Board, board, board...

I've had a true life-changing experience. I have discovered The Board...

...note the reverred silence?

Oh yes, The Board!  Hurrah!!

Erm...so what is it?  Well, that's something I'd often wondered too.  In fact, until recently, I didn't know it even had a name!  And then somebody kindly 'enlightened' me.  "I mean, it's a bloody board hanging on your wall," he said.  "How many names do you think it has?!"

And that's it - it's a board that hangs on your wall, imaginatively called The Board.  And I don't know how I ever managed without it.

I stumbled across The Board by accident while developing a new idea.  With storylines and character arcs flying in all directions, it was hard - almost impossible - keeping track of them all.  And then somebody told me, "Try the board."

And I did.

And it was a fab and groovy.

Simply, the board is a whiteboard, cork board or blackboard (mine's a whiteboard, so I can quietly write childish rude words in the corner when I'm stuck, and then rub them out before anyone sees).

Now split the board into four equal rows.

• Row #1 is your first act
• Row #2 is the first half of your 2nd act up to the midpoint
• Row #3 is from the midpoint to the break into act 3
• Row #4 is your 3rd act

Using index cards, jot down your story beats and drop them into your acts.  You'll see instantly your thin spots. And you can colour code your index cards too! Exciting!!

And the great thing about The Board is that it wastes LOADS of time!!  Well OK, it's not exactly wasted time, because while you're putting your board together and shopping for pens and index cards and push pins or whiteboard markers, you're allowing your story to ferment.

It also gives the impression you're working, when in actual fact you're writing childish rude words on your board in unparallelled frustration because you have a hole in your third act the size of Wales that just won't go away NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY!!!!!

Sorry, ranting again.  It's just that gap has been taunting me for days. I'm looking up at it right now.  And it back at me, mocking me.

Anyway, there are a stack of self-help writing books that touch on The Board, but the best in my opinion is without doubt, the excellent Save the Cat by the late Blake Snyder.

OK, back to the rude words.  Let's face it, that gap isn't going anywhere...