A good outline can radically change your writing process.
There are two generally accepted ways to approach book writing: you can dive in or you can first chart your course. Both are great options, but I’m going to make the case for why starting with an outline can give you the advantage you need to write smoothly.
Imagine driving through fog. You might try a number of things to get to your destination: making safe, familiar turns; looking for the lights of other cars; and slowing down. All of this might work, but it can get frustrating and scary when you’re in it. You can equate that to your writing process. If you’ve been writing for a while and not getting the progress you’d like, you may be struggling because you can’t see through the fog. Maybe you’re going in circles self-editing because you don’t know what comes next. Maybe you’re listening to the advice of other writers, but nothing’s really sticking for you. Maybe you’re writing really slowly because you’re waiting for inspiration to strike. Taking a step away from your writing and thinking about why you’re writing, what you want to say, and where the book is meant to go can really help you once you get back into the thick of it (and yes, I'm thinking of the Tiki's Tok song). Outlining your chapters, your characters, your themes, and your purpose can provide the roadmap. As you write, you can think of your outline as the white and yellow lines on the road. You may not feel comfortable looking far ahead, but looking at each dash in the road (your outline points) can help you make sure you're moving in the right direction. An outline can also help you just write each section and see the progress you’re making.
If you’re writing a series, outlining can be an especially big help. When you write a series, you need to think about each individual book serving a purpose and the series in its entirety serving an even greater purpose. If you’re writing a fiction series, these would be your plot points. You want to stay focused on your core, while also making sure that each book can stand on its own without negatively affecting the others. By outlining, you can avoid things like repetition and veering themes, all while maintaining strong continuity between your books.
An outline only needs to be as detailed as you want it to be. If you work better with a single, clear, guiding principle, then your outline might only be a page long. But if you’re working on a bigger project, your outline might be 20 pages long. Those 20 pages could save you hours in your writing process.
How do you get started on an outline?
That depends on your project and how detailed you want to be. But a good way to start is to think about what you want to say. Think about breaking that into three parts: the beginning, middle, and end. Write those down and then determine if that’s enough to get you moving. If you need more help, then book your consultation and ask about my Ideas Intensive. I developed these courses to give you the 1-on-1 attention that can help you really flesh out your book. We’ll brainstorm, drill down into the meat of your book, figure out what aspects you need to plot out, and get you ready to officially start writing. That way, should the writing fog come, you'll have a clear sense of where you are going.
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