An Update to My Writing Process
I began writing my last two books with an outline. The result was easier to write and a more powerful story. I have a solid outline for my sixth book, Cable Pairs, but I discovered some issues.
The main problem is that the core story is not strong, plus the flow is muddy. Readers are going to be disinterested. After working with the outline for a solid week, I developed a new method called a pre-outline.
My concept is to take my present outline and summarize each stage into a sentence. This new tool will allow me to visualize the plot and make significant changes. One might think this pre-outline is a giant step backward, but that is the beauty of an outline. At that stage, only a few hours have been spent writing.
So, I created my summary, and the problems stood out. The central plot lacked a solid theme. Essentially, it was a collection of subplots. To fix my mess, I trimmed my pre-outline to a few subplots. The result was even more disconnected. Gahhh. Try again. I wrote out my elements on a whiteboard and drew lines between them. It’s better, but it’s still a mess.
After racking my brain, I put the elements into colored blocks using Visio. I then vertically arranged the elements. The result was the same as the whiteboard, but I could quickly move things around and make rapid changes.
After a week, the result cleaned up well, but this effort eliminated a cherished subplot. Oh well.
I am now updating the original outline to match my Visio diagram, and I already see a powerful story emerging. It is good to try new solutions and experiment. I learned something.
You’re the best -Bill
August 07 2019 Updated July 8, 2024
The main problem is that the core story is not strong, plus the flow is muddy. Readers are going to be disinterested. After working with the outline for a solid week, I developed a new method called a pre-outline.
My concept is to take my present outline and summarize each stage into a sentence. This new tool will allow me to visualize the plot and make significant changes. One might think this pre-outline is a giant step backward, but that is the beauty of an outline. At that stage, only a few hours have been spent writing.
So, I created my summary, and the problems stood out. The central plot lacked a solid theme. Essentially, it was a collection of subplots. To fix my mess, I trimmed my pre-outline to a few subplots. The result was even more disconnected. Gahhh. Try again. I wrote out my elements on a whiteboard and drew lines between them. It’s better, but it’s still a mess.
After racking my brain, I put the elements into colored blocks using Visio. I then vertically arranged the elements. The result was the same as the whiteboard, but I could quickly move things around and make rapid changes.
After a week, the result cleaned up well, but this effort eliminated a cherished subplot. Oh well.
I am now updating the original outline to match my Visio diagram, and I already see a powerful story emerging. It is good to try new solutions and experiment. I learned something.
You’re the best -Bill
August 07 2019 Updated July 8, 2024
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