Tag Archives: outline

CPGO – Step 6: Scene by Scene

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We’re down to the meat, the scene by scene outline. The structure I use for this is inherent in yWriter, but let’s talk about scenes first.

A scene is a moment in the story defined by a time and place. BiaM and You Can Write a Novel both adhere to the ten scene model. That is, action packed movies and books have ten or less major scene. Neither of them are talking about fantasy. A lot of writers I know look at the ten scene theory and freak. However, this, like other things involved in novel writing, is only a suggestion. Me? I go through and lay out the scenes without counting them.

Exercise: Do the Scene Shuffle.
If you’re having trouble figuring out which scenes go where then this might help. Write out the descriptions of each scene you know is going to be in your novel on index cards or in a software package that allows you to reorder cards or scenes. yWriter does this but sometimes I like things a little free form. My current writing computer is a touch screen with Windows 7 installed. So I use Windows stickies on the cork board. This way I have card like in real life without needing the space of the cards. Most novel writing packages have this ability and a lot of people use mind mapping software to organize. Do whatever works for you.

After I know what order my scenes are in, I create the number of chapters in yWriter I think I need. This is based off the Setting Sketch step. Currently I think I need nine chapters. Then I go to chapter one. I ignore chapter descriptions until I’m finished with the last revision. Instead, I create a scene in chapter one. I open that, give it a date, fill out the scene description, associate characters, locations and items. Finally, I fill out the Goal, Conflict and Outcome tab. I used to ignore that but I’ve found filling that out gives me a better perspective on the scene.

I do this for each scene in each chapter till I’m satisfied. I copy the date and the scene description in my timeline Excel file. I might find I need more scenes and chapters than I think I do.

This is about it. I have an outline. Used to do more rehashing of the plot sketch but stopped exactly because it was a rehash.

The next step is writing the novel. I’ll be back when I start revising Without Honor.

CPGO – Step 5: Plot Sketch

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I’ve said good-bye to BiaM and You Can Write a Novel. Smith’s book will be back when I get to the revision stage. BiaM has a little influence in what’s coming next and will have a say when I get to scenes. Then that is it. BiaM encourages outlining while writing for the rest of the book.

Step 5 is the Plot Sketch. The setting sketch was a list of settings in order of appearance with a description of the story at this place, the time period, season and about how many chapters I think it will take to write out the descriptions (which I’m usually wrong about but hey, it’s a starting place).

Now I have this snapshot of a plot, it is time to answer some questions about the plot. I create a new note called Plot Sketch in yWriter.

FDi30D called the Plot Sketch the list of the elements of the story. In all the books, the elements of the story come up. These are the Hero’s Journey, and Story in 3 Acts, Action/Reaction, Quest, Mini Climax, Black Moment, Climax, Denouement and combinations of all of these. The Plot Sketch asks questions about all of these things.

I really like Alicia Rasley’s article, Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes. Here’s a list of questions and answering them gives you a better picture of your plot. So first thing first, I answer her questions about Between Kingdoms. This covers the main character’s motivation and goals. Once I have that down I fill out FDi30D Plot Sketch.

The Plot Sketch starts with the goal and has you identify romance, subplots, conflict, resolution, downtime, black moment and resolution. I now have character motivations and an overview of the plot.

BiaM has two sheets similar to this, the Story Idea Map and the VBIAM Plot Check Sheet. I find the Story Idea Map redundant at this point. The Plot Check Sheet is sectioned off by things that happen in the story and who is there and does it advance the plot. I might come back to this for the revision but for now, I just put it aside.

Next we get down to the meaty part of the operation, scenes.

CPGO: Step 4 – Setting Sketch

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At this point I’m diverging from BiaM and You Can Write a Novel. Both mention setting briefly. Smith goes as far to suggest treating settings like a character. Instead, I’m leaving these books at the wayside for now and concentrating on the setting sketch from FDi30D.

I know where BK will be set. I’m listing the settings in yWriter and in my notes software. This is the first part of this step. Once I have the settings down for further reference, I start the setting sketch.

