[stylist] Novel Outlines

[Donna Hill]

Hi Joe,
Glad to hear you're having some forward progress. Mine is almost done, 
and yesterday I had a major break-through and wrote the last chapter. I 
knew what was supposed to happen, but not how I wanted to tell it and/or 
not tell it. Inspiration is a wonderful thing when it finally hits!

As for outlines ... I didn't use an outline like you would use for a 
term paper, but I did plan ahead and used a calendar, which I guess was 
a sort of outline. I did a lot of off-paper thinking about the events 
that happened prior to the beginning of the book, the character' lives 
prior to the book, etc. and I kept notes -- on tape in those days -- 
about my thoughts, including my conflicts about going in different 
directions and how that would impact other parts of the story. Everybody 
has a past, and I wrote up back stories on the major and some of the 
minor characters. That was very helpful in giving me an idea of how they 
would respond to a given situation. Initially, I wrote out a broad 
overview of what happened in the book. I did have a list of chapters, 
which was helpful, but it has changed a bit.
HTH,
Donna

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Joe Orozco wrote:
> 	Hello all,
>
> Okay, so my so-called novel is coming along at a decent hum.  Who knows if
> it will ever amount to anything, but damn it, at least it's coming along!
> So, my question:  How many of you guys use outlines to write, and if you do,
> what kind of format do you use?  I'm considering a few different outcomes,
> and although I always hesitated to use outlines for anything other than
> academic pieces, I think I'd better become more organized.  Any thoughts,
> tips, suggestions would be most appreciated.  Thanks.
>
> Joe
>
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>
>
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