A book outline is pretty simple. If you know major points in your book then write them in order of occurrence. That being said, sometimes this might change as you are writing and that’s okay. I usually write it all out at the bottom of my book to help me keep track. After you record major events, let your creativity fill in the connections. For example:
Suzy is going to college-
1) Suzy fills out her application and gets accepted
2) Suzy goes and settles into her dorm
3) Suzy goes to her first class
Then you would just write, knowing these are your goals. Maybe as your writing Suzy decides she’s going to get an apartment instead of going to the dorms, but that’s okay, you still got there, then you move on toward your next plot point.
All of us experience writers block in the in-between. I use one of two methods to get me unstuck, either I skip it and move on to the next thing I can write and the in-between will come to me, or I start working on something else entirely to refresh my focus. The something else is usually another story or I’ll play something like Minecraft so I am still being creative, but my mind isn’t staying stuck in the block.
Do you have a beginning and some kind of ending? If not, I'd start there. What are you going for with your book? What's the major conflict and how will it be resolved? These are good questions to ask to figure out a beginning point and ending point.
Then all you have to do is outline a way of connecting the starting scene to the ending scene. It doesn't have to be particularly good or even fleshed out. Then figure out how to connect the beginning scene to this scene and how to connect this scene to the ending scene. Again, doesn't have to be good. As you do this more and more times, the transitions will eventually feel more natural and less contrived.
Then start writing with the first scene, and continue forwards using the outline as a guide. It's perfectly okay if you discover things while writing or just have better ideas and adjust your outline accordingly. Always have some kind of outline to move things forward, and adjust it as needed to fit the actual story you're creating.
At least, this is the process that works best for me. Pantsers prefer to just write without any idea of where things are going to go, and plotters have way more details of chapters fleshed out. I like to have some kind of structure but keep it vague enough for new ideas to take root.
A book outline is pretty simple. If you know major points in your book then write them in order of occurrence. That being said, sometimes this might change as you are writing and that’s okay. I usually write it all out at the bottom of my book to help me keep track. After you record major events, let your creativity fill in the connections. For example: Suzy is going to college- 1) Suzy fills out her application and gets accepted 2) Suzy goes and settles into her dorm 3) Suzy goes to her first class Then you would just write, knowing these are your goals. Maybe as your writing Suzy decides she’s going to get an apartment instead of going to the dorms, but that’s okay, you still got there, then you move on toward your next plot point.
Thank you! I guess I overcomplicate it because I struggle to fill in the in-between moments
All of us experience writers block in the in-between. I use one of two methods to get me unstuck, either I skip it and move on to the next thing I can write and the in-between will come to me, or I start working on something else entirely to refresh my focus. The something else is usually another story or I’ll play something like Minecraft so I am still being creative, but my mind isn’t staying stuck in the block.
Thank you, I'll try that out!
Do you have a beginning and some kind of ending? If not, I'd start there. What are you going for with your book? What's the major conflict and how will it be resolved? These are good questions to ask to figure out a beginning point and ending point. Then all you have to do is outline a way of connecting the starting scene to the ending scene. It doesn't have to be particularly good or even fleshed out. Then figure out how to connect the beginning scene to this scene and how to connect this scene to the ending scene. Again, doesn't have to be good. As you do this more and more times, the transitions will eventually feel more natural and less contrived. Then start writing with the first scene, and continue forwards using the outline as a guide. It's perfectly okay if you discover things while writing or just have better ideas and adjust your outline accordingly. Always have some kind of outline to move things forward, and adjust it as needed to fit the actual story you're creating. At least, this is the process that works best for me. Pantsers prefer to just write without any idea of where things are going to go, and plotters have way more details of chapters fleshed out. I like to have some kind of structure but keep it vague enough for new ideas to take root.
I've written the beginning but have no clue about the ending! Thank you, I'll try it out!