10 Steps To Writing Your First Novel

By Sara Pufahl
Anyone can dream of riting a novel !ut it ta"es crac"ing open your soul then laying it
!are# hand cramps# eye strain and# possi!ly# a fe sessions
of crying to see one to completion$ And those are the easy parts of novel riting$ To
ma"e it more clear# if you ant to see your name on the spine of a !oo"# you are going to
have to or" for it$
%ere are ten concrete things you can do to go from dreamer to novelist&
10$ Write every day$
What you rite doesn't matter as much as the fact that you are getting your inner
thoughts don on paper or screen$ (o not edit this riting at first$ Allo yourself the
freedom to rite hatever comes to mind$
)$ *ill the inner liar$
There ill !e a voice in your head that says +You can not do this$ ,ive up$-
.f you are !orn to !e a riter# and you ill "no it if you are# then that voice is lying to
you$ .t's testing your resolve$ Shout it don !y saying positive affirmations out loud$
This is your dream$ (o not let anyone# even yourself# steal it from you$
/$ Focus on one idea$
(ecide ho ill !e the star in your novel and hat locale it ill ta"e place in$ Pic" a goal
for your main character to strive to accomplish$
(on't try to rite li"e your favorite author or the person ho is currently on the top of
the !est seller's list$ .nstead choose a story idea !y pic"ing emotions you ant to rite
a!out$ 0ove$ %ate$ 1age$ (isappointment$ Shame$ ,uilt$
You have to infuse your characters ith these emotions and let that !e the driving force
!ehind their !ehaviors$ .f these characters seem real to your readers they ill read a!out
them in any setting or situation$
2$ (ecide on a Point of 3ie
4nce you have characters# a setting# and conflicts you need to decide ho gets to tell the
story$ Will it !e in first person or third5 Will more than one character get to have a
P$4$3$5
6$ Plan Ways to 7a"e Your 8haracters Suffer
Novels are a!out conflict$ The characters start off in the middle of a dilemma or transition
period in their lives and !y overcoming o!stacles they find themselves or the anser to
their pro!lem$ 4r they don't$ 9ither ay they have to !e constantly struggling toard or
aay from something$
:$ Accept .mperfections$
.f you ait until you "no ho to perfectly construct scenes# dialogue# story arcs# a
clima;# a resolution# then you ill never get past page one$
Your first draft ill !e a mess$ Write hat you can$ 8orrect it later hen you have
learned more$ You can not edit a !lan" page so rite hat comes to mind and orry
a!out ma"ing sense in your second draft$
<$ 1ecommit$
This is a!out the time it all seems overhelming and a dreamer gives up$ A riter does
not have that lu;ury$ For them the desire to rite a novel# to tell a story that reaches into
the hearts and minds of strangers and ma"es them feel# is em!edded into the (NA of a
true riter$
Ta"e a moment to come to terms ith your fate$ .f you are destined to rite# then sit ith
your pen or
"ey!oard each day and string sentences together$ Novels are ritten one ord at a time$
(on't let the enormity of this tas" stop you from forging ahead$
=$ 0isten
(o not listen to anyone ho tells you to give up$ .nstead close your eyes and listen for
the sound of your characters spea"ing to you$ When you can hear them telling you ho
they are and hat they ant you are ready to start putting their lives don on paper$
>$ Figure out your riting style$
There are to types of riters& the plotters and the pansters$ Plotters develop detailed plot
outlines and !ac"ground information for their stories$ Pansters sit don and start creating
ith only the vaguest sense of here the tale might end up$ 9ither style can or"$
. suggest riting only as much as your need in order to feel comforta!le ith your
characters and story idea$ For a plotter that might mean tenty pages of information# note
cards# and poster !oards filled ith scene ideas$ A panster could !egin a novel only
"noing the first name of the protagonist$
1$ Write Page 4ne$
No ?ump in the deep end and rite the first page of your novel$ 9ach day rite at least
one more page$ At the end of the year you ill have a novel$
Then you ill !e more than only a dreamer$ You ill !e holding your dream in your
hand$ At this very moment the story is inside of you$ Write it don$
How to Write a Novel: The Snowflake Method
Writing a novel is easy$ Writing a good novel is hard$ That@s ?ust life$ .f it ere easy#
