The super structure method is an outlining method by James Scott Bell. If you struggle plotting your fiction story, keep reading!
Do you outline before you write or write as you go? There's no right or wrong, whether you're a plotter or pantser. The key is to play up your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Find out their differences and pros and cons.
The super structure method is an outlining method by James Scott Bell. If you struggle plotting your fiction story, keep reading!
The truth is, when what you write isn't good enough for you any more, you must become better. You must always strive to be better ...
Do you outline before you write or write as you go? There's no right or wrong, whether you're a plotter or pantser. The key is to play up your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Find out their differences and pros and cons.
That title doesn’t appear to make much sense, does it? You might be thinking, do you even know what those words mean? One is either a plotter or a pantser. If you’re a plotter, you outline. You lik…
So many writers give up on their novel is because it feels confusing. But it doesn't have to be hard! Here's the ultimate guide to outlining your novel. Easy!
The super structure method is an outlining method by James Scott Bell. If you struggle plotting your fiction story, keep reading!
Do you outline before you write or write as you go? There's no right or wrong, whether you're a plotter or pantser. The key is to play up your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Find out their differences and pros and cons.
The super structure method is an outlining method by James Scott Bell. If you struggle plotting your fiction story, keep reading!
Do you outline before you write or write as you go? There's no right or wrong, whether you're a plotter or pantser. The key is to play up your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Find out their differences and pros and cons.
When it comes to outlining vs. improvising, I’ve found that we all do the same steps in a different order. Many writing conversations (whether on panels, in blog posts, etc.) discuss a plotter vs. pantser binary, plotters being outliners, authors who plan work thoroughly before beginning, while the pantser, from the expression “fly by the […]
You're a new author. How do you outline a novel when you know that your imagination doesn't work that way? Here's an easy method to outline as you go.
The outline is a valuable writing tool! Learn about 5 common (& popular outlining) methods plus how to customize them for plotters, pantsers, and planters.
So many writers give up on their novel is because it feels confusing. But it doesn't have to be hard! Here's the ultimate guide to outlining your novel. Easy!
What kind of outlining technique (for those of you who are plotters) do you use to plan out your novel? Note cards? Old-fashioned number and letter outline? Rory Hayfield-Husbands: Coming up with ideas for each scenario and then discussing it with like minded people. Anna Grace Carpenter: When I outline (which is not all the time) I use the index card method. Those are then transferred/typed into a doc that serves as my first draft. As I write the chapters that cover each scene I delete the plot points out of the outline until there are none left - just the manuscript. (But, I also use outlines more for sequels or revisions now than the initial first drafts of first books.) Jonah Mason: The best method I know is to outline the story in a couple of paragraphs, hitting the high spots in a prose way. It's not technically an outline, more of a "treatment," like you might do for a script. Jeremy Hicks: A mix of methods. I was using a legal pad and note cards today, actually. Pamela Turner: I use Scrivener's index cards to outline. I use regular index cards, too, but at least with Scrivener, I can read my notes. :-) Gordon Dymowski: I just use paper (a notebook or legal pad) and pencil - my outlines are usually in bullet point form. (I'm not too pedantic about format - the outline is there for me to organize ideas) Brian K. Morris: I start out with an elevator pitch for the basic story, add an ending (that I will likely change at least once as I write), then flesh out the story using the Lester Dent Master Plot as my guide before working on the first draft. Percival Constantine: I don’t have a consistent method. Sometimes I’ll use a mindmapping program to focus, other times I’ll scribble in a notebook, but it usually ends with scene descriptions in Scrivener’s notecards. James Palmer: I just write them out in Scrivener. I figure out my plot points, then do a scene outline, one chapter per scene. Janice Elliott: Howard I use a mind map software. It is called Free Mind and it can be found online for free. Because the human brain is not designed to organize our thoughts in a linear fashion as we are taught throughout our schooling, this method improves recall and next steps easier. I can honestly map out an entire book using it. Bill Craig: I don't normally outline unless it is going to be a lengthy project, and then I used the number and letter method that I learned in school. Mike Baron: Detailed outline. Sarah Lucy Beach: Writers Blocks computer program. It allows me to shuffle elements around if necessary. Alison Marceau: Depends on if I have the story completely mapped out, I've used notebooks to just summarize, maybe write a snippet or dialogue so I don't forget it or that will remind me. Key words and the like. I'll also do separate notes for research and character details. GoogleDocs is awesome for all of it. There are also "writer's guide" apps, too, that help you keep track of the details and outlines and settings. I have them downloaded but haven't used them yet, though. Neen Edwards: Note 8... I have a lot of saved sticky notes. Matt Hiebert: Outlines of each chapter. Ian Totten: First I do a quick outline to get an order for all the important things, then I do a detailed chapter by chapter outline that runs 30-40 pages. Duane Spurlock: I do about ten bullet points and typically start ignoring them by the time I hit the third or fourth. The bullet points make a perfectly good plot. It just seems, as I get a little ways into the story, I want to be entertained and surprised by it, just as if I'm reading it, not writing it. I think that helps the spontaneity that we want to come across to the readers as they experience the story. Derrick Ferguson: I admire writers who have every detail, every twist and turn of the plot/story figured out before they type Word One, but that doesn't work for me. If I know everything about the story then what's the point of me writing it? I like to leave plenty of wiggle room to surprise myself with the direction that the story and the characters take because I figure that if it surprises me and I'm writing the damn thing then it sure as shootin' will surprise whoever ends up reading it. Jason Waltman: Note cards are you friends Mark Bousquet: I've got a journal where I jot down whatever thoughts come to mind about the stories and characters and events. Sometimes I'll write dialogue exchanges. Scenes. Notes to myself about where to keep my focus. I'll create pressure diagrams. Usually I'll end up rewriting and reworking and refining the main story as I work through this, then get to a narrative outline, often broken down into acts or movements. Josh Duke: Ive found that if I write out an outline I lose the drive to flesh it out. I take notes, i jot down key dialogue to remind me of a direction or scene- but I just let it grow as it will. Ive found if I do that, I inadvertently end up creating complex connections and story threads I didnt expect to. Danielle Procter Piper: I know where it begins, I know where it ends, but the journey to the last part often surprises me.
