Mind Mapping Fili Du Bois

Have you heard of Mind Mapping? It is a technique used in business to visualise ideas and concepts - and then organise them in a structured way to help solve problems, set goals and manage a business better. A Mind Map will show at a glance where your business is - and where it could go. I've adopted this technique for each of my 4 novels!

From the early days of Ada in The Housemaid's Daughter to the challenges faced by Fili in The Case Against Fili Du Bois, I set myself the task of creating a Mind Map before I began to write the novel. This let me get my head around the plot, see where the story was going, how I could pull the threads together - or tease them apart. 

I like to start with the central character and build the Map around her, with arms radiating outwards to cover the action and/or the characters. As you become more experienced, it is possible to gather parts of the Map into potential chapters. Or you may prefer to create a Map that starts with chapters at its heart, with the radiating arms then covering the content of each. 

Some aspects of the novel may stray from the original Mind Map e.g. characters may be less involved, a new plot twist may emerge once you begin writing... but if you hit an impasse, never fear! The Mind Map may save the day by setting you back on track. In The Fire Portrait, I wondered how to manage the relationship between dynamic Frances and modest Julian as events in their community escalated. The plot I sketched out on the Map demanded I find a way and it came about, surprisingly, through quiet Julian. 
"You have the courage to say and do what I can't, Frances..." 
He borrowed that courage, and began to stand up, literally, for what he believed... 
But will there be a cost?
A cost further down the line?