e@d all !e riting !estAselling# priBeAinning fiction$
Fran"ly# there are a thousand different people out there ho can tell you ho to rite a
novel$ There are a thousand different methods$ The !est one for you is the one that or"s
for you$
In this article# .@d li"e to share ith you hat or"s for me$ .@ve pu!lished si; novels and
on a!out a doBen aards for my riting$ . teach the craft of riting fiction at riting
conferences all the time$ 4ne of my most popular lectures is this one& %o to rite a
novel using hat . call the CSnofla"e 7ethod$C
This page is the most popular one on my e! site# and gets hundreds of page vies per
day# so you can guess that a lot of people find it useful$ But you may not# and that@s fine
!y me$ 0oo" it over# decide hat might or" for you# and ignore the restD .f it ma"es you
pu"e# . on@t !e insulted$ (ifferent riters are different$ .f my methods get you rolling#
.@ll !e happy$ .@ll ma"e the !est case . can for my ay of organiBing things# !ut you are
the final ?udge of hat or"s !est for you$ %ave fun $ $ $ rite your novelD
The Importance of Design
Good fiction doesnt !"st happen# it is designed$ You can do the design or" !efore or
after you rite your novel$ .@ve done it !oth ays and . strongly !elieve that doing it first
is Euic"er and leads to a !etter result$ (esign is hard or"# so it@s important to find a
guiding principle early on$ This article ill give you a poerful metaphor to guide your
design$
$"r f"ndamental %"estion is this: %o do you design a novel5
For a num!er of years# . as a softare architect designing large softare pro?ects$ .
rite novels the same ay . rite softare# using the Csnofla"e metaphorC$ 4*# hat@s
the snofla"e metaphor5 Before you go further# ta"e a loo" at this cool e! site$
At the top of the page# you@ll see a cute pattern "non as a snofla"e fractal$ (on@t tell
anyone# !ut this is an important mathematical o!?ect that@s !een idely studied$ For our
purposes# it@s ?ust a cool s"etch of a snofla"e$ .f you scroll don that same e! page a
little# you@ll see a !o; ith a large triangle in it and arros underneath$ .f you press the
rightAarro !utton repeatedly# you@ll see the steps used to create the snofla"e$ .t doesn@t
loo" much li"e a snofla"e at first# !ut after a fe steps# it starts loo"ing more and more
li"e one# until it@s done$
The first few steps loo" li"e this&
I claim that thats how yo" design a novel AA you start small# then !uild stuff up until it
loo"s li"e a story$ Part of this is creative or"# and . can@t teach you ho to do that$ Not
here# anyay$ But part of the or" is ?ust managing your creativity AA getting it organiBed
into a ellAstructured novel$ That@s hat .@d li"e to teach you here$
If yo"re like most people# you spend a long time thin"ing a!out your novel !efore you
ever start riting$ You may do some research$ You daydream a!out ho the story@s going
to or"$ You !rainstorm$ You start hearing the voices of different characters$ You thin"
a!out hat the !oo"@s a!out AA the (eep Theme$ This is an essential part of every !oo"
hich . call CcompostingC$ .t@s an informal process and every riter does it differently$
.@m going to assume that you "no ho to compost your story ideas and that you have
already got a novel ellAcomposted in your mind and that you@re ready to sit don and
start riting that novel$
The Ten Steps of Design
&"t 'efore yo" start writing# you need to get organiBed$ You need to put all those
onderful ideas don on paper in a form you can use$ Why5 Because your memory is
falli!le# and your creativity has pro!a!ly left a lot of holes in your story AA holes you need
to fill in !efore you start riting your novel$ You need a design document$ And you need
to produce it using a process that doesn@t "ill your desire to actually rite the story$ %ere
is my tenAstep process for riting a design document$ . use this process for riting my
novels# and . hope it ill help you$
Step () Ta"e an hour and rite a oneAsentence summary of your novel$ Something li"e
this& CA rogue physicist travels !ac" in time to "ill the apostle Paul$C FThis is the
summary for my first novel# Transgression$G The sentence ill serve you forever as a tenA
second selling tool$ This is the !ig picture# the analog of that !ig starting triangle in the
snofla"e picture$
When you later rite your !oo" proposal# this sentence should appear very early in the
