Author: Wyatt Hall, Creator's Forge Staff If you're looking to start a project or improve an existing one, I've found that establishing a plan can help with this process. It doesn't need to be a detailed, step-by-step plan, it just needs to define some of the main aspects of your project, specifically the vision, mission, and a summary. This format, one I simply call the "VMS Format" isn't a comprehensive plan, simply a starting point to help guide you as your project progresses in its development. VisionDefining your vision can be rather difficult sometimes. There's just so many options— you could make a graphic novel, film, video game, or something else. You might not start your project with any idea of what you want to make in this sense, no idea what medium you want to use. That's fine! The main advantage to determining what medium you will use is that you can narrow down the scope of what you need to write for your world. If you do know what medium you want to use, feel free to describe it. What are some of the key elements of the product? For a book this could mean how is the story told (the way the story of the World War Z book is something I thoroughly enjoyed) or for a video game this could be the features and structure of the game. MissionThe mission section may not necessarily apply to everyone, which is fine. Each person has a different reason for why they create, why they made their project. Sometimes this reason could just be an interest in some topic or issue, sometimes it could be the desire to make a point. Take this section as an opportunity to think about why you're making your world and why you're making it the way you are. A quick message to those whose work is meant to be making a point or spreading some idea, specifically a political or religious idea. Be careful with this; there's nothing wrong with including a message to your work, in fact, I encourage it. However, don't let the message hurt the story or the project as a whole— your priority should be to make a quality story and world, not to push your ideas "down people's throats." Some questions to ponder: Would the inclusion of this message hurt the story in any way? What is your audience— could negative reactions hurt the success of your work? SummaryNow, the summary section, this is the fun part. This is the part where you get to write about your world and the stories within it. Final ThoughtsAs a general rule, the vision and mission sections should be about half a page double-spaced, with the summary section taking one to two pages, more if needed. Sometimes you may need to write something longer than this rule, which is perfectly fine. Keep in mind whether this document is something you intend on sharing with others or if it's just for yourself (if it's the former, you'll want to make sure the writing is professional and easy to understand).
Not everybody needs to plan in order to create good work, but for some of us, including myself, it helps to have at least a loose plan for how you want things to go. You may not stick with it, you might change your plan over time, but having something to follow in the beginning can help you know where to start.
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