Storyboarding: Another Writer's Tools
Author: Sandra Thomas Wales
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: May 2005

Celeste Bradley, author of To Wed A Scandalous Spy, the first book in her Royal Four series, introduced the Music City Romance Writers to storyboarding. That tool has simplified my writing life. For that I thank Celeste. Storyboarding apparently originated in the movie industry and was used to translate the written word into visual elements. The storyboard expert draws each scene (six or so) on a sheet of paper that includes who’s in the scene, what the action is and how it’s handled as well as what camera requirements there might be. When the storyboard is finished, the plot has been transposed from the written word into a visual medium.

Screen writers borrowed this idea and changed it to suit the written word. They use index cards and attach them to a convenient wall or cork board. From this they can determine the factors that strengthen or weaken a script. The fiction writer has borrowed the storyboard technique and changed it further to suit his needs.

The method of storyboarding that author Celeste Bradley taught to our group involved long paper such as newsprint or butcher’s paper and sticky notepads. I, being somewhat dysfunctional when it comes to masses of paper, use banner paper that’s 8 ½" high by 11" wide and is perforated into twenty continuous sheets. I buy 3" square sticky notes in as many colors as possible. I use color because each character has her own hue so that she can be tracked. I break each chapter into French scenes. (In theatre a French scene begins and ends whenever a person enters or leaves the stage.) I try to keep each of the banner sheets to one chapter, but sometimes that doesn’t work, so I continue onto the next page. There are no rules. It’s whatever works for the manuscript you’re producing at the time.

I put the chapter number at the top along with the pages this sheet covers. I also put the page numbers that each scene covers on the sticky note as well as the scene number. Each note has POV (point of view) at the top followed by the person’s name. Even though the scene is color coded with the POV character, it helps to have the name at the top to remember which character is green and who is pink. The body of the note is a brief description of that scene’s action. I also underline the characters in that scene and also who is being discussed. At the bottom of the note, I’ve identified the internal conflict and the external conflict for the POV character.

There are several advantages to using this method to track your story. First, it lets the writer see at a glance how often the main character appears. Secondly, it forces the writer to identify the conflict(s) in each scene. If the scene doesn’t have conflict, then it probably isn’t necessary to the story. Does each scene move the plot forward? Does a character show up in part of the novel, then disappear without an explanation? Are there too many characters who play minor roles? Can these characters be combined? Are your chapters about the same length? If not, is that a problem? Are your scenes “meaty” enough or long enough? If a scene is extremely short, is that an issue?

As the novel progresses, it’s easier to glance back through the storyboard to check facts. Is the subplot taking over the novel? Does the internal conflict remain the same? If no, is that something that makes sense? There are many ways a writer can make storyboarding suit his needs. One writer I know puts the eye and hair color on the first note of each character and anything else she thinks should be added. Some writers tape or staple the storyboard to their office walls. I take my work with me everywhere (no kidding) so I fold the banner paper and keep it in a notebook.

Storyboarding is a tool. If you think it would help you, then try it. When I was asked to write a treatment for a novel I’d written ten years ago, I groaned. How could I remember everything? Easy. I dragged out the storyboard and refreshed my memory.
 

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