proposal$ .t@s the hoo" that ill sell your !oo" to your editor# to your committee# to the
sales force# to !oo"store oners# and ultimately to readers$ So ma"e the !est one you canD
Some hints on hat ma"es a good sentence&
Shorter is !etter$ Try for feer than 1: ords$
No character names# pleaseD Better to say Ca handicapped trapeBe artistC than
CHane (oeC$
Tie together the !ig picture and the personal picture$ Which character has the
most to lose in this story5 No tell me hat he or she ants to in$
1ead the oneAline !lur!s on the Ne Yor" Times Bestseller list to learn ho to do
this$ Writing a oneAsentence description is an art form$
Step *) Ta"e another hour and e;pand that sentence to a full paragraph descri!ing the
story setup# ma?or disasters# and ending of the novel$ This is the analog of the second
stage of the snofla"e$ . li"e to structure a story as Cthree disasters plus an endingC$ 9ach
of the disasters ta"es a Euarter of the !oo" to develop and the ending ta"es the final
Euarter$ . don@t "no if this is the ideal structure# it@s ?ust my personal taste$
.f you !elieve in the ThreeAAct structure# then the first disaster corresponds to the end of
Act 1$ The second disaster is the midApoint of Act >$ The third disaster is the end of Act
># and forces Act = hich raps things up$ .t is 4* to have the first disaster !e caused !y
e;ternal circumstances# !ut . thin" that the second and third disasters should !e caused !y
the protagonists@s attempts to Cfi; thingsC$ Things ?ust get orse and orse$
You can also use this paragraph in your proposal$ .deally# your paragraph ill have a!out
five sentences$ 4ne sentence to give me the !ac"drop and story setup$ Then one sentence
each for your three disasters$ Then one more sentence to tell the ending$ .f this sounds
suspiciously li"e !ac"Acover copy# it@s !ecause $ $ $ that@s hat it is and that@s here it@s
going to appear someday$
Step +) The a!ove gives you a highAlevel vie of your novel$ No you need something
similar for the storylines of each of your characters$ 8haracters are the most important
part of any novel# and the time you invest in designing them up front ill pay off tenAfold
hen you start riting$ For each of your ma?or characters# ta"e an hour and rite a oneA
page summary sheet that tells&
The character@s name
A oneAsentence summary of the character@s storyline
The character@s motivation Fhat does heIshe ant a!stractly5G
The character@s goal Fhat does heIshe ant concretely5G
The character@s conflict Fhat prevents himIher from reaching this goal5G
The character@s epiphany Fhat ill heIshe learn# ho ill heIshe change5
A oneAparagraph summary of the character@s storyline
,n important point: You may find that you need to go !ac" and revise your oneA
sentence summary andIor your oneAparagraph summary$ ,o aheadD This is goodAAit
means your characters are teaching you things a!out your story$ .t@s alays o"ay at any
stage of the design process to go !ac" and revise earlier stages$ .n fact# it@s not ?ust o"ayAA
it@s inevita!le$ And it@s good$ Any revisions you ma"e no are revisions you on@t need
to ma"e later on to a clun"y <00 page manuscript$
,nother important point: .t doesn@t have to !e perfect$ The purpose of each step in the
design process is to advance you to the ne;t step$ *eep your forard momentumD You
can alays come !ac" later and fi; it hen you understand the story !etter$ You ill do
this too# unless you@re a lot smarter than . am$
Step -) By this stage# you should have a good idea of the largeAscale structure of your
novel# and you have only spent a day or to$ Well# truthfully# you may have spent as
much as a ee"# !ut it doesn@t matter$ .f the story is !ro"en# you "no it no# rather than
after investing :00 hours in a ram!ling first draft$ So no ?ust "eep groing the story$
Ta"e several hours and e;pand each sentence of your summary paragraph into a full
paragraph$ All !ut the last paragraph should end in a disaster$ The final paragraph should
tell ho the !oo" ends$
This is a lot of fun# and at the end of the e;ercise# you have a pretty decent oneApage
s"eleton of your novel$ .t@s o"ay if you can@t get it all onto one singleAspaced page$ What
matters is that you are groing the ideas that ill go into your story$ You are e;panding
the conflict$ You should no have a synopsis suita!le for a proposal# although there is a
!etter alternative for proposals $ $ $