What I used to do is start this in my notes program in a tree view. I really don’t like this, nor do I want to use the worksheets from the book. So this time I’m looking towards yWriter to get this down. One of the features of yWriter is the ability to assign locations to scenes. Combined with scene notes I think I can pull this off.

First I write down the names of the setting in the order I think they’ll go in the novel. This could be by country, city, places within the city or times of day.

I create a chapter and a scene, naming the scene “Setting Sketch”. I add the location for that chapter by dragging it over. In the notes tab, I do the setting sketch or what I think what will happen at that setting.

The actual setting sketch details the place, time, who’s there, a summary of what happens and how many chapters I think it’s gonna take to write it out.

There are two things going on here. I’m not just getting down the where and when, but I’m also getting down the basic plot at the same time. I’m not going to go back on this part. Once it’s down I’ll reference it only once more before deleting it.

Tips for Today:

WD: I am not an Exception: That is learn the rules and follow the guidelines. There are rules on writing, submitting and publishing.

NaNo: Study your favorite authors, their voice style and content. NaNo advises practicing to write like them for awhile. This is great practice but it doesn’t belong in a finished piece.

CPGO: Asides – Story Bible

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World Building is the bane of my existence. I love it but it continually defies my need for organization. I’ve tried 3×5 cards, notebooks, loose leaf notebooks, software, and sketch books. I’ve come to terms with the need for a digital solution. Novel planning software only goes as deep as characters, locations and items. Note software seems to disappear ever few years leaving me in a panic. I’m trying to be better.

I tend to fill out my world as I write. So set up this file under step 2 if am not working on already done world. This becomes my world bible. Currently I use AllMyNotes Organizer. This gives me the organizational tree I need for my process. Before that I used Keynote, but I get antsy when software isn’t supported anymore. I know there is a new developer for that but I’m not impressed by the new version. I’ve tried Evernote, but the wiki stuff drives me nuts. I hate wiki’s with an unbridled passion. They’re reinventing the wheel and making it complicated for no reason other than to be cute. A lot of gamers like wikis as an interactive way to deal with players. IMNSHO: there are better ways to do this that don’t drive me up a wall.

Now I have a lot of books on world building both on philosophy and random tables. I don’t follow any of them for the most part. Well I do…just not in the order they may take.

Step 1: Map
I use AutoRealm to make my maps. Export them as jpg and stick a copy in a maps folder under my world name and a copy in my note program.

Step 2: Add Details
I decided the locations for the story. As I write I pull out details and stick them in my notes.

And that’s it. I get this dang thing going. I add to my maps as I discover new locations and people and things. This is totally opposite of my outline fixation. That’s why this step is an aside.

I’m all complex that way.

In the Cards:

NaNo Card: Naming. Names come from everywhere. When I used to do the secretary thing I’d write down interesting names from mailing list. Random phone book and baby book suggestions helped too.

WD Tip: Forgetting the Reader. It’s the reader, not you, whose’s going to decided what your story is about and if it’s good. They have to care about your work, understand it and want to recommend it. This is where critique groups, beta readers, and others come in handy. Find out what’s confusing, boring and fix it.

CPGO: Step 3 – Characters

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I start this step much as the last one, but this is not optional. I start entering characters into yWriter, starting with main and adding side characters next. The character file grows as the story grows, entering a new character as needed. As I mentioned before we’re in different steps in the books. So, a little back tracking.

Smith has prep as step two through three, step four is characters. Schmidt doesn’t get to characters till day four. Wiesner has characters step one in outlining.

I believe characters are the soul of the story and without them you just have a catalog of events and description…you don’t have the actually happening of action, you lose emotion without characters.
But how to do this? There are a thousand questions you can ask a character and you may not know every detail. This is how I do it.

Write what you know now and the rest will come. That’s it. I put down what I know and I just add more as the book shapes itself.

Ever character gets a description, may have a short bio and a birthplace. If I learn more I add it to the file. yWriter lets you have a description and bio separately and you can structure it how you want. I don’t give everyone a name…some people are just their job description unless they speak up. Any dates I come up with go into that timeline (See Step2) in Excel so I can keep track of my timing.

