25. September 2010 by Gore Wehner.

There is no “right” way to outline. Some people write scene ideas on 3×5 cards. Others detail every move a character will make on a chart that encompasses an entire wall (or two). Still others write a stream of consciousness path for their character, jotting down possible subplots in the margins. Here is my advice, though, for those of you struggling to begin.

Before you start to outline, I encourage you to consider these questions:

1)   What is your story’s theme? That is, what do you want to get across to the reader? Crime doesn’t pay? Love can be found when you least expect it? Nobody’s perfect?

2)   Who is your main character? What is his/her background? What will they discover about themselves over the course of this novel? How does that work into the novel’s theme?

3)   What does your character want throughout the novel? Why is it important to them? Or are they hiding their true feelings about this? And if they are, why?

4)   What is getting in the way of your character’s goal? If it’s another person, how is this person interfering? How does that work into the theme?

5)   How do you want the novel to end? What questions will you want answered? What do you want the reader to ponder after he/she reads the last page?

You will notice I mention theme quite a bit. That is so that you, the writer, remain on track and don’t meander all over the place. It’s easy to become sidetracked. Say you start off writing about a woman mourning her dead husband. Then she realizes his death wasn’t an accident. Then she falls in love with the detective handling her case. Then she finds out she’s pregnant. Then after her daughter is born she discovers the girl has epilepsy. Then your character ends up in a car accident and can’t care for her. Then she…Okay, you get the picture. Too much going on, and we don’t know where it’s headed.

But let’s say you decide the theme will be “Open your mind, and it will open your heart.” Now you have a direction. Your character loses her husband and decides he was the only one for her. She will never love again. The loss was too painful. Then she realizes his death wasn’t an accident. And that he was living a double life married to another woman (Lifetime movie watchers love this stuff!). Now she never wants to be involved with anyone because she’s been hurt. (Her goal—to never find love again—has been reinforced!)

Of course, something has to happen to pry open that heart that’s shut tight as a clamshell. And here is where outlining helps! You may have a million ideas where to go with this…or no idea at all. If you have many ideas, this is where those 3×5 cards come in handy. If you have no ideas…stream of consciousness brainstorming may just work. To do that, simply write what if, and follow it up with a possibility.

Here’s an example in the story I came up with: What if she bumps into an old boyfriend who, regretting letting her get away in the past, tries to woo her? (Uh, yes. I used the word woo. Love that word.) OR what if she loses her job and her house, and decides to go looking for a millionaire to marry to support her, knowing full well love won’t enter into the equation. OR what if she has a one-night stand and becomes pregnant and the man wants to be in her life? I could what if for hours. The ideas are endless. But remember, I need to stay within the theme, so my what if must remain on a particular pathway. I would not, for example, say what if my character looks for someone to replace her husband? Because remember, she needs to open her mind in order to open her heart.

So here is an idea of how you might chart all this:

1) Character (backstory): Lizzie. Loves camping, swimming, sports. Played on the tennis team in both high school and college. Met her husband, Donald, at a college tennis match.

2) Five years into their marriage, her cell phone rings while working as Human Resources Manager at a sports supply company. It’s the police calling to say her husband has been killed in a plane accident. (Start story from here?)

3) After the funeral, she promises him she will remain faithful, and never marry again. (Perhaps this was a discussion they had early in their marriage?) She decides she will never take off her wedding band. (The wedding band will be very significant as a symbol throughout novel.)

4) Her best friend, Helen, gives exciting news that she and her husband Bill are expecting a baby. While supporting her friend throughout the experience, Lizzie can’t help but feel envious. She and Donald had always wanted children, they had chosen to wait for the right time, but the right time was stolen from Lizzie when Donald was killed.

5) During a visit to where Donald worked to pick up his things, she discovers a letter exposing Donald’s infidelity.

Okay, you see where this is going. I’m covering main points, placing ideas that come to me in parentheses, and leaving out many areas to explore as far as character growth and development. It is a general outline, drawn up so I know where I am headed as far as plot (and maybe subplots) go. I am not detailing where she lives, her mother who may (or may not) play a large role in this, or her dog, Sam, who is her loyal friend and sleeps with her now that Donald is gone. But I can, if I feel they play a crucial role in the plot.

