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Saturday, February 13, 2016

Outlining


Outlining A Novel

When i decided to write my novel I needed to know where I wanted it end up. So I  outlined it first.

I got a cheap dollar store note book and some tabs.

I wrote out the main characters that I already had formulated in my mind. They each got about five blank pages so if i need to elaborate on personally, or details I could  easily add to it.

I wrote out what they looked like, down to minute details such as moles, or scars.
Personality traits. Who they knew, hung out with or dated; I gave them complete and believable lives to bring them to life for the reader.

My story is set in a small isolated town, so i drew a simple map of the town. From Main st, to the side streets, with locations of important buildings. This way if a character took a left on Elm at different points of the book, they would always end up in the correct location.

Then I would add plot points, sometimes a random scene will come to you and you think well that could be interesting, but where to put it? If you write it down immediately so you don't forget it, you can later on figure out how to work it into the novel. You never know where the creative road will led. If you are lucky enough the story will tell you where it wants to go, and that idea may not even fit in, that is okay too.

For instance my entire novel started from a memory that I had as a child. I thought about it for years before it came to me that I could turn it into a book. So I began with that and the story evolved around it.

My novel is currently in the editing stages, so I am sharing my experience as I go.
Happy Writing!


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