This morning I talked with an aspiriing writer Hemingwaywantabes, and first bit of advice I gave her was to sketch out an outline whether it’s on a torn napkin, a yellow sheet of paper, or the computer. Just a few potential chapter headings will do along with perhaps three or four lines describing the proposed content. This is a great starting point since while the initial outline may not be the final one, the book starts to take shape.
A common mistake aspiring authors and poets make is to begin writing before they prepare an outline. Whether the genre is long fiction, non-fiction, short stories, or magazine articles, a roadmap of some sort is essential. Working without an outline is akin to a builder starting construction without blueprints.
Many fiction and poetry writers swear that preparation of an outline inhibits the creative process. They insist the story flows best if they have no preconceived idea where creative thoughts will lead. This process can be effective for seasoned writers, but beginners should consider preparing at least a “mental outline,” if not a written one, to guide organization of the text.
An outline doesn’t have to be formal. I scribbled the outline for one of my books on folded sheets of torn paper while awaiting the arrival of a playwright in Mill Valley, California. Within a few minutes, the backbone of the book was created. Since then, revisions have been made to embellish the text, but the outline has never varied.
An outline should be well defined. Meat from the bones of the outline—manuscript text—will flow more freely when you have an established direction. This requires a clear understanding of the message to be conveyed through the story. Accomplishing this goal will take time and considerable thought.
Jeffrey Deaver, author of the best-selling Bone Collector, is an advocate of outlines. “I sit down with a very rough concept of the story,” he stated, “and then over the next eight months, I do a very elaborate outline . . . That’s my full-time job doing the outline for six or seven days, eight to ten hours a day.”
Once the outline is completed, Deaver permits it to settle in a manner similar “. . . to the ritual with baking a cake.” “You let things solidify,” he explains, “and then you go back and look at it.”
Outline forms vary, but the standard practice is to utilize chapter headings with abbreviated text describing the chapter content. The chapter headings will become chapter titles when the book is completed. They provide readers with a guide to the text.
The outline will dictate the means by which the story unfolds, whether in chronological order or through other storytelling alternatives. Never forget the reader demands entertainment, excitement, and information unavailable anywhere else. The last thing you can afford is to be boring, confusing, or predictable.
The Prologue, if there is one, or the first chapter if there is no Prologue, must be strong enough to hook the reader. When considering storytelling alternatives, determine the most compelling moments within your anticipated text. They may occur in the initial stages of the story, in the middle, or toward the end. This text should be the leadoff man, so to speak, the foot soldier to set up the remainder of the book. Potential purchasers may turn to the Prologue and/or Chapter One to check the beginning of the story. If they’re hooked, the book is sold.
Teasing readers with an episode of the story without revealing the entire mix of events or characters has proven successful for many authors. To determine if that style will suffice for you, test it. Consider providing just enough information to hook the reader. Once the material is fashioned, begin the story in chronological order and move forward. Flashbacks are said to be the work of the lazy man, but millions of authors have utilized this mechanism.
Creative revision of the outline, again and again, will produce a solid foundation upon which a successful novel or work of non-fiction can be built. Patience and hard work pays off.
Like fiction writers, many poets view preparation of an outline as akin to blasphemy. They say the words simply flow, and the creative process would be blocked if they took the time to outline their intended message. If this is the case, then there is no need to labor over the blueprint for the poem. But many poets also swear that by jotting down a few thoughts about the intended poem, they may organize their thoughts to better stay on course.
Outlines are one of theauthor or poet’s best friends. Good friends.
hemingwaywantabes 