Hey-o, Word-wielders,

Today I will be sharing with you the first in a series on outlining your novel, using mainly my experience from planning My Only Name is Honor. I know some of you may be pantsters, and you're thinking something along the lines of "Oh, another of those boring outliner types!" You are free to be as wild and carefree as you want, but who knows, maybe after reading this you'll be tempted to try some of the techniques for yourself.

Now, the first installment is all about brainstorming. Or, as a recent page in one of my notebooks reads: "Alas, She Storms Her Brain." I'll be sharing with you some of my own brainstorming tricks, with examples from my own notebooks.

I get ideas from various sources. When I got the idea for My Only Name is Honor, back in 2023, this is what I wrote, from March 12 to April 20. (words in brackets not from original source.)

A girl who disguises herself and rescues wounded fighters.

Because the soldiers are foreign, the poisonous fogs locals are immune to can kill them. The fogs are normally only in the swampy valleys, so the people wealthy enough to own decent higher land fear going down into the fog, to which they are not immune.

RG = rescue girl lives with a band of misfits in the swamps and forests and rocky shores. All the band members are extremely loyal and would die to protect each other.

More names: Aveline, Fanetta, Honor, Ellison, Brig, Quinn [Yes, I did choose to interrupt my plot ideas with more names. What can I say, I like names.]

The land is filled with oddities, from glowing water to handmade wings.

RG is wanted and wondered about. She only speaks to the people she rescues if she knows they're going to die. Some people think she's an outlaw, some a ghost. And nobody knows she's a girl. 

Some ideas for band members

#2 - A burly, fatherlike man

#3 - A horse-loving girl very protective of her horses, even to the point of forgetting people.

#4 - A young boy [How descriptive of my 17-year-old self]

#5 - A young man who is always in favor of violence

#6 - A woman who knows nearly everything about plants and healing herbs.

Title idea: My Only Name is Honor

Honor is taken by a young nobleman to help in finding something. A person, an old treasure? Something only she, with her strength, hiding skills, knowledge of the Lowlands and immunity to the poison fogs can do.

Honor is an orphan. The closest thing she to parents is the couple Foster and Faron. The band is her family, and they will not stop until they get Honor back.

At this point I stopped plotting for about a year. I didn't know what this nobleman should want Honor for, and the idea joined the others in my abandoned pile. However, for whatever reason I picked it up again in 2024. By then I had name ideas for all of Honor's band members, and I had finally found a reason for this story to even happen.

Just because you originally planned something during brainstorming doesn't mean you have to follow through with it. For example, in the actual book Honor doesn't rescue soldiers, only Tobias. (Though who knows, that might change yet as well.) Brainstorming is a time when you spit out all your ideas and ask yourself questions. Questions like what if questions. Here's a few I brainstormed for MONIH.

What if . . .

Tobias died?

Tobias was evil?

Prince whatever [hardest character to name in my life.] was actually a good guy?

There's a stowaway?

Brig was the stowaway?

Now I am NOT saying whether any of these are included in the plot or not, but these are ways you can spark new angles you hadn't thought of. This is brainstorming. Go wild. Ask yourself questions. Here's some I asked from multiple books I've brainstormed/planned.

What drives this book, besides Lelya and Morena's relationship problems?

But there should be an issue. A runaway?

What goals can Honor be pursuing during the first part of the book?

With planning characters, think of people you've met or characters you've read. With worldbuilding, look up other countries or fantasy lands. Create a Pinterest board of pictures that inspire you. Write down your ideas, let your friends and family read them, and ask for their opinions. Maybe they have a cool twist, or can spot a plot hole you hadn't noticed. Read inspiring books, listen to music, write down absolutely random tangents if you so desire. But, don't forget, have fun!

What're your thoughts on brainstorming? Let me know in the comments below.

May you live for Christ and give Him praise!

~Claira