At our last indiechat, award-winning author and writing adviser, K.M. Weiland, shared her five step process for outlining your novel.
Her tips redefined what it means to outline your story and debunked common misconceptions around this helpful writing strategy. After all, who knew that outlining could spur bouts of creativity?!
Dive into the mind of this industry expert in our recap, and find out how outlining can change the way you approach writing. You can also find the complete conversation here.
Step #1: Refine Your Premise.
Craft the existing ideas for your story into “premise sentences.” These sentences should include the basic elements of your story’s world.
Start by hammering your existing ideas for characters, scenes, conflict, etc., into a solid premise sentence(s). #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
The premise should name six elements: protag, situation/normal world, character goal, opponent, disaster/catalyst, conflict. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Start by filling in the blanks to name each of these elements, then combine them into a complete sentence. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Here’s a graphic from my #OutliningYourNovel Workbook that shows you an example premise sentence: #indiechat pic.twitter.com/9uhLf4of1Z — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Step #2: Compile Your “General Sketches”
Write down all your ideas without judgement. Look for plot holes, and focus on answering key questions.
This is where you throw your every idea – no matter how ridiculous – onto the page. Write everything you know about the story! #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
You’re looking for plot holes. Ask yourself lots of “what if’s” and “why’s.” E.g., Why is she bitter about her past? #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
In essence, the few scenes already in your brain are like dots on a connect-the-dot puzzle. Now you have to fill in the blanks. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Concentrate on answering questions, rather than constructing full-blown scenes with characters, dialogue, and a consistent plot. #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Step #3: Create Your Character Sketches
Use an “interview” approach to create your characters’ backstories and deepen the plot.
Once you have an idea of the story arc and have filled in all the plot holes you can spot, you can start the character sketches. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
I use an “interview” to learn about my characters’ backstories. You can find my list of questions here: https://t.co/T66dqjPKDE #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Character interviews are a lengthy process, so you may choose to focus only on the POV characters and antagonist. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
This part of the outline should bring up all kinds of interesting tangents and opportunities for deepening the plot. #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Step #4: Write Your Extended Outline
Focus on plotting out the details of your story sans dialogue and narrative.
This is where you begin your plotting in earnest. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Step by step, plot out, in as much detail as possible (though without dialogue or narrative), every road stop in your story. #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
In places, this plotting will go quickly; in others, you’ll need to work through iffy plot points and weak character motives. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
This step can take up to several months (depending on how in-depth you are) but it’s one of the most exciting parts of outlining. #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Step #5: List Your Abbreviated Outline
Create an abbreviated outline that provides the details of your story in a concise format. You can refer to this outline whenever you sit down to write.
Finally, once you have your entire plot mapped out, you can condense it into an abbreviated outline. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
This will keep you from having to read your entire extended outline every time you sit down to write. #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Type up your abbreviated outline in Word, the free outlining software yWriter or the organizational program @ScrivenerApp. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Outline your novel! It’s about the easiest way possible to complete a first draft and ensure a cohesive second draft. #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
K.M. Weiland also provided interesting insight on the most common misconceptions authors make regarding the outlining process:
There are four big misconceptions I frequently hear about outlining. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Misconception #1: Outlining Your Novel Requires Formal Formatting. Not true. You can format it how you want! #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Misconception #2: Outlining Limits Creativity. Not true! A good outline should be a spur for creativity, not a stumbling block. #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Misconception #3: Outlining Robs the Joy of Discovery. Not true! You’re dividing the discoveries between outline and 1st draft. #indiechat
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Misconception #4: Outlining Takes Too Much Time. Not true! Outlining requires more time upfront, but saves time in the long run #indiechat — K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) January 26, 2016
Thank you to K.M. Weiland for her thoughtful advice on making the outlining process easier! You can found the complete archive of the indiechat here.
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