Category: Writing

I wish someone had told me how to outline my novel when I started writing the first draft of my novel.

I was expecting that the year-long novel writing course I signed up for would help me flesh out the story first before embarking on – making an impact, structure, backstory, characterization, narrative types, the middle, scenes, chapters, amazing endings – but it didn’t.

Instead, I became the first one in the group (volunteered by the course leader) to bring the first chapter for group critique.

Although my chapter was well received as it had lots of drama, action and a cliff hanger at the end, it put me on the wrong path.

I became a pantser. I was discovering the story as I was writing it. It worked fine for a while but then it stalled. I had no idea how to take it forward and whether it was going in any direction.

That is when I had to stop and learn about outlining.

And learn I did.

Kate Grenville wrote that she had 100-page research material before writing ‘The Secret River,’ her best known work. Margret Atwood admit time write 70 to 80 page outline before commencing her books. But Robert Ludlum beat them all. He writes a 100-page outline for all his books.

I used to think 100-page outline is over the top. It is a killer. But if it was something that could help my novel see the light of the day, I am up for it.

And so should be you.

Midway during writing my novel, I am on a mission to write 100-page outline and see whether it will take out of the rut and help me finish it.

I am researching and sharing everything along the way starting from how to outline.

There are many ways to outlining. One is not necessarily better than the other. But what works for one writer may not work for another. Also, it depends upon the story you are telling.

I was going to write a lengthy post to describe different ways to outline but then I found the following video. In sixteen minutes it gives a summary of the most prevailing outline methods by some of the great writers on this planet.

God bless Michael La Ronn for creating this video. He has got many more on his channel.

And if you still want more here are three links but you will have to read the text. There are no videos.

• Check K.M. Weiland‘s method here.
• Check Glen C. Strathy’s method here.
• Check Kristen Kieffer‘s outlining method here.

What method do I use, you may ask.?

I use a blend of The Snowflake, Scenes & Sequels and Save the Cat Beat Sheet methods.

There is plenty to take in from all these links. I will talk more about my method in the next post.

I must admit that my approach to novel writing so far has been wrong. So wrong, that I haven’t been able to finish the damn thing in five years, even though the plot is clear and characters are living in my head constantly chattering, impatient to see the light of the day.

Not only I, but most of my writing group buddies have chosen the obvious but wrong approach to write our novels.

The usual and amateurish approach is to come up with an idea, flesh it out, identify the main plot point and start writing. Character development is done on the fly. Research is non-existent. The point of view is selected at the beginning and is very hard to change because we are already into writing chapters.

Believe it or not, this is what most amateur writers (including myself) do when it comes to novel writing. And then we expect, whatever that comes out of our pen to be of publishable quality.

There is a better way to write a novel.

The way of professionals.

I first read about this approach in the ‘Searching for the Secret River‘ the book Kate Grenville wrote about writing her most admired novel ‘The Secret River. 

The last night I was watching a documentary on Margaret Atwood, an all-time great writer of our times, and she admitted to the same approach.

As I researched more writers, successful writers who have written several books, it started becoming evident how they are able to write so much consistently while the amateur writers struggle to finish one.

The secret lies in your first draft.

I always thought the first draft is very much like the final draft with the perfect opening line, a cliff hanger first chapter and then page-turning subsequent chapters leading to a satisfying end. All this is left to do in the subsequent revisions is polishing the language and filling any minor gaps.

I couldn’t be wrong.

I had written 12 chapters of the book even before I had fleshed out all the characters, their wants and desires, their motivations, and their quirks. I hadn’t figure out the subplots and I had no idea how to fill in the middle part.

This is where Kate Grenville’s revelation came to rescue. She said when she had a hundred pages worth of material from the research she was doing for ‘The Secret River,’ she knew she was ready to write the book.

Think of it, one hundred pages worth of material before starting the first chapter. All her research was done prior to writing the book.

Remember ‘The Moby Dick’, the 400 hundred page novel. Herman Melville talked to the survivor of the shipwreck and wrote down the whole story. He knew the whole story before he commenced. He didn’t have to figure it out as he went along.

The first draft of a novel is where you tell the story to yourself to figure it out. And I do mean tell not show. Just like you would tell the story of a movie you recently watched on TV that your friend missed out on.