Step .) Ta"e a day or to and rite up a oneApage description of each ma?or character
and a halfApage description of the other important characters$ These Ccharacter synopsesC
should tell the story from the point of vie of each character$ As alays# feel free to
cycle !ac" to the earlier steps and ma"e revisions as you learn cool stuff a!out your
characters$ . usually en?oy this step the most and lately# . have !een putting the resulting
Ccharacter synopsesC into my proposals instead of a plotA!ased synopsis$ 9ditors love
character synopses# !ecause editors love characterA!ased fiction$
Step /) By no# you have a solid story and several storyAthreads# one for each character$
No ta"e a ee" and e;pand the oneApage plot synopsis of the novel to a fourApage
synopsis$ Basically# you ill again !e e;panding each paragraph from step F<G into a full
page$ This is a lot of fun# !ecause you are figuring out the highAlevel logic of the story
and ma"ing strategic decisions$ %ere# you ill definitely ant to cycle !ac" and fi;
things in the earlier steps as you gain insight into the story and ne ideas hac" you in
the face$
Step 0) Ta"e another ee" and e;pand your character descriptions into fullAfledged
character charts detailing everything there is to "no a!out each character$ The standard
stuff such as !irthdate# description# history# motivation# goal# etc$ 7ost importantly# ho
ill this character change !y the end of the novel5 This is an e;pansion of your or" in
step F=G# and it ill teach you a lot a!out your characters$ You ill pro!a!ly go !ac" and
revise steps F1A6G as your characters !ecome CrealC to you and !egin ma"ing petulant
demands on the story$ This is good AA great fiction is characterAdriven$ Ta"e as much time
as you need to do this# !ecause you@re ?ust saving time donstream$ When you have
finished this process# Fand it may ta"e a full month of solid effort to get hereG# you are
ready to rite a proposal and sell this novel$ (o so$
Step 1) You may or may not ta"e a hiatus here# aiting for the !oo" to sell$ At some
point# you@ve got to actually rite the novel$ Before you do that# there are a couple of
things you can do to ma"e that traumatic first draft easier$ The first thing to do is to ta"e
that fourApage synopsis and ma"e a list of all the scenes that you@ll need to turn the story
into a novel$ And the easiest ay to ma"e that list is $ $ $ ith a spreadsheet$
For some reason# this is scary to a lot of riters$ 4h the horror$ (eal ith it$ You learned
to use a ordAprocessor$ Spreadsheets are easier$ You need to ma"e a list of scenes# and
spreadsheets ere invented for ma"ing lists$ .f you need some tutoring# !uy a !oo"$
There are a thousand out there# and one of them ill or" for you$ .t should ta"e you less
than a day to learn the itty !it you need$ .t@ll !e the most valua!le day you ever spent$ (o
it$
7a"e a spreadsheet detailing the scenes that emerge from your fourApage plot outline$
7a"e ?ust one line for each scene$ .n one column# list the P43 character$ .n another
FideG column# tell hat happens$ .f you ant to get fancy# add more columns that tell
you ho many pages you e;pect to rite for the scene$ A spreadsheet is ideal# !ecause
you can see the hole storyline at a glance# and it@s easy to move scenes around to reorder
things$
7y spreadsheets usually ind up !eing over 100 lines long# one line for each scene of the
novel$ As . develop the story# . ma"e ne versions of my story spreadsheet$ This is
incredi!ly valua!le for analyBing a story$ .t can ta"e a ee" to ma"e a good spreadsheet$
When you are done# you can add a ne column for chapter num!ers and assign a chapter
to each scene$
Step 2) F4ptional$ . don@t do this step anymore$G Sitch !ac" to your ord processor and
!egin riting a narrative description of the story$ Ta"e each line of the spreadsheet and
e;pand it to a multiAparagraph description of the scene$ Put in any cool lines of dialogue
you thin" of# and s"etch out the essential conflict of that scene$ .f there@s no conflict#
you@ll "no it here and you should either add conflict or scru! the scene$
. used to rite either one or to pages per chapter# and . started each chapter on a ne
page$ Then . ?ust printed it all out and put it in a looseAleaf note!oo"# so . could easily
sap chapters around later or revise chapters ithout messing up the others$ This process
usually too" me a ee" and the end result as a massive :0Apage printed document that .
