How do I write a novel outline?

Question

I've got this great idea in my head for a novel. ive tried before to write books but I lose intrest or cant keep it together right. I love how authors will put something in that doesnt have signifigance untill the end or at least later part and it make you sit back and think "OH! so thats why so-and-so did this, cleaver!... she was playing them from the start" and how an author can incorporate so many different conflicts without losing sight of the origional story. my question: how do i write an outline for a novel. how much should i put in it. what shouold i put in it. how do i come up with all those little plot twists along the way. if ive got a good begining idea, how do i develope that enough for the outline.. etc. any sites or advice from authors? please and thankyou!

Answer 1

I write plays, but it's much the same... You have the great beginning. Now, figure out how you want things to end, then work out the middle.

Once you know where you want it all to end, you can come up with all the things that seem insignificant and then take on new meanings by the time you get to the end.

You can also plot backwards to figure out how to make the ending happen.

Get a lot of index cards in different colors. use one color to figure out one plotline, another color for the next, and then figure out what order the whole story needs to unfold in, and arrange the cards accordingly.

Just because you have all that done, it doesn't mean you won't find little things that surprise you while you're writing.

A really good book for structuring things is the Marshall Plan Workbook!

Break a pencil!

Answer 2

I don't know much, but I do remember reading a few things from the masters...like Stephen King. It's a good thing to have ideas..and if they or 'it' stays with you, it could be a keeper. The ideas that slip our mind are not that great.
Make the characters worth worrying over. Just like a movie, if you don't care about the character, you won't care about the movie or book.
The twist you mentioned is indeed intriguing to the reader. One of the best books I ever read included Lost hope for the good guys, one of the main characters dying half way thru the story, and a touch of personal history of even the 'bad guys.'

Answer 3

I am busy with a writing project of my own. Writing is very a demanding job. Once your story begins to take shape, there is no letup. You get totally immersed in it. But I have decided to take a long break because it had started to affect my health.

My storyline is inspired by one of Upton Sinclair's historical novels that I read in my school. I cannot match his writing skills but I am happy with the way things are going for me.

To me the single most important thing is to capture a reader's attention and hold it with suspense, surprises and shocks. You have to interlace your story with some lighter moments and shift the scene one chapter after another.

I haven't taken any course in writing, nor do I claim to be a writer. I believe in writing in an entertaining way after a lot of research. That's why I enjoy participating in Yahoo Answers. It is also an exercise to find the target audience for the story that I am am working on.

Just in case you want to know what I wrote in my answer to a question asked by “denden”. you can look it up by clicking on my icon.

“ If you were to write your book of life,what would the title be?”

As it is, I am lagging far behind others in earning Best Answer points. That's why I am enjoy participating in Yahoo Answers.

Everybody likes what he wants to hear. A writer who sticks his neck out in print should have an idea of what most readers in a specific group are interested in.

Successful writers do not need any training. They write through their inspired imagination and paint a wide canvas with beautiful word pictures.

What you wanted to know is 'how to write a novel outline'. Since I have been working on a historical storyline, for me placing each event in correct sequence is more important than an outline. If you are writing a romance story, then most of my ideas may be wide off the mark.

Answer 4

As a writer myself, I have learned that writers approach their craft in very individual ways. While there is more or less a right way to write a query or a book proposal, how you get your book written is up to you. There are lots of good books on how to write. But don't get hung up on reading a lot of books on how to write, just start writing! Start with compelling characters. Sometimes plot develops as you write, and then you can go back and tweak things to fit the end. But it's a long process in learning to write well. So if you are blocked on the outline part, outlining may not work for you. I can outline fine in my technical writing. But it doesn't work for me in fiction at all. So I don't use them.

Answer 5

I used to prefer to take a seat down and description each and every little element, each and every backstory, each and every thing, yet then i found out why i became into writing - for entertainment. So confident, you will possibly desire to define it, yet that's no longer a rule. in case you have a strike of notion, write it down. that's not like that's everlasting. Draft, draft and draft some greater. whether basically 0.001% is used contained in the main suitable piece. I even tend to no longer basically write chapters rapidly off nonetheless, i like to plot what's going to ensue or it is going to run away someplace else and experience jumpy, I only write little snippets, or a protracted piece of prose. do no longer think of in chapters! As for the JK Rowling element... nicely, i do no longer recognize no count number if that became right into a rhetorical question when you consider that needless to say no longer; her first draft of the 1st financial ruin became into Hermione's mom and dad rowing a ship to Harry's parent's destroyed living house. Little diverse, eh? i think of the character only jumped out at her on that practice journey. i've got had that till now. while something or somebody only seems on your recommendations and sticks. yet one character does not make a effectual plot.

Answer 6

Dear!
Plot or out line is the most imp feature of any writing.
First write a brief short story on your idea and then think on it again and again.
Furthermore try fol linx you'll get your answer. As i've carried out search for U.
Best Wishes.

Answer 7

I asked this question a few times earlier, if you'd like to read the responses here:



http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmkWck8JVHFEFSYR5xP.6snsy6IX?qid=20061122133454AA1tSPY

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmAo75mlMs8vliQ3RU2_nxrsy6IX?qid=20061122160913AAQ10oh

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuGU0LQfzuthQQ5b1gzXlhfsy6IX?qid=20061122181252AAQnGcl

i got some great responses...hope they help you! and i'm not taking credit for any of their responses, so just look at them.

ALSO: Remember that what works for one person may not work for another person. You should just outline as much or as little as what works for you. If you want a good, concrete profile for each of your characters, follow this:
http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/lazy2.htm

Answer 8

Take a creative writing course or two.