Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Camp NaNo Outlining: Outlining

(I did have pictures for this, but it wouldn't post with them.)

Here I will show you how I outline, what program, and my process.

I usually start outlining by writing a synopsis. This year, I did it differently. I wrote a synopsis and an excerpt for my description of the novel on the camp nano site (not that it made much of a difference). Anyhow, this should usually be the first step in writing for anybody--whether it's an official summary or if it's just "oh, I wanna write a book about a guy and a girl who fall in love."

I put more thought into mine.

I sit down, type out what I want to happen so I can get a general idea of what I want to put into my book. If you click the picture, I'm sure it will enlarge, you can read my summary.

When I outline, I usually do the Main Characters second. This includes all frequently-featured people, a brief summary of their lives and their personality, and their names. I add onto this list as I outline and I feel like I've added more main characters.

Third, I write the outline of each chapter. On this, I put the date because that's what day it is. This novel is going to take place over the course of three years, so I am going to need to keep track of the days not only for my sake but for the reader's.

Lastly, while I outline (you'll probably run into this issue if you're writing historical fiction like I am or if you don't know something.) I run into some kind of bump into road, whether it be that I don't know what they wore back then, what something is called, or whatever. I need to research. So at the end of my outline presentation I put a few slides dedicated to research info and notes. I add on as I go and I just put my thoughts on the board.

Well, I know this was short, but I hope it helps!

(for a different, but more in-depth version of outlining, please watch YouTuber Katytastic's video on outlining.)

(I use Apache Open Office's Presentation Program to make slides for each section and chapter and such.)

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