It’s Preptober! AKA: the month before NaNoWriMo, where we overachieving writers frantically prepare ourselves to write an entire novel in the month of November.
October is always a crazy month for writers who decide to take on National Novel Writing Month – the challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. But it’s actually one of my favorite times of year. Why? Because fall is in the air, chai lattes abound, and it’s the month I get to spend on my favorite part of the storytelling process: outlining.
I get a lot of questions about how I outline my novels. And although I’ve made quite a few videos delving into various methods of outlining, plotting, and character creation, I thought it was about time I really dig deep into my own outlining process and why it works so well for me.
Introducing my new series: outline a novel with me!
This is going to be a whole month-long series and I’m so excited to share my outlining and prep method with you. Here’s a glimpse of what it will look like:
Episode #1: Characters
The first step in my outlining process is creating a developing my characters. As you always hear me say, story is not about “what happens” – it’s about HOW what happens affects and transforms the characters. In this episode I’ll share my Ultimate Character Profile™, which includes a no-nonsense questionnaire and a character goals therapy session (sounds weird, but it works.) Plus we’ll talk about the importance of writing backstory for your characters.
Episode #2: 3-Act Story Structure
The next step in my outlining process is taking my ideas and seeing how they fit inside the 3-act story structure. It’s vital to know how your plot fits together and flows naturally with your character’s journey/transformation. I’ll also be sharing the template for the 3-act story structure, which includes helpful prompts and questions to keep you on track.
Episode #3: Outlining
When my structure is complete, I’ll start filling in the detail. I need a super detailed synposis of a story before I start writing it, or else I will definitely get writer’s block! My outlines usually end up being somewhere around 15,000-20,000 words long because of this. But you may or may not need this much detail from the outset for your book.
Episode #4: Scene Cards
AKA: the magic weapon of storytelling. Scene cards are amazing because they literally force you to make every single scene matter to your story, to your characters, and ultimately, to the reader. I’ll show you how I use scene cards for my own story, then give you the template to make your own scene cards for your NaNo novel.
I’m so excited for this series!! It’s going to be so much fun to outline our books together.
WATCH THE INTRODUCTION VIDEO:
Let’s talk.
Let’s talk NaNoWriMo! What does YOUR preptober look like? How do you prepare yourself for the chaos of NaNo? And are you excited for this behind-the-scenes outlining series? (I am! in case that wasn’t obvious lol)
If you liked this episode of WritersLife Wednesday, please share it with a writer friend! Also be sure to subscribe to my channel to get new videos every Wednesday all about writing, publishing, and making your author dreams come true.
Rock on,
Abbie
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