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Use Outlines to Revise Fiction Organization of a nonfiction piece of writing is paramount. Ideas and/or should build upon each other is an inevitable progression that leads to understanding. For fiction, the outline is the plot structure, events unfolding in an inevitable progression that lead to entertainment. When you use a narrative structure for creative [...]
Guest post by Carol Fisher Saller Writing Eddie’s War, which consists of 76 prose-poem vignettes, wasn’t easy. I’ve chronicled elsewhere the trouble I got myself into by writing the scenes every which-way in random order without first outlining a plot or getting to know my characters. I’d think of a scene and write it—mostly little [...]
Which camp do you fall into? Do you plan your novel extensively before you write a single word? Or, do you improvise as you go along? A friend is starting a new novel at the same time I’m working on a new novel and it’s interesting to see the difference in our approach. Character. He’s [...]
Review of Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris British author and writing teacher Roz Morris has a new book out just in time to help you with that first draft of your new novel. You know, the one you’re going to write in November for National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNoWriMo. Hiccups in [...]
In parts 1 & 2, I discussed 8 ways to plot. This last plotting idea is about deepening and extending the effectiveness of a plot. 9. Success Plot Enhancers. There are two books which stand out, not for their overall structure of a novel, but for deepening the impact of a novel:
While my WIP novel is out with readers, I thought I’d look at my process for this novel and how it differed from others. Writing Process for Novels Vary Widely Writing process varies. First, my process was different for this novel. I find this to be always true, that what worked for one novel, won’t [...]
My WIP novel has hit a snag. I was just writing along, following the plot I outlined, concentrating on using strong scenes this time, when I came to a curious section. Choosing a Point of View Character Here the main character (MC) needs to be housebound because of a flu epidemic. But the plot requires [...]
This is part of a year-long series about those intrepid newcomers, The Class of 2k8. To help marketing efforts for debut novelists, these 28 novelists have banded together to create a group marketing effort. PJ Hoover: Class of 2K8 My Writing Space My writing space didn’t use to exist. Grand two-story entries were all the [...]
When you’re thinking about writing a picture book, the structure if important. With about fourteen double-page spreads, it’s time to turn to Shakespeare for some help. Sonnets and Picture Books I think you can compare picture book structure to the structure of poetry. For example, sonnets have 14 lines, picture books can have 14 double-page [...]
When do you start revising your novel? I start by revising the first draft of my novel’s plot outline, synopsis or treatment. Revise Early and Late As soon as I’ve written the first sketchy outlines of a novel, I’m revising. I’m looking for many things: Does the climax resolve the setup? Are the main characters [...]
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