ould revise in red in" as . rote the first draft$ All my good ideas hen . a"e up in the
morning got handAritten in the margins of this document$ This# !y the ay# is a rather
painless ay of riting that dreaded detailed synopsis that all riters seem to hate$ But
it@s actually fun to develop# if you have done steps F1G through F/G first$ When . did this
step# . never shoed this synopsis to anyone# least of all to an editor AA it as for me
alone$ . li"ed to thin" of it as the prototype first draft$ .magine riting a first draft in a
ee"D Yes# you can do it and it@s ell orth the time$ But .@ll !e honest# . don@t feel li"e .
need this step anymore# so . don@t do it no$
Step (3) At this point# ?ust sit don and start pounding out the real first draft of the
novel$ You ill !e astounded at ho fast the story flies out of your fingers at this stage$ .
have seen riters triple their riting speed overnight# hile producing !etter Euality first
drafts than they usually produce on a third draft$
You might thin" that all the creativity is cheed out of the story !y this time$ Well# no#
not unless you overdid your analysis hen you rote your Snofla"e$ This is supposed
to !e the fun part# !ecause there are many smallAscale logic pro!lems to or" out here$
%o does %ero get out of that tree surrounded !y alligators and rescue %eroine ho@s in
the !urning ro!oat5 This is the time to figure it outD But it@s fun !ecause you already
"no that the largeAscale structure of the novel or"s$ So you only have to solve a
limited set of pro!lems# and so you can rite relatively fast$
This stage is incredi!ly fun and e;citing$ . have heard many riters complain a!out ho
hard the first draft is$ .nvaria!ly# they are seatAofAtheApants riters ho have no clue
hat@s coming ne;t$ ,ood griefD 0ife is too short to rite li"e thatD There is no reason to
spend :00 hours riting a andering first draft of your novel hen you can rite a solid
one in 1:0$ 8ounting the 100 hours it ta"es to do the design documents# you come out
ay ahead in time$
F.@ll note that many seatAofAtheApants riters shrie" at the thought of doing a Snofla"e
document$ That@s fine$ (ifferent people are different$ . suspect you "no already hether
the Snofla"e is something that@s going to or" for you or not$ 9ven if it does or" for
you# .@d encourage you to improvise on it$ 7ay a thousand different Snofla"e methods
!loomDG There is not ?ust one solution to the pro!lem of ho to rite a novel# there are
many$ Jse the one that or"s for you$
A!out miday through a first draft# . usually ta"e a !reather and fi; all the !ro"en parts
of my design documents$ Yes# the design documents are not perfectD That@s o"ayD The
design documents are not fi;ed in concrete# they are a living set of documents that gros
as you develop your novel$ .f you are doing your ?o! right# at the end of the first draft you
ill laugh at hat an amateurish piece of ?un" your design documents ere$ And you@ll
!e thrilled at ho deep your story has !ecome$
Thats ,ll4 That@s the Snofla"e 7ethod$ .t or"s for me and for many of my riter
friends ho have tried it$ .@ve lost trac" of ho many people around the orld ho have
emailed me to say that the Snofla"e helped them get their novel on trac"$ So it or"s
for a lot of people$ . hope it or"s for you$
Ways To 5se The Snowflake
,re yo" str"ggling right now ith a horri!le first draft of your novel that ?ust seems
hopeless5 Ta"e an hour and summariBe your story in one sentence$ (oes that clarify
things5 You@ve ?ust completed step F1G of the Snofla"e# and it only too" an hour$ Why
not try the ne;t fe steps of the Snofla"e and see if your story doesn@t suddenly start
