So, you’ve decided to write a book (good for you – you got this!) but now you find yourself staring at an empty Word page or a blank notebook page feeling overwhelmed with that singular thought circling round in your mind:

‘Where do I even begin?!’

So, I thought the best way I can help any budding new author would be to share how I manage to take an idea forming in my head and turn it into a physical book.

Now, disclaimer! I am not saying that this is the only way to plan your book. There are so many possible ways you can do this and I know that every author is different, I just wanted to share mine to give you some ideas as to how you could go about it. So feel free to take apart my plans and use what you like and discard the rest – trust me, I won’t be offended. Let’s get into it!

I am going to talk you through this as I am writing Book Three – yes you have heard it here first, Book Three has begun! And as the process can be quite long, I thought the best way to go about it would be to break it down into separate blog posts, starting with the planning stage.

My main idea for the book came to me when I was having a discussion with one of my friends and my Mum. Now the most important stage is the simplest… WRITE IT DOWN!! No matter how big or small the idea is, get that idea down onto paper or into your phone notes as quickly as possible so you don’t forget. And there is step one – your idea has been created.

Now as my books are in the style of murder mysteries, my next stage is crucial – research. This could vary for each genre of novels, but I now like to research into how I am going to the chosen idea of murder (or murders depending on the book). This is also where I get the feeling my phone is going to think I am some psycho as I have multiple tabs open on my phone all about different poisons or different ways you can kill somebody, but it is vital that the method of death is accurate and believable for your readers.

Brief novel ideas: It is at this point that I will also start writing down all my plans in my notebook. For Book Three, I have started my notes in the following format:

• I have noted down the date so I know when my process started and I can then see how long the whole book has taken to come together.
• On the next line, I have labelled it ‘Title’. You don’t need to have a title yet or even think about it yet, I just want to make sure that I leave space for it so that when I have come up with the final title, I have somewhere to display it.
• Similarly with the title, the next line is labelled: ‘Release Date’. Again, you don’t need to have a definite release date, I leave this space so that I can fill it in later on down the line. If you are self-publishing, it might be a good idea to try and think of a rough time of year you are planning to release your book in so that you have a deadline to work towards (don’t put too much pressure on yourself, make sure to give yourself enough time so that you don’t get too stressed with unachievable deadlines – be kind to yourself!)
• I then allow space underneath this for ‘Basic book ideas/notes’. In this section, I will write down any ideas I have for the book, whether this be where it is set, any new characters, or any new ideas for murder etc. Leave yourself as much room as you need for this and allow this to be your space where you word vomit any ideas and thoughts you have on your next book.

At this stage, I now create a checklist of all the different elements which make up a book so I can check them off as I complete them. I do this so that I don’t forget anything (because knowing me I would), but I also do this so that I can include time in my deadline checklist for each element.

This is what my checklist for Book Three looks like (this also includes the different elements of the book itself – I will just be focusing on the first seven points in this post):

• Brief novel ideas.
• Murder notes and details.
• Brief plan of the full novel.
• Notes on any settings.
• Notes on characters.
• Clues and links to suspects.
• Detailed chapter plans.

Checklist for the elements of book:

• Meet the characters pages.
• Dedications.
• Draft novel.
• Acknowledgements.
• About the author page.
• Book cover
• Book blurb.

Checklist for editing and finalising the novel:

• ISBN number.
• Purchase barcode.
• Upload details to the publishing company.
• Book release date video (Optional).
• Book trailer (Optional).
• First edit of the book.
• Second edit of the book.
• Third and final edit of the book.
• Upload manuscript and cover and approve!

I will provide each new section of the checklist with the same title to help make it easier for you to follow along with if you are referring to this when planning your own book.

Murder notes and details: Once I have done this, I will move onto the gory details (excuse the pun) because this is where I write down the details of the murder (or murders if I am planning more than one). Again this will differ depending on the genre you are writing for. For each murder I am planning, I will write down how the murder is to take place, what effects that will have on the victim (but this is mainly for if poisons are used) and the motive as to why the murder had to happen. I will end off that section by writing down the one piece of information you will all be trying to work out – the murderer!

Notes on characters: Next I move onto building up the characters. As some of my characters are being carried throughout my books, I can generally transfer those description details from previous book notes into my notes for book three. But when creating new characters I tend of find inspiration from people I know or people I have seen – which is the best place to start. You don’t have to use copy and paste the people around you into your books, but whether its certain features or their personality, but trying to come up with new characters for each book can be a very long and drawn out process, so make life easier for yourself and use elements from different people you know or have seen in your day-to-day life to create your own characters. And of course, Google and Pinterest are also grateful websites to use when trying to build the physical features of your characters. For each of my characters, I like to include the following elements in my notes:

• Their name.
• Their age.
• Their occupation if needed.
• Physical features (hair colour and length, eye colour, height and build, and what they would normally be seen wearing if it adds to their character.
• Vital elements of their personality, especially if this aids motives etc.

I will also tend to note down the relationships between the characters. For book two, I focused more on the relationships between the victims and the suspects but in book three I have also included general links between the characters e.g. if they work together or if there are any relationships.

Notes on any settings: The next section I plan is the different settings I will be using. Once again using my trusty friend Google, I will use images and my own experiences (If I can) to write down as much detail as I possibly can for each setting. Fun fact: For book three, I have even used RightMove to help me describe the houses of the different characters. Don’t think you have to create all these ideas from your own imagination – use the resources around you to help you!

Clues and links to suspects: In order to ensure that all my characters have either alibis or motives so that the murderer is not obvious and to create more loop holes, I like to note down all the links and any clues that may lead the detectives and the audience to frame as many of the characters as possible. And let’s be real, this is to also help me out, because I will forget and leave characters out and solely concentrate on the main focus – the murderer. In this element, I will write down their motives and any questions or thoughts that the detectives or the readers might have about the different characters when handed new evidence.

Brief plan of the full novel/ Detailed chapter plans: I have put these together as I have written these in different formats for each book I have done so far. When I was planning for book one and book two, I wrote a separate brief plan and the continued with a more in depth plan later on, however, when I have been planning book three, I have combined the two by writing the main bulk of the chapters down and then filling in more details for each chapter on post it notes. I use my brief plan mainly so I can visualise how the story will generally flow, to make sure I haven’t missed out anything and to ensure that the story is separated evenly between each chapter. My detailed chapter plans are then used to break down each chapter and include any specific details, such as specific dates or times I wanted to use, where this chapter would take place and the main elements of the chapter from the brief plan but expanded. I might also include any specific lines of dialogue I want a certain character to say or how I want the chapter to end. Of course depending on your preferred planning style will decide how much detail you plan in and in what format.

And once I have reached this stage, that’s my planning done!

Next part – the writing stage!!

Because I know it can be difficult sometimes to try and visualise what someone is writing or talking about (and I am aware how awful my explanations are) so I have attached a file with templates for each of the different sections of my planning stage that I am more than happy for you to use, whether that be using this as your planning templates or referring to it for inspiration in creating your own planning formats. I have included both a Microsoft Word and Pages version so that both it is available for both Windows and Apple users.

And that is the first stage of my planning process completed!

And now comes the biggest part of it all… the writing stage!!

Stay tuned for that!

(By the way – as I am writing this, it is three days until my second book is released! There is still time to pre-order it through this website and remember when you order it through here you will automatically receive a signed copy of the book as well as a a handwritten note card from me and a free bookmark! Don’t miss out!)

Until next time!

See you soon!

TTFN – Love Hannah ❤️ x

Written: 11th February 2025.