How to create a Writer's Storyboard

If you are a writer and you are preparing to write your next novel or book, sometimes bringing all of the pieces together is all you need to stay on focus with completing the project. By creating a storyboard, you will be able to effortlessly track and keep important information readily and easily available. It provides a basic guide map if you get lost or distracted along the way when creating your piece of written art.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Large Foam Backed Poster Board
• 50 to 100 Thumb Tacks.
• Assortment of Index Cards
• Small Post It Notes.
• Colored Markers or Pens

1. 
    
   Colored pen.

   Take a colored pen and an index card. Begin to write a brief summary for your story. This will be your synopsis. Try to keep it to a minimum of just a few sentences or one small paragraph.

2. 
    
   Index card.

   Place the card with the synopsis at the top of the storyboard. Use the thumb tacks to keep the card in place.

3. Create character cards in specific colors that pertain to each character. Use the smaller sized index cards to differentiate between the other reminder cards. Choose a different color for each character. State what their relationship is to the other characters. Pin these cards underneath the synopsis.

4. Generate scene cards by writing down brief (but straight to the point) notes about the scenes on the index cards. Place these cards below the character cards.

5. 
    
   Post it note.

   Jot down small cues or ideas about your storyline on post it notes for point taking. These can be easily moved around the board.

6. Display the writer's board close to your desk or workspace so you can easily track progress and changes.

Tips & Warnings

• You can create subject cards instead of character cards if your story does not revolve around characters.
• You can substitute tape for thumb tacks if desired.
• Feel free to replace the cards on the storyboard as your ideas or story lines change.
• Don't get bored by the process. Choose colors that represent the basis of your storyline or that you feel may motivate you such as red for a romantic scene or blue for a vibrant or more up beat scene.

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[hum3ngl]

on 6/18/2009 What I do is I use digital storyboarding software (www.storyboardquick.com) to make the frames for the scenes and type my ideas into the captions, then print them out with one frame/caption per page and use your thumbtack/foam board idea. It's a great process! I've read another article on eHow about character cards, and they are a great idea! Thanks :)