coming to life5 What have you got to lose# e;cept a horri!le first draft that you already
hate5
,re yo" a seat6of6the6pants writer ho finally finished your novel# !ut no you@re
staring at an enormous pile of manuscript that desperately needs reriting5 Ta"e heartD
Your novel@s done# isn@t it5 You@ve done something many riters only dream a!out$ No
imagine a !igAshot editor !umps into you in the elevator and as"s hat your novel@s
a!out$ .n fifteen ords or less# hat ould you say5 Ta"e your timeD This is a thought
game$ What ould you say5 .f you can come up ith an anser in the ne;t hour $ $ $
you@ve ?ust completed Step 1 of the Snofla"eD (o you thin" some of the other steps
might help you put some order into that manuscript5 ,ive it a shot$ What have you got to
lose5
Have yo" !"st got a nightmarishly long letter from your editor detailing all the things
that are rong ith your novel5 Are you ondering ho you can possi!ly ma"e all the
changes !efore your impossi!le deadline5 .t@s never too late to do the Snofla"e$ %o
a!out if you ta"e a ee" and drill through all the steps right no5 .t@ll clarify things
onderfully# and then you@ll have a plan for e;ecuting all those revisions$ . !et you@ll get
it done in record time$ And . !et the !oo" ill come out !etter than you imagined$
If the Snowflake Method works for yo"# .@d li"e to hear from you$ You can reach me
through the contact page on my e!Asite$
Footsteps to a Novel
by Margaret McGaffey Fisk
2004, Margaret McGaffey Fisk
Do you have an idea for a story a character !ho !on"t let you rest,
the perfect plot, or an interesting !orld, !hether a cattle far# in
$anada or a planet !ith no surface !ater% &ll types of people have
novel ideas, !hether they are !riters or not' Most ideas never
beco#e co#pleted !orks, and the reason #ay be found in the !ord
(!ork'( )riting see#s easy as you dash off a letter to &unt *ally or
co#plete your latest essay on the lifestyle of bro!n and black gerbils'
+o!ever, !riting for publication, especially !riting a novel, re,uires a
co##it#ent fe! are !illing to #ake'
-f you think you are ready to put in the effort, ti#e, and focus, having
so#e guidelines can greatly i#prove your chances of converting your
idea into a finished piece of literature' .here are #any !ays to
approach a novel and any of the# that end in a finished !ork are
valid' .he #ethod - present belo! is one -"ve found effective and have
used to co#plete three novels so far'
First, a !ord about progress and the ti#e it takes to !rite a novel'
-"# a strong advocate of co#pleting a draft before editing' .hough
this does not #ean accepting each sentence as it pours fro# your
fingers, it does #ean no rereading of the earlier !ords !ith the intent
to #odify the#' Discuss the idea !ith friends and fa#ily as #uch as
you like, but hold your co#pleted chapters close to the chest' Nothing
stops progress as easily as the (!ell, it !ould #ake #ore sense if'''(
fro# so#eone reading your unco#pleted novel' &l#ost anything can
be fi/ed in the edit cycle, but if editing on chapters 000 starts before
0012 are begun, the odds of the later chapters ever being !ritten are
severely reduced'
)riting a novel is all about dedication and perseverance' &s #uch as
possible, avoid anything that threatens your ob2ectives' 3ou should
never invite a ha4ard into your path' +onestly, !riting a novel is
co#ple/ enough !ithout asking for trouble'
My process involves five steps' .hese #ay see# si#ple on the surface
but they enco#pass significant effort'
-"# going to borro! fro# Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to take
you through the process because the fa#iliar story line !ill help
everyone focus on the steps, rather than !hether or not to borro!
