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You and I can both agree that there are a lot of misconceptions about visual novels. No, they're not just paragraphs after paragraphs of pointless dialogue. And no, not all visual novels have a linear storyline, fuelling the saying, "visual novels aren't games," where the player (you) is placed in the protagonist's world and is left to observe.
In fact, there are many visual novels that include a variety of choices in the main gameplay, such as Katawa Shoujo, a good example of an emotional visual novel done right. However, this does not mean whatsoever, that visual novels with non-linear storylines are better than visual novels with linear storylines. Games like Doki Doki Literature Club creatively use a linear storyline to their advantage, setting up a powerful atmosphere, and pushing the boundaries to produce a spectacular product that has reached worldwide recognition. You just have to realise that in the end, it is ultimately the writer's choice, and it's up to you to choose options that will benefit your plot and the type of genre you are writing in.
Okay, you've picked a genre, drafted your plot, and came up with your main character's name while you were in the shower. What do you do now? Are you actually ready to write? The simple answer is, not really. Unless you're a pantser writer, and you are very confident in your writing abilities to come up with a whole script without really knowing anything about your story, I strongly advise you to plan beforehand. Why? Because it's quite likely that you will come across a plothole while you are writing your script, and give up early in the production process since your whole story fell apart within a measly hour upon discovering your mistakes.
So, these are my suggestions, based on my experience with both script writing and novel writing.
The first step to exploring your whole visual novel plot, is to build your characters. Make a character sheet for each of your characters. There are so many great templates out there formulated by skilled writers. Go ahead, find out your characters' favorite food, enemies, backstory, and views on the world. Personally for me, this is the one step that I would never skip, essentially because it helps me gain a greater understanding about the story, give greater depth to the writing and it helps me come up with obstacles / solutions when I'm stuck writing the plot.
You might also go ahead and worldbuild, especially if your gameplay is more non-traditional with adventure mini-games, or your story is fantasy-based. Obviously, if you're writing based on genres like romance, you may not need to worldbuild much at all, but I cannot express this enough. Worldbuild as much as you can, and make your ideas as detailed as you can. Learn the ins and outs of the world of your character, making notes on geographical locations, weather, and political systems, because just like knowing your characters, it really helps with writing later on.
Also, write a short summary for each route (if you are going for a non-linear approach) and the main story. It's better to know the events of each plotline than to write your script unprepared. Write a few paragraphs noting down the obstacles your characters have to face, solutions to the problem, and any lessons they learn along the way, including any plot twists. Of course, don't overplay the surprises, but learn to use them sparingly so any plot twists will bring more shock value.
Finally, make sure you know the theme of your visual novel, and what you want the audience to feel while playing your game. Do you want to spread awareness about certain issues? Do you want the audience to cry, bringing emotional impact? Make sure your end goal stays clear all throughout writing your visual novel, and doesn't stray from your theme.
Of course, always make sure you constantly get feedback. Read your summary aloud to your friends and family. If they don't understand your story, you are probably overcomplicating things. Comments from others will help you improve, and will definitely help you in the long run.
Now, you are finally ready to start writing! Hopefully these few tips have helped you, and just remember that in the end, it's your story, and you should use whatever method works best for you.
Thank you for reading! Currently the Blank Slate script has over 10,000 words, and we are working hard to aim for at least 50,000, if not more. Stay tuned for more writing guides in the future, and let us know if you want us to go more in depth about character writing, setting the atmosphere etc.