Need writing related help...?

Question

Anyone have any tips on how to organize and outline a novel? I know I just need to sit down and write, yes, but I would like some tips first to ponder over as to how to begin outlining. I have descriptions of my main characters on paper, and the basic plot and a few major events I want to happen are in my head..Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks,

Kiara

Answer 1

The art of writing," Kingsley Amis said, "is the art of applying the seat of one's trousers to the seat of one's chair."

I never plan my books in a chapter by chapter format, but that might work for you - it does for many authors. Jot down the events you want to happen in each chapter. Plan on 10-20 double-spaced A4 pages per chapter, sometimes less. Any more and it gets cumbersome. Each chapter should have a major event occur. Ending chapters well is always difficult to do without them being cheesy or cliched - but that's your problem. Avoid big paragraphs heavy with information about your setting or characters, especially in the first chapter. A publisher will spot an 'info dump' and dump your ms in the bin. They are one of the signatures of the amateur.

Write EVERY SINGLE DAY. I aim for 1000 words, but sometimes I get only half that.

Answer 2

I'd say start with thinking about what different things you'd like to include in your novel, be they characters, specific scenes, themes, locations, or anything else - maybe make a list. Then start thinking about what order it could go in, and writing down things you want to accomplish in each scene.

If you have the basic plot and a few major events already, it sounds like you've done some of that already, so it's just filling in the details that you need to do. Just think about the things you could expand, or the difficulties your characters could run into. (There are a lot of people who would say basic plot and major events are all you need before you start writing.)

I don't know what genre you're writing, but if it's fantasy, I would highly recommend the articles on both of these pages:

http://limyaael.livejournal.com/
http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/

If you're interested in a creative writing community for discussing writing and generally helping each other out with tough parts, you may want to take a look at one I'm part of, Inkify:

http://www.inkify.com

It's relatively small at the moment, but there are some really great folks there and a lot of new things will be added soon.

Answer 3

Perhaps it's just a personal preference, but I cannot outline too extensively. I have a few ideas for specific happennings or characters, but I feel that planning everything out promotes a rushing through of the story. I would recommend instead sitting down to write and letting the story take control; approach things on a smaller scale and eventually you'll wind up at the end. At least that's my advice. Good luck!

Answer 4

It sounds like you already did! All of the things I was going to suggest, you have already done.
Perhaps you could think of it as a movie, and do story boards, each depicting a key scene, then write something filling in the details of the scene.
Another method is to write stream of consciousness- everything that comes to mind. Then organize and edit.

You are also correct that 'a writer is a person who writes every day'.

Answer 5

Write your ideas and characters separately - each on its own index card. You may have 100 cards or more - the number doesn't matter. Put them in the order you want to introduce them into your story. Then you can fill in the gaps.

Answer 6

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