Shot Sheeting Your WIP

You might be wondering what I mean by shot sheeting. Well, I will tell you.

Back in the day, when I was a TV reporter, we worked with the videographer to cover news events and, once we got back to the station (as in TV station), he’d hand me the tape (3/4 back then) and I would shot sheet it. That means I sat down with a piece of paper called a shot sheet, and I would notate the time entry for each piece of footage on the tape. Doing this allowed me to tell the editor exactly what footage to put in my story (we called them packages then) including how long the scene should last (if it was natural sound) or how long the person should talk, complete with an in-cue and out-cue. It saved time and allowed the editor to work without my being there with him to show him what to do. That freed me up to record my voice over (the A roll for his B roll).

Nice walk down memory lane, right? You probably learned a few things, too.

Anway, in order for me to fully document where my WIP is going, I shot sheet it. Now I must admit, even though I have known about this technique for years as it relates to TV news, I had not thought about incorporating it into my fiction writing until a few days ago. I was having a brief chat with Jeffrey Deaver, the crime/thriller novelist, and he described how he prepares to write his books. He does not call it shot sheeting, but his technique is pretty similar (btw, he is in the process of writing a book on writing too so I would advise you to watch for it.)

So what Jeffery does is he plans his novels by writing a one-liner for every scene in the book – start to finish. Yep, he is no pantser. He knows before he types one word how the book is going to go, all the way to the end. Now for some people that might sound boring or horribly efficient. Lots of pantsers prefer to let the characters take them on the journey so they can be surprised at where they end up. But not Jeffrey. He knows exactly where he is going and it must work; look him up and you’ll see he has been writing successfully for decades.

This plan does leave room for creativity; I know, because I shot sheet my new WIP this week. Despite the fact that I am aware of how it ends and pretty much how the plot plays out (and subplot), I still don’t know exactly how the words are going to appear on the page. Remember, it’s just a one-liner per scene – just enough to describe what is supposed to take place.

For my shot sheet, I create a table with a header and I use these headings:

Scene or Sequel	Goal or Reaction	Conflict or Dilemma	Outcome or Decision

I use these because, as you may already know, scenes must begin with a goal, move through a conflict, and end with an outcome. While each sequel must begin with a reaction, move through a dilemma, and end with a decision.

So armed with my shot sheet table, I fill in the cells, numbering as I go, until I get to the end of the book. And, like Jeffrey, before I start writing, I have my notes and research at hand. Things like the character’s occupation; activities that happen in that particular job so I am sure to get it right. As well as reminders from Margie Lawson’s EDITS system (if you are unfamiliar, check her out of Twitter). By this time I already have the book set up in Scrivener, I’ve studied my character interviews, and I’ve got a fresh pot of coffee on the stove.

So you see, as a planner – and project manager by trade – the shot sheet approach is the perfect way for me to feel totally ready for NanoWriMo. Hope it helps you, too. See you in November!