A Lesson in Story Mapping
What We Can Learn from The Wild Robot
It takes years to write a good story. Sure, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet was written in six weeks and Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange in three, but for us mortals, it takes just a bit longer. For Peter Brown, it took eight years to perfect his new novel, The Wild Robot, a heartwarming story about a robot braving the wilderness. And every second was worth it.
On his blog, Brown recounts the years of work he put into The Wild Robot from start to finish. This is a must-read for aspiring writers that need a little help organizing and materializing their thoughts. While some writers take an idea and spill words onto the page without an end in sight, Brown began the plotting process with a tried-and-true technique he also used for his picture books: story mapping.
I spent a year mapping all the possible directions for the story. There was so much to consider! How might a robot become wild? Do robots have anything in common with wildlife? What kinds of lessons could Roz learn from a tree, or a storm, or an opossum? And why is Roz on an island in the first place? - Peter Brown
Story mapping is a visual exercise that allows readers to keep track of plot developments from beginning to end. Story mapping allows you, the writer, to:
- Get the creative juices flowing
- Figure out where your story is going in the early stages
- Arrange and rearrange the order in which events occur
- Spot inconsistencies and weak points in the overall story
- Build a stronger foundation for when you tackle the actual writing of the novel
There is no one right way to map your story. Some writers use sticky notes, some use special writing software, and others, like Peter Brown, simply use a notebook. The most important thing is to first determine the big events in your story: what you want to happen. Then, brainstorm the smaller events and reasoning behind the big events: how and why it will happen. For example, in a story about the adventures of a cold-blooded bunny hitman, this is how a story map may begin:
The black bubble represents the main plot point (a.k.a. the “what”). The blue bubbles are smaller events that lead to the main plot point (a.k.a. the “how” and “why”). The green and yellow bubbles represent the reasoning behind the smaller events that lead up to the main plot point (or more in-depth “hows” and “whys”). Rinse and repeat until you have a concrete understanding of the story you want to tell. Only then can you begin to write.
But even after you’ve finished the first draft, it isn’t the end of story mapping. You’ll want to revisit your story map again to work out the kinks, like Peter Brown:
Over the following year-and-a-half I rewrote the entire story. Repeatedly. In the first draft, Roz was a soldier who arrived on the island via plane crash. But many of my early ideas presented serious logistical problems and I routinely went back to the drawing board. I did more research. I resumed story mapping. I lost all confidence. Things were moving in the wrong direction.
But I kept going. I simplified everything. The plot, the characters, the writing all became simpler, and they gradually started fitting together like puzzle pieces. The story grew more metaphorical and philosophical. The Wild Robot was feeling less like science fiction and more like a fable.
Story mapping may not save you from the editing and revision process — this step is unavoidable. However, it will help you write a stronger first draft, and give you the tools to continue fashioning it into a clean and polished piece, worthy of publication.
Written by Gabrielle Luu, Content Manager