ele#ents of the idea'
Step 1 - Idea
.his is the easy step since #ost people already have at least one idea'
Evil stepmother jealous of princess
Step 2 - Start Looking at the Story Behind the Idea (Very Basic
Plotting)
)e have an idea above, but it"s not a story yet' .o have a story, there
#ust be a beginning, #iddle and end'
.he beginning should introduce the #ain characters, *no! )hite
5protagonist6 and the !icked ,ueen 5antagonist6' .he #iddle should
be filled !ith the ,ueen"s efforts to kill *no! )hite and the end this
is a fairy tale should be happily ever after' 7ops, that #eans !e"re
#issing at least one #ore character' .here has to be a prince' 8etter
tuck hi# into the beginning so#e!here'
Step 3 - Creating Yor !tline
& plot, no #atter ho! si#ple, involves a lot of #oving pieces9
characters, scenery, #otivations, foreshado!ing, and #any other
ele#ents' &n outline is a si#ple device to keep things straight' -t is
your general guideline as you #ove for!ard to ensure you don"t
beco#e bogged do!n trying to figure out !hat should happen ne/t'
.here are #any people !ho believe an outline !ill kill their !riting by
stifling their creativity and destroying their interest in the story' .hat
#ay be true depending on the type of outline created and the person'
-f you have never used an outline, - !ould suggest trying #y approach
before re2ecting the# altogether' - a# an organic !riter' &s - go
along, #y characters reveal secrets and go off in different directions
and even flesh out pieces - thought - could ski# over by pointing out
so#ething critical that happened in that #o#ent' .his does not in any
!ay prevent #e fro# using outlines'
*ince - began outlining, #y ti#e to co#pletion of a novel has dropped
fro# seven years to t!otofour #onths and even do!n to one #onth
for a 00:,000!ord novel during the National Novel )riting Month' My
speed has #ore to do !ith ho! #any !ords -"# !illing to co##it to
on a daily basis' +o!ever, continual progress on each day is due to
#y outline' - can focus on crafting !ords rather than figuring out
!hat"s going to happen ne/t and ho! so#ething fits !ithin the
e/isting plot' .his allo!s #e to #ake steadier progress because -"ve
done #ost of #y thinking in advance' My last purely organic book,
Destiny"s ;ath, ended up being a difficult edit because - had an end in
#ind but forgot to drive to!ard it in the te/t' .he events built up to
the final success but not in a !ay clear to the reader' -f -"d used an
outline, the notes should have been enough to re#ind #e as - built
each scene'
My outlines focus on scenes split by point of vie! 5;7<6' .his allo!s
#e to track ho! often a given character o!ns a scene and to #ake
sure -"# not straying a!ay fro# characters for so long that the reader
forgets the#'
My =/cel te#plate is available for do!nload here9
http9>>#argaretfisk'##fcf'co#>!riting>!riting?tools'ht#l'
)hatever for# of outline you use, !hether notecards, !ord processor
or spreadsheet, 2ust start out si#ply' -"d reco##end not using 2ust a
single sheet of paper because your outline can, and should, change as
you go along' .he basic outline only re,uires three parts'
8eginning9
)rite a sentence or t!o sho!ing the beginning of your story' .his
could describe the first chapter or first three@ 2ust get so#ething
do!n' +o!ever you track ;7<, use it to categori4e this piece' -f you
are not planning to track ;7< or even if you believe your novel !ill end
up in a single ;7<, - !ould reco##end noting the vie!point any!ay'
-t does not take a lot of effort and can #ake you #ore fle/ible later
on'
Snow White dreams about her prince but when he stops by, she's
scared and runs away.
Middle9
)rite a sentence or t!o indicating the #iddle part' )hat"s going to
happen over the course of the story to build to!ard the conclusion%
&gain, a general sentence describing #ost of the novel is fine'
Jealous stepmother tries to kill princess but she escapes, thouh the
last attempt leaves her in a coma.
=nd9
)rite a sentence or t!o sho!ing !here you !ant to end up' .his !ill
serve to keep you in line because everything co#ing before should
drive to this end' +o!ever, if as you build out the story, it #akes
#ore sense for *no! )hite to #arry Dopey, you can al!ays #odify
the end' -t"s i#portant to build to!ard so#ething as you !rite'
)ithout a kno!n endpoint, it"s too easy for a story to beco#e (and
then, and then, and then'( .his is a co##on cause for !riters to lose
interest because the story has no focus and no sense of approaching a
resolution'
!rince finds princess and frees her with a kiss. "hey live happily ever
after.
