For this article, the example will focus on a murder mystery novel.

Draw a map of the room or space. Draw a diagram of the weapon if it helps. Add colors.

Start with physical characteristics and basic facts. How tall is this person? What’s her height? What type of hair does he have? Where was she born? Are his parents still alive? Does she have any siblings? Next, go for personality traits. Who is this person? What are her favorite past times? What does he eat for breakfast? What kind of pet does she have? What’s his favorite color? What are her personality quirks? What makes him afraid in the middle of the night? What drives her to do what she does? Is the crime an accident or intentional? Even though this person is a murderer, you don’t want him or her to be one-dimensional. He or she still needs to be a fully developed character, and it’s the little things that make a person seem real.

Decide what makes him or her tick. Why does she want to catch the murderer? Is it personal or just another day on the job?

Don’t forget to include diversity in your characters. Real life is diverse, and your characters should be, too.

Decide what perspective you will use. Are you going to tell it from the protagonist’s perspective or the villain? Are you going to mix the two? Will you use an omnipresent third voice?

What leads into the crime? What makes the murder personal to the protagonist? Will the story follow both the protagonist and the villain or just one or the other? Where will it all take place? How does that affect the crime? Why did you choose that setting in particular?

Your protagonist doesn’t have to be right about what she “knows”; that could easily change throughout the storyline.

Decide what the antagonist is doing throughout the middle. Is she running? Hiding out? Trying to find details to prove her innocence? Does he narrowly escape being caught? Is she taunting the protagonist by sending tantalizing clues or notes or by making phone calls?

Usually during the climax there is some doubt as to whether the protagonist will succeed, which creates suspense.

If you decide on something about a character, add it to his or her character page(s). If you change something in the plot, make a note of it, and change any subsequent storylines to reflect it.

You can also create charts for things like pieces of evidence to show what they are and how they relate to the rest of the book.