Mind maps can be a useful tool when developing a story. I have a pad of huge Post It notes 50x50cm which have proven invaluable over the years. I stick them on the walls so that the story ideas are right in front of me. I also have a whiteboard too – and I photograph the ideas I write on it. The good thing with a mind map is you can just keep adding to it as the story comes into focus. Below is a brief example of the type of mind map I might start with – there are questions which need to be answered and then there’s a lot more detail that needs to come after that.
I also have a notebook designated for each book I write. I hand write a lot of the ideas first – and refer to the notebook throughout the writing process often adding to my ideas and using it to figure out snags.
When I was creating Kensy and Max, I wanted to create a new spy organisation. Not to have them be part of Mi6 or ASUS or the CIA etc. To that end I spent a lot of time thinking about what this organisation might be called, where it had originated and what its role was. I wanted there to be links so that readers had the opportunity to put things together over time.
So – the organisation is called Pharos. I wanted something symbolic of light and hope and knowledge. Pharos was the lighthouse at Alexandria in Ancient Egypt – one of the seven ancient wonders of the world until it was severely damaged by three earthquakes between 956 AD and 1323 and became an abandoned ruin. Alexandria was regarded as the capital of knowledge and learning. In my imagination, Pharos, the spy organisation, began during that time to protect the greater good – transcending governments and individuals to work for all people to make the world a safer place. Their cover has always been information/media-based. In the modern age we find Pharos led by Dame Cordelia Spencer (whose cover is the Beacon Newspaper group – which she runs from London). The newspaper is named for the light in a lighthouse. Her country estate in North Yorkshire is called Alexandria. I spent a long time thinking about what would work. Pharos is a clandestine organisation in that their agents do the leg work and at the last minute the local authorities are called in and given the credit for whatever crisis has been averted or bad guy dealt with. I love playing with all the detail. Building your own world from scratch is great fun.
Maybe you’d like to start a story over the weekend – my advice is just put pen to paper – you never know when you’re going to have a brilliant idea!
See you soon,
Jacqueline
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