If you cut my wrist, I’d bleed pantser all over you. Which, for anyone that knows me in real life, is about as ironic as you can get. I’m hyper organised. I have lists of lists and spreadsheets to make even the hardiest of geeks weep. I’m so extreme my wife has to schedule in […]
Is it possible to plot a novel when you are a pantser? Yes, it is!
The outline is a valuable writing tool! Learn about 5 common (& popular outlining) methods plus how to customize them for plotters, pantsers, and planters.
Some act like there are plotters and pantsers and nothing in between, but there's really no end to the mix of approaches we can use in our drafting.
The super structure method is an outlining method by James Scott Bell. If you struggle plotting your fiction story, keep reading!
Do you outline before you write or write as you go? There's no right or wrong, whether you're a plotter or pantser. The key is to play up your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Find out their differences and pros and cons.
The super structure method is an outlining method by James Scott Bell. If you struggle plotting your fiction story, keep reading!
Do you outline before you write or write as you go? There's no right or wrong, whether you're a plotter or pantser. The key is to play up your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Find out their differences and pros and cons.
And so yes, I did it! Well, at least I succeed in NaNoWriMo. I wrote just over 50.000 words in the month of November, which turned out to be my entire story. What I didn’t succeed in doing is keeping you guys posted. The truth is that, between work and social commitments and NaNo itself,
In many writing communities, there are two common approaches to writing a novel.
Half of writers are plotters, and the other half are pantsers. One is not the right way or the wrong way; there is only the way that works best for you.
Novel Outlines: 3 Case Studies. How 3 writers used forward planning to write their novels fast and efficiently without compromising quality.
The outline is a valuable writing tool! Learn about 5 common (& popular outlining) methods plus how to customize them for plotters, pantsers, and planters.
The super structure method is an outlining method by James Scott Bell. If you struggle plotting your fiction story, keep reading!
Plotter vs. pantser? Are you trying to write or plan a story but don't know when it is better to plot or pants? This article can guide you.
Last week I confessed all kind of Pantser secrets. Like the fact I’m a filthy dirty cheating hybrid and I actually sit somewhere in the middle of the plotter-pantser hot tub party. One of the biggest differences between plotters and pantsers is whether or not they outline. In last week’s post, I talked through the first three […]
Good Morning, Creatives! Friday is finally upon us! How was your week? Any new ideas pop up, or old projects wrapped up and tied with a neat bow? Friday is the perfect time to wrap things up, or to…
Writers tend to fall somewhere on the spectrum of plotter or pantser and stay there. But Sacha Black tells a different story.
By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund Some writers are plotters. They thrive on planning out their books in great detail, making outline...
So many writers give up on their novel is because it feels confusing. But it doesn't have to be hard! Here's the ultimate guide to outlining your novel. Easy!
John Peragine shares 7 MORE plotting methods to whip that novel into shape. Whether you are a plotter or a pantser, this post will help organize your novel.
My journey from pantsing to plotting, and how I got to the point of publishing my YA fantasy 'Woken Kingdom'.
“Are you a planner or a pantser?” This is a frequently asked question in the writing world. On the surface, it’s a simple matter of inquiring whether you create a detailed plan before you write or you throw caution to the muse and fly by the seat of your pants. Naturally, once the process is proclaimed, the writer develops a need to defend it with unwavering loyalty. The level of passion and conviction generated can often rival other critical life … Read More »