FDi30D gets complicated on characters. The character sketch is a simple sheet, but then she has character settings (sheets where you list the areas you might find the characters. And in her research she includes research for these locations and accents and such. Too much. Write what you have then go on till you discover it later.

Smith has two notepads of forms for major and minor characters. I prefer the computer. He does have a point about listing flaws and grace. So I’ll keep note on that. I don’t actively search out pictures but grab them when I see them. I do write down interesting names I see, but that’s outside of the outline process and something I just do. Smith talks a lot about habits to pick up as a writer. They are good but I have those. His best advice just put down with you need. Creating characters can be a full time job and distract you from writing. Smith concentrates on files and such in the physical realm…I try to stay digital.

Sit that damn character in a chapter and take what you can get. Mainly I try to get:
Description, Short Bio, Name, Occupation, Goals, birth place. There you go.

Schmidt has you enter characters as you summarize and detail but on day four it’s the fill out stage. Quick characters and special scenes for those characters. Ugh. No. Too much. These are long worksheets. I try to come up with fears and such when they are needed in the story then back fill.

Remember when I said I have sundry stuff. Well I took a look through that and I have a character sheet that is just too long. I like Wiesner’s sheet and I’ll stick to that.

So onto our Tips from NaNo and Writer’s Digest today!

NaNo Card: Aim Low…They’re not saying you should not do your best…just remember complete it and change it later. Obviously with this process I’m aiming to cut down on that time.

WD Tip: Misusing Writing Groups. There are people (you know who you are) who use a group for social and self gratification…which is fine, but instead of getting things done they just endlessly work on the same project…never finishing. I’ll admit sometimes it looks like I’ll never finish. Obviously I’m part of a group but it moves me forward with criticism to make my writing better. If at any time you can’t see the goal for the trees, time to see if you need those trees.

CPGO: Step 2 – Research List & Setup

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I have my idea written down. Time for step 2. This is where the books start to diverge. However I think this is the perfect time to start a research list and gather things I might need.

In ywriter, I click on Project notes and create a research note. I note anything I think I might need to research. Actual research will come later and I’ll probably add to it as I think of other things.

Some of the books such as Smith, suggest doing things like creating a fake cover, a sound track, magazine pictures anything to inspire. I don’t seek these things out on purpose. If I find them I take note, but this is not what I mean by setup.

I already have my yWriter file started. I need a new POV time-line sheet. For this I use Excel. What else? Depending on what I’m writing, I create entries in my little note software for world building.

This is a completely optional step. You may not really need research and maybe your setup is opening Word. This is just how I do it.

Let’s look at our writing tips!

NaNo Card 2: It’s rough for a reason
Problem 2: Not finishing

Whether its perfection or time getting in your way the object it write and finish it! Set yourself some goals and deadlines. Everyone of these books tells you to do that. Next, stick to them.

A Crazy Person’s Guide to Outlining: Step One-The Idea

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Time to do another outline. I feel like I must be a schizophrenic outliner. I have a bunch of books on the subject, I tend to pick and choose through them, and I edit the outline as I go. When I first discovered that I wasn’t a “pantser” I found my characters went left, a lot. That led to maps and that, eventually led to outlines.

So yeah, outline. Excuse the dust while I figure all this crap out. I figure if I do it in public I’ll actually get my process down. I’m sure most of you will laugh at me, but I’m used to it.

And books. Here are the books that, over the years, I’ve gleaned pieces and parts from. I’ve not gone through all these books completely. I’m taking time to do that now.

First Draft in 30 Days by Karen S. Wiesner: This is first book I ever got on outlining a novel. It’s badly titled but contains a way of looking at outlining that I had never scene before. It gave me several tools that I really rely on now.

No Plot No Problem Novel-Writing Kit by Chris Baty: In some circles the book is considered the pantser’s bible. I cheated and just got the kit…which I find inspirational every November. Not sure how well it worked into outlining. I’m relying on the daily cards for this, the other items (cheer-leading and inspiration for NaNo) I’m not going to worry about.

