Fiction Notes

Tag: outline

  • General to Specific: From One Sentence to a Plot

    So, I have a general outline of my story but the writing still isn’t flowing. I realized that I need to break down major events into smaller sections, so I will know what to write. I’ve gone through two stages of plotting or outlining, each one getting more specific. Here’s an example: 1. First, I…

  • Idea to Book: Outline + Character

    How do you take an idea to a book? I am just starting the process again and every time, it overwhelms me. I know the process works, but it seems so daunting at this first stage. So, I only look forward to the next task, knowing that taking the first step will lead me onward.…

  • Outlining First Draft Reveals Structural Flaws

    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…

  • Shrunken Manuscript X-Treme

    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…

  • Plan or Improvise?

    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…

  • Nail Your Novel

    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…