THE EXCITING JOURNEY OF Writing
a Fictional Book
"IT'S A LUXURY BEING A WRITER,
BECAUSE ALL YOU EVER THINK ABOUT IS LIFE."
AMY TAN
BECAUSE ALL YOU EVER THINK ABOUT IS LIFE."
AMY TAN
THE OUTLINE- A Writer's Best Friend
5/8/2017
Please do not get me wrong, it can be exhilarating, but it can be very difficult. My second book began with a comedic flavor, which was similar to my first although the first from beginning to end was a romantic comedy. I would say near the halfway point of the second it took a sharp right and moved from light hearted to adventure/Sci-Fi thriller. I wrote both books without an outline. A small side note here: If you want to be a better than average writer, study, write, read, and repeat constantly. Respected people in the arts, writers, singers, photographer, composer, comedian, actor, screenwriter, all teach classes by video. 20-25 lessons, each video ten to fourteen minutes long, with exercises, and workbooks. I took the class from James Patterson and it was invaluable. Why, the man is one of the most successful authors. He talks about writing for over 3 hours of classes. The most important take away from his class. OUTLINING YOUR NOVEL I half listened the first time through the videos. The second time it resonated loud enough that I decided to give a shot. I outlined five chapters and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I could see not only the plot unfold, but characters developed, I created dialog, and most importantly the homogeneous ending and beginning of each chapter. It was a revelation. As though I had discovered fire for the first time! When the outline was finished, I had 12,000 words and a story. The outline offered me a flexibility to see the story in its entirety before I began to write. I could add and subtract where I felt necessary, tighten up loose ends, but most importantly, it kept me on track. I no longer worried about "what will I write today?" If I was stuck, I looked at the outline and made notes. I could answer questions of why, what, where, and who. I could walk away for a day or a week and begin where I left off without any anxiety of "where was I." If there is one central lesson to all of this that I learned is why make writing a story any more difficult than it already is. As writers, we begin with an idea and start typing away. I saved myself time and energy. It was far easier to write an outline of 7000-12,000 words than sweating half way through an 80,000-word novel only to decide it is not any good and trashed it. It definitely gives you the opportunity, early on, to see your story in the bigger picture. It answers a writer's crucial question, "Is the story worth writing?" If the answer is yes, you have a road map to guide you. The worst that can happen is that it works for you and makes writing your novel the exciting journey it is meant to be. #outline your book before you write,#book outline,#james patterson, #masterclass,#robert stephen, #be a writer,#novelist,#outline |
AuthorRobert Stephen. Archives
September 2018
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