Remember, this is YOUR outline. As long as you remain true to your theme, you can explore many interesting options within the story line. Let’s just say you want a subplot in this story, and you want it to say something different from your theme. Instead of “Open your mind, and it will open your heart,” it is: “Let everyone in, except the people closest to you.” Lizzie’s mother has her own secrets. She’s very gregarious, talks candidly about her life to anyone who will listen. It drives Lizzie, who is a very private person, crazy. Especially since her mother refuses to talk to her about Lizzie’s father, who died when Lizzie was young.

What about outlining this sub-plot and making it tie in? There are millions of ways I could do this. But I need it to go along with my theme, remember. So when Lizzie’s mother reveals Lizzie’s father was a philanderer, guess what? It brings Lizzie and her mother closer. Change is made within both characters. So I might have a separate piece of paper and outline Mother’s story. Now, I will be keeping this all in Lizzie’s point of view, so much of what I write won’t be in the story as it’s written here.

1)   When Lizzie is four, Maggie discovers Jerry has been cheating on her. (How? A phone call in the middle of the night.)

2)   She chooses to stick with her husband to shield Lizzie from the pain of divorce, but finds she resents Lizzie for keeping her in an unhappy marriage.

3)   When Jerry has a heart attack, Maggie discovers she’s more angry than upset. How dare he die when she’s chosen to stick it out with him, despite his infidelity?

4)   As Lizzie grows into adulthood, Maggie worries she will face a similar fate, and begs her to rethink marrying at such a young age.

5)   Lizzie remains steadfast to her decision. She doesn’t know about her father’s cheating, so she feels her mother is against Donald simply because she feels he isn’t good enough for her.

See how this works? Now we have background on why Lizzie is so loyal to Donald. Isn’t outlining fun? Next I would add the subplot of Lizzie’s friend. That, too, would answer questions about Lizzie and the way she feels and thinks. Because everything that someone does in your novel will touch your main character in some way.

 This is the approach I am using in outlining a novel, and so far it seems to work well for me. Later in Part 2 I will discuss how to work in the climax and resolution of your story. Until then, have fun brainstorming!

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13. September 2010 by Gore Wehner.

Author bios: The editors-Duane Lindsay is an electrical engineer (!) and a building designer who initially attended the University of Wyoming to receive an English degree. Although he ended up with an electrical engineering degree instead, he is a published songwriter and won two writing competitions. Ray White teaches classes and seminars, and has co-authored several novels, and has also made his mark through writing competitions.

The authors they interviewed in this book include:  Hallie Ephron, Brian Freeman, A.J. Hartley, Grant Blackwood, and many, many more.

Year of Publication: 2007 (Writer’s Digest Books)

Still relevant?: Yep!

Topics covered: White and Lindsay tackle the age old question of how to get published as well as advice about getting your proverbial foot in the door. The authors go about explaining what hoops they jumped through to get noticed. Although a few make it seem disgustingly easy.

What you will learn in this book:  That you are not alone in the quest to become a stronger writer, and the inability to be noticed right off the bat. You will receive both encouragement and an uplift, and even have a laugh or two.

What you won’t learn: The writing craft itself.

Who this book is for: Anyone bummed out by failure.

Personal review: This was a great read. The authors help  you feel your struggle is worth every moment. And White and Lindsay give good advice. I give this five stars, especially since it cheered me up.

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6. September 2010 by Gore Wehner.

I am on another round of edits for my agent. Here is my tip to all of you: outline your novel!

I can honestly say if I had begun writing with an outline, this book wouldn’t have gone through so much rewriting.  And the funny (but not-so funny) thing is, outlines aren’t that difficult to do. I just happen to like the surprise element of not having an outline. I like not knowing what’s coming next. This is great, if you’re embarking on a cross-country trip across the U.S. Not so great when you’ve written a 300-page novel and now see where there are major plot holes and where the character arc is lacking.

Outlines also help you to see where you can have reversals and sub-plots work best. And whether or not you need those extra three people who don’t do much for your story. And if the ending works. That’s a really big advantage to an outline!

One of the women in my on-line critique group writes her outline, then has us critique it. What a great way to find out ahead of time if something seems workable.  You know, before you finish 57,000 words only realize it’s not coming together as well as you imagined.

Go ahead, decide whether or not to outline. It’s a personal choice. But I’m voting for outlining. It might save me a lot of trouble on the draft of the next novel I’m working on.

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