Writer’s Digest Writing Kit Okay this is full of idea cards and mini markets and tips. I got it for a birthday a few years ago…it’s still sealed. Seems to be aimed at beginners. Inside are cards with basic writing tips and definitions, an idea deck, a market list and writing tips. I’m going to use the writing tips and ignore the rest for this exercise.

You Can Write A Novel Kit by James V. Smith: I loved Smith’s Writer’s Little Helper, as it was just that, a tiny book with a ton of help. And this has forms too. I like forms.

Book in a Month by Victoria Lynn Schmidt: This book advocates writing while outlining. Which drives me nuts. But it has forms…and I am a form sucker.

From First Draft to Finished Novel by Karen S. Wiesner: I’ve skimmed this book so not sure how much I’ll use.

Sundry Items: There are various tips, worksheets and such I’ve collected over the years. I’ll be referring to these as well from time to time.

So anyway on to Day One, Step One! Oh wait, you want to know why?

I started Without Honor in 2001, just after September. Not only was the world as we know it imploding but my life imploded as well. That’s nearly nine years. I have plenty of partial manuscripts around…why did my first novel take that long to complete?

I had no idea what I was doing. A creative writing degree doesn’t deal with novel composition at all. Okay it may now, but back then it sure didn’t. This was odd, considering how many novels we had to read. (I had fifty to ready for one class that fall of 2001…they were YA novels but still that’s not including the rest of my course load).

Without Honor started as a hokey dream that basically played out like a title sequence of my friends dressed in renfair garb playing up to the camera while they played up to the camera and theme music.

Yes, my dreams are weird. Back on topic:

I started a short story, decided I had a novel. I think I wrote three scenes…and then didn’t touch it until December 2002, after my first NaNo and had 16,000 words towards a sequel that would become two chapters of WH.

My life was crazy. I was writing every day but most of it was non-fic and helped me do things like provided food for my daughter. Now I have this finished thing except for a final sweeping revision…and I really like it.

I want to do that again, in a much smaller span of time.

Technically, Between Kingdoms already has an outline. However, I haven’t looked at it for a long time. The one written scene was written nearly six years ago. Let’s start fresh and get this down and ready.

Step One: The Idea

Everything starts with the glimmer of an idea. Ideas come from anywhere, a phrase, a joke, a mention, a dream, real life, fiction, anywhere.

I’ve heard a few would be authors’ claim they have so many ideas and can’t pick one. Write them down, pick one, work on it, finish it and then go onto the next. How is that hard…well I’ll get to that.

The current project came to me in a dream. A long narrative dream which I still remember vividly. I kept it in my head for a long time thing about it. Percolating as several authors call it. Now to get it in a novel I have to define it. So let’s start this outline.

1. Get an Idea
Got one? Good. No? Wiesner suggests brainstorming, reading, etc. Schimidt has a questionnaire about likes and dislikes to help you come up with an idea. Write that idea down. If notes, pictures and such come while your formulating…stick them all together. Smith suggests a salable idea. Then he states know one knows what that is until they see it. So make sure the idea is something you love and are willing to research and devote time too. If not. Drop it.

2. Write the Idea Down
Describe the idea in one sentence. Schmidt calls this the pitch. Smith calls this the nugget and includes title as well as small paragraph. Starting with a sentence you have the idea condensed from the start. It saves later condensing, and can be rewritten if the central idea changes later. I open yWriter, start a new project. Open the project settings and fill out the project description. Title, one sentence, followed by a paragraph.

3. Idea and Reality
Smith has a test for checking your idea. It’s like a Cosmo quiz that start’s “How do you rate?”. He also lists some Cardinal Rules that boil down to don’t be boring. This is similar to Richard Peck’s 10 Questions ask about your Novel. I don’t write these down but ask myself these questions about my idea.

And that’s step one. Now for inspiration!

NaNoWriMo Card 1: Just Write
Problem One: Not Writing

You know why not everyone who has an idea writes a novel? Because they don’t write.