Pebblepup's Writing Den

The key to good project management is good project planning and development. These are the things you need to do before starting the project. It is the point at which you determine what you need to do in the project. Once you know what you need to accomplish, which you can call deliverables, you can list the steps you need to perform to complete the project.

For example, if you are writing a novel, the broadest steps would be, background work, first draft, revision, and publication preparations. Determine the broadest steps first. These are your deliverables.

Deliverables are the things that need to be completed in order to finish the project. Once you’ve done that, take the first broad step and determine what you need to do in that step. What do you need to ‘deliver’ to yourself.
In our novel example, that would include plotting, character development, and mapping the locations in the story. Put those into your plan as sub steps for the broader one.

Once you’ve done that for each of the broad steps, you should set deadlines for each of the broad steps. I use a word processing document to list my deliverables and the steps I need to accomplish to produce the deliverables. You can use whatever you like to do this. Paper and pen, or word processing document work well. Even a spread sheet will work for this step. It’s up to you. Whatever you feel comfortable using is what you should use.

Sometimes, it helps to set deadlines for the sub steps. You need to have x done before you can start y and so on. In that manner, you assign priorities to the sub steps. Then give them deadlines which will tell you when to have things done. This will help you do them in the order you’ve chosen.

The earlier you plan the project, the better off you will be when you start actually working on the project. This is how you make it easier to control a project.

You might do this in your head, but I find this method useful as it means I can devote myself to the writing process. This serves to remind me, not only what I want, but also where I am in the process.

Of course, you can change your mind as ideas can come anywhere and anytime. So stay flexible and create your plan. Always remember that you can change things along the way. Then follow it as best you can, adjusting it where you feel you need to. This is the first step in your project. It’s the skeleton of it. Everything else will follow along in turn. So consider this method of project development and have some fun with it. Good luck and keep writing.