Worksheet: Keeping Track Of Information

Information Worksheet – Download

The other day I was talking about how keeping track of the information you give your reader and sprinkling it in may help you make the plot more digestible to your reader. I recommended a worksheet, but it was based on the characters inside the story knowing things. Now, I’ve made one to keep track of when you tell things to your reader!

How to use:

• Fill the first column with the hints, facts, truth bombs, and red herrings that your reader will have access to. 
• Check the boxes in the second column (one per row) to categorize these pieces of information. Snippet = hints of information; solid fact = truth, without that much dramatic importance; truth bomb = truth with A LOT of dramatic importance; fake news = red herrings, things you want to make your reader believe only to prove them wrong. Note that “in canon” just means “in the story”.
• In the third column, mention when the information is revealed to the reader. It can be a chapter number, a page number, a plot point, etc.
• In the fourth column, detail the process of discovery. Did Julio tell Anne he loved her, or did he just think it? 

After you do this, maybe you can play around with pacing things. Too many truth bombs on chapter four? Spread them apart, drop hints in between, or make some be fake news (lol). Too many hints, not enough truth? Drop a truth bomb somewhere in there.

Hopefully this works for you! Happy writing!