3ou"ve finished your outline and you can 2u#p into the book, right%
)ell, it depends' -f you feel any #ore of an outline !ill constrain your
creativity, even this #uch can assist in keeping the plot in order'
+o!ever, the #ore you build your plot, the less you have to figure out
as you !rite and the easier you can tell !hen a ne! plot thread !ill
blend in nicely or re,uire an entirely different outline'
- usually don"t start !riting until - have about half the scenes in #y
outline listed as a short sentence or t!o each' .his gives #e enough
to get started !hile allo!ing character and plot gro!th along the !ay'
7ften, e/tra scenes or threads co#e to #e as - approach the place
!here they !ould fit' *o#eti#es, - have to stop !ork altogether to
rebuild a portion of the outline reflecting the changes' .his process
helps #e think the change through'
No! is the ti#e to figure out if you have any ele#ents re,uiring
research' For e/a#ple, can you really put a person in deathlike sleep
and for ho! long before that glass enclosure holds a rotting corpse%
7ops, you tell #e you are !riting a fantasy% *!itch your research to
clothing in #edieval ti#es' .he likelihood of needing to research at
least one ele#ent is high' Do you kno! enough about dia#ond
#ining to #ake the readers nod their heads !hen the d!arves go off
to !ork, or !ill they thro! the book a!ay in disgust% +ere is !here
you identify !hat you #ight !ant to research, although you don"t
necessarily have to do the !ork in advance@ so#e people do, so#e
people don"t'
Step " - #he $ctal %riting
& novel is anything fro# A0,00002B,000 !ords long depending on the
genre and #arket' 53oung adult literature is lo!er and so#e specialty
#arkets have different high ranges, but this spread covers a large
portion of the novel #arkets'6 =sti#ating a !ord count of 000,000,
2ust ho! long should this novel take to !rite% )ell, the real ans!er,
as a#biguous as it #ay see#, is as long it needs to' +o!ever, since
reaching your precious .he =nd #arker is a terrific thrill, let"s look at
so#e goals to set you on your !ay'

)ord $ount Goal Days of the )eek .otal Days
0000 Monday*unday 000
0000 MondayFriday 040
0000 *aturday*unday 1B0
B00 Monday*unday 200
B00 MondayFriday 2A0
B00 *aturday*unday C00
2B0 Monday*unday 400

&s you can see fro# the chart, the #ore !ords per day and the #ore
days you can co##it, the sooner the novel !ill be co#pleted' 7kay, it
#ay see# too obvious to #ention, but people don"t really think about
!riting that !ay' -f you co##it to 0000 !ords per day, you can
co#plete 1 and 2>1rds novels each year' .his is e/cluding editing,
!orld building and other ele#ents necessary to bring a novel to
#arket, but it is still an incredible factoid'
)hile 0000 !ords a day #ay see# unachievable, if you have at least
t!o hours free, you could be a#a4ed at ho! #uch consistent progress
you can achieve' & good outline, so you don"t have to plot and !rite
si#ultaneously, helps keep the !ords co#ing' & !arning though9
setting high goals fro# the start is likely to frustrate and stall you' .o
consistently achieve a daily !ord count goal is so#ething to build
to!ard until it beco#es a standard part of your routine, !hether you
set a specific ti#e or #ake co#pleting your !ords a re,uire#ent
before rela/ing'
&s you !rite, re#e#ber the outline is fle/ible' *o#eti#es, the
original concept is either li#ited or fla!ed in !ays not i##ediately
apparent' )hile - reco##end !orking fro# so#e sort of outline,
don"t let it trap you' -f your characters reveal a ne! t!ist or direction,
take a pause in !riting and !ork out ho! to integrate the change into
your outline' .his serves a dual purpose' 3ou let your subconscious
i#prove on the original idea and, by conceptuali4ing through your
outline, you can identify pointless deviations fro# your plot before you
are #ired in a series of events !ith no purpose'
Step & - #he 'nd
)hatever your goal, if you re#ain deter#ined, the day !ill co#e !hen
you !rite or type .he =nd at the botto# of your #anuscript' .ake a
deep breath' 3ou have no! achieved !hat #ost !ouldbe novelists
never do' &t this point, - reco##end taking so#e ti#e a!ay fro# the
story before beginning your edit' -t"s a grand opportunity to start on
your ne/t idea'