Worksheets in Outlining

[oddlittleturtle]

(I thought I would make a big post about this book, instead of only adding it to the Resources list.)

The book: First Draft in 30 Days: A Novel Writer's System for Building a Complete and Cohesive Manuscript by Karen S. Wiesner

Description: "Many aspiring and experienced novelists throw out hundreds of pages (and waste valuable time) before they have

Comments

[oddlittleturtle]

That's a neat idea.

[atouchofyou]

Outlining has really helped me so much with plot. I have rarely written anything longer than a few pages, largely because I couldn't think of where a story would go past the scene I had in mind. Outlining helps you figure that out, definitely.

Also, an author I admire will make large collections of pictures and other images that "ping" her mind for various stories she's working on. She's primarily a graphic artist, but does a large amount of world building. I've started copying her and it's really helped. I don't think it would work for every story, but if you're writing something based on a real society or place, it can help you flesh out the details.

[lossefalme]

I do that too! Well, not a lot, but to some extent. I used to cut-out pictures from magazines if it reminded me of a character or scene in the story I was working on. Then I glued them into the notebook I was writing in (because I really did handwrite original stuff until recently) and looked at them periodically to help set the mood. These days I do most of my writing on the computer, so I will Google search images. I've even gone as far as to create novel covers for my various projects, and paste them onto the front of the document. That is very motivational, lol. ;)

Outlining vs. Riding Along ;)

[lossefalme]

I never used to outline, ever. Another Book in a Month book, which I posted in my entry to the Resources page, finally got me to do it with my current project, and it helped IMMENSELY. I had a bad habit of wondering all over the place before and then would seriously heavily edit projects during the second round. Outlining will save me a whole lot of that trouble! Also it makes it easier for me to write these days because I don't get intimidated by plot holes. I don't HAVE any plot holes when I start writing! So it's really nice. But... that's not to say I always know everything that's going to happen in my story still. I still start writing with an end situation in mind, not knowing exactly how I'm going to get there, and let the characters take me there themselves. That's one of my favorite things about writing original stuff... those invented characters seriously take on a personality of their own and do things I never intended for them to do, or never thought they would do, and it ends up being better than I ever could

Re: Outlining vs. Riding Along ;)

[lossefalme]

Hey I just realized there is a whole discussion post on my question! LOL... going there now!