This is where you will ‘fish out’ the story. You will create characters and you would figure out everything about them. Where were they born, where did they go to school, how they reacted to childhood traumas and what their motives are. This is where you will capture all the research you would do. You will find gaps and fill them. You will make the storyboard and figure out the mirror moment.

This is like writing a synopsis of your story but not after finishing your book but before commencing it.

And it is for not for agents or publishers but for yourself.

Some people call it a detailed outline.

Tomorrow I will talk about different approaches to write a 100-page outline of your novel.

Many times we can’t figure out when an article or story should end. The same goes for books, whether it is fiction or non-fiction.

As a writer, we have collected so much material that we keep on going long after the article, story or a book has reached its logical end.

What is that logical end?

The logical end is when you have made the argument.

Every piece of writing is making an argument.

Writing usually starts with an idea that often comes as a question or a problem. We explore that question, (like the question at the start of this post) and we make an argument.

Finding the argument in the story is a tool, and it can be used by filling in the blanks in the following line:

‘every …. can or should …’

This simple equation to be used to find the argument in your writing even before you started writing.

If your book is about travel writing your argument could be ‘every traveler can become a travel writer’ then give them ten steps to become a travel writer.

If your book is about taming a dog, the argument you could be making is ‘every dog can be tamed even the old and rigid ones then through your book you give them ten ways how the readers can do it.

If your book is about storytelling, the argument you are making is ‘every person should become a storyteller then give them ten benefits and teach them six elements of storytelling.

What you are doing through the argument is you are entering the mind of the reader and getting them to think differently, act differently, or teach something they want to learn.

You don’t want them to just read the article/ story/ book, you want them to do something with it.

It is easy to understand the concept of every piece of writing is making an argument in non-fiction, but what about fiction writing.

In fiction writing, the argument is made through the story.

Let’s have a look at arguments in some well-known stories.

The argument Shakespeare is making in Hamlet is, ‘everyone should stand for injustice.’

The argument of Romeo and Juliet is ‘the hatred can lead to bloodshed.’

The argument the movie Rocky is making that ‘even an underdog can win.’

None of these stories give ten points to prove the arguments they make, but they do it by weaving the argument within the story.

Because without an argument, there is no story.

If you’re telling your life’s story, it’s not just a story of survival, it’s a
story of hope and perseverance, and when somebody reads that story, they’re gonna get that too and apply that to their own situation, their own obstacles that they’re facing.

And when that story should end?

When the argument has been made.

It is that simple.

Anything after that is waffle weakens the story.

Now decide on what argument you are making, with whatever piece of writing you are doing, and stop as soon as you have made it.

Just like I am at this point.

Comic writer John Vorhaus says in the book The Comic Toolbox that you don’t need funny bones for comic writing, you need tools.

The one tool he recommends is – break rules, write in a passive tense.

Here is an example:

The room was walked into by a man by whom strong, handsome features were had. A woman was met by him. The bed was lain upon by her. Then the bed was lain upon by him. Clothing was removed from them both. Sex was had. The climax was achieved. Afterward, cigarettes were smoked by them. Suddenly, the door opened by the husband of the woman by whom the bed was lain upon. A gun was held by him. Some screams were screamed and angry words were exchanged. Jealousy was felt by the man by whom the gun was held. The firing of the gun was done by him. The floor was hit by the bodies. Remorse was then felt by the man by whom the gun was held. The gun was turned upon himself. And the rest, as they say, is forensics!

I had a go at it with some random paragraphs I picked from an old diary, exaggerating it and writing it in the past tense.

1. Late waking up was done this morning. Mucking around was not held. The efficiency was experienced by achieving more in less time. The problems of the world were not contemplated upon while sitting on the throne.
   
2. A meeting was held between me and the acting boss. This week’s action items were discussed. The disagreement was reached over tiny matters. The tempers were lost. The voices were raised. Desperate attempts were made by both sides to hold their grounds. The moods were spoiled. The swords were drawn. The throats would have been slain had the meeting not gone over time. Lives were saved due to time constraints.
   
3. The gym bag was forgotten at home. A detour was made. The gym bag was picked up. The car was driven to the gym. The gym clothes were put on. The exercise was done half-heartedly. Machines were used to lift weights.
   
4. The neighbor’s doorbell was rung. The door was opened by the neighbor with work clothes still on. A piece of paper was given to her with our phone number. A verbal invitation was extended for dinner at the house owned by us. A dinner promise, made to each other fifteen years ago, was fulfilled.