and culture. So the apps I like to work with have open-ended questions that I can put as much or as little information as I feel I need on the question. This way takes longer to do than some other methods but I feel I'm able to keep all the details I need close at hand. The apps I've used are Character Story Planner and Pluot. Both are available through the Google Play store.

• WEBSITES

Just like there are apps to help writers keep things straight, there are also a few websites that do the same if you prefer to not have all that on your phone. The downside of websites that I've found is that they cost money to have full access to all the content or unlimited entries. But just because there is a charge for these websites doesn't mean you can't use them if you don't want to pay. Worldanvil.com is a worldbuilding-focused website that lets you create articles, maps, and timelines to help you flesh out your world and characters. The freeman package, which is the free basic package, only has access to the few features I've mentioned above, but I haven't seen a limit to the amount you can have for those features. Check out the link to view the plans and perks if you're interested.

The next website I really like to use is campfirewriting.com. The cool thing about this site is that you can pick and choose what you want to pay for. There is a free package with a limited amount of entries you can do for all seventeen modules, that way you can see if you like a feature or not. each module is customizable so you can set it up how you need it and you can add or remove sections to your heart's content. If you like a certain module, you can pay for a monthly or annual subscription, or buy a lifetime purchase. Click on the link and go to upgrades to see the pricing for all the different modules.

The final website I love is inkarnate.com. The picture to the right is the world of Rukan I crated on Inkarnate. This map-making site where you can make maps of your world with over 900 HD map-making tools. You can make your maps for free, but if you intend to use them for commercial use, you need to purchase Inkarnate Pro. This subscription is $5 per month or $25 per year and gives you access to a lot of extra features as well as larger maps. The subscription also grants the user commercial use of the maps you make using Inkarnate. If you are like me and want to see the world you've built in your head, inkarnate is the place to go.

• CHARACTER SHEETS

The last thing I use to help me organize everything is character sheets. I am a tactile person, so I have a binder of different kinds of sheets that pertain to my stories. There are all kinds of different forms and sheets to be found on the internet, both for free and paid, so take some time to figure out what you want to focus on before trying to tackle that quest. Also, you should keep in mind that although there are many types of character forms, if you want to have something for more detailed things, such as spells or kingdoms, you may be looking for a while. I ran into that problem myself and ended up creating my own set of sheets to help with some of the less popular forms. If you're interested in using them, check out my Etsy store, etsy.com/shop/TheLorkeepersCodex.

Hopefully, these tools I shared with you today will help you take your writing to the next level. Remember if you think the ones I've listed above won't work for you, don't be afraid to shop around and find the tools that will work for you the best. The tools are out there, grab what you need and get to writing.