Book Friday: Part 13—Old George, a Red Lipstick Fetish, The Policy Stickler and The Book Plan Document You Need to Write Them into Existence
Plus, a simple template for you to steal
Heya! I’m Kat Hare. Yep—feline dander. Thanks, mum. I’m an ADF veteran, writer and budding academic looking for creative ways for veterans to benefit from their military service, then, now and always—AKA Emereas!
In Book Fridays, you’ll get to peak behind the curtain of my latest book as it's written, from idea to the writing process and publishing. Get it free into your inbox every Friday night at 8pm Adelaide time.
Right now, it’s all about Book 1: John’s story—the life history of an Australian Army veteran who, despite his learning disability and the sexual, physical, psychological and financial abuse he suffered throughout his life, made it to the other side with his quirky sense of humour—and then found love.
The Book So Far
Hey co-pilot, [I’m always polite when I ask AI to help me], how would you summarise John’s book so far?
…you’ve presented a complex and detailed narrative…
—Why, thank you.
… It interweaves accounts from law enforcement, prison staff, family members, and others involved in the case, alongside flashbacks to Davey’s troubled childhood and school years...
—Wait until you learn about his military service!
…I can hardly wait. Davey’s life story unfolds through his own recounting and observations by those around him. However, a disturbing subplot reveals a secret society in Adelaide—
—SHHHHH! Don’t spoil the surprise!
…Sorry. The story also reveals the challenges faced by Davey, including his intellectual disability, ADHD, and experiences of abuse and bullying. The narrative also exposes internal conflicts within the police force and prison staff regarding Davey’s guilt and treatment.
Yes it does, which brings me to today’s lesson.
How to keep track of all the characters, plots and loops that make the story unputdownable
Every day I open two documents: John’s book plan and the actual draft of the manuscript. Both are formatted to the tits so I can track, find and use the right details (like fictional names and characteristics in a plausible, workable plot).
The book plan has three important sections:
Events—these refer to the real events, memories and moments that have happened throughout John’s life that he wanted to be featured in the book.
John, Sue and I worked these out one memorable day with my extra-large whiteboard and 2,000 post-it notes. First, we segmented his life into five parts: home, school, pre-service, service and post-service. Second, we listed the events and memories he wanted his character Davey to have, such as playing with matchbox cars in the dirt pit at home, singing in the choir, and waking up Old George every morning on his walk to school. For any event that needed to be changed, such as the name of a teacher or the grisly outcome we designed for them, I added a different coloured post-it note with the changes.
Then, I added it all into my word document under the heading “Events”, subheadings “Home” and “School” etc., then dot pointed events and changes. To use and track these events, I use a very simple system. All the dot pointed events are in red font. When I use one, I change the font to black. Easy!Cast—an organised list of characters.
We started with real people organised into their cast group: John, Sue and his family, then teachers and soldiers. We then gave them fictional names and characteristics. Some aged, others developed a love for red lipstick. I needed their real names—who the characters are based on—so I could then carefully create new characters that no longer represented them.
As the book developed, new cast members were added under their group. This section now has “Police” with characters further segmented under “Adelaide AFP”, “Tactical Response Team” and “Kadina Police Station”; “Adelaide Remand Centre” with “Staff” and “Prisoners”; and “Crafers Primary” with “Teachers” and “Students”.
Every character has their own profile line, either dot pointed or numbered. (I found numbered easier for the “Police” group so I could quickly check, remind myself, re-count then add who I was missing in scenes). I record their name, nickname, rank, age, quirks and background. I’m constantly adding to their profile as the book develops. While some of the characters were planned out, such as their personality (funny, sweary, policy stickler, etc.), I let the character evolve on the page and then come back and add key words.Timeline—the most important section. Without a timeline of events in the book, John’s and the fictional, it would be an inedible mess, like dropping a fresh pot of spaghetti bolognese on an unvacuumed floor in the home of three dogs. Trust me, you’re not eating that.
The timeline is a simple, dated and timed list of what happens in the book. It spans 1968 to 2025. John’s book starts on Monday 12 May 2025. That’s my first heading. Under that is the time stamps for what happens that day. At 0756h, the Deputy Commissioner reams the Tactical Response Team. At 0830h, the investigation into their conduct kicks off. Because John’s life story is told while the investigation into his deadly history plays out, the book jumps back and forth. I initially planned for just the chapters to be timed/dated, but then I realised how handy it was and created the Timeline section in the book plan document. Now, I can’t live without it.
Each time stamp is a chapter, which is named after the key event of the chapter, which corresponds in the draft manuscript. This makes everything easy to find and adjust when a time stamp or date needs to change. Under those time stamps, I dot point the events that happen in the chapter, including character involvement, John’s list of events, and plot development. That way, I can see at a glance where the story is up to and plan the next section of the book, which I do in red, changing to black once written. This gives me a starting point on those days when I don’t know what to write, and an editing prompt when I’ve highlighted (by changing the font to red), when I’ve changed a time, day or event.
What happens next?
I keep writing! And occasionally checking co-pilot for holes in the story and adding that to my book plan document.
Even though my book plan is a separate document, seeing AI pick up and summarise all the twists and turns in the manuscript with 100% accuracy helps me write a complex book with ease. It doesn’t get confusing. Character mix-ups and that news issue I wrote to last week are spotted instantly and fixed.
Book Update
John’s book hit 77,054 words today. His book plan, however, is only 2,242 words. It’s short and to the point.
This weekend, I’m going to hit the 80’thousands with some fun little police interviews with Davey’s school mates, one of whom will be a drag queen because he deserves to be the beautiful woman he always wanted to be.
Until next week,
Kat
P.S. If you’re planning or writing a book, definitely do both simultaneously. This is what my book plan and manuscript documents look like. You’re welcome to steal to help your next writing project 💙
Book Plan Template
Book Plan
Events
Home
List of events, memories, etc
School
List of events, memories, etc
Pre-Service
List of events, memories, etc
Service
List of events, memories, etc
Post-Service
List of events, memories, etc
Cast
John’s family
John = Davey. Nicknames, characteristics, background, etc.
Sue = Cassy. Nicknames, characteristics, background, etc.
Crafers Primary School
Teacher
Teacher 1 name, nickname, characteristics, background
Students
Student 1 name, nickname, characteristics, background
Police
Adelaide AFP
AFP Tactical Response Team
Kadina Police Station
Adelaide Remand Centre (ARC)
Staff
Prisoners
Timeline
Monday 12 May 2025
0756h – The Deputy Commissioner’s Mistake
DC’s office post operation
Entire TRT are suspended pending investigation
0830h – AGIS commences investigation by interviewing TRT
0830h: Interview 1—Sergeant Boniface AKA “Gabby”
0917h: Interview 2—Constable Whiting AKA “Fish”
Book Manuscript Template
Book Draft #1
Prologue – The Deputy Commissioner’s Mistake
Monday 12 May 2025, 0756h
Words, words and more words.
Chapter - Interview 1 Gabby
Monday 12 May 2025, 0830h
All the damn words.
Chapter - Interview 2 Fish
Monday 12 May 2025, 0917h
Somehow, more words.