Outlining for When You Really Just Want to Start Writing
A good outlining technique will save you tons of time as a writer. It’s easier to get started and stay on track when you know where it is your story is going. But let’s face it, it’s not the fun part of a writing career or hobby. I’m going to introduce you to a few of my favorite techniques for getting started quickly (hopefully easily) with a story’s outline so you can go ahead and get to the writing part already.
1. Save the Cat
Save the Cat is a book written by Blake Snyder. Originally intended to help screenwriters it crosses over beautifully into the written word. As those of you who have been around the writing world for a bit may have noticed many of the approaches do.
Jessica Brody even teaches the method in a video series on Udemy.com titled How to Write a BestSelling Novel in 15 Steps as of this writing it is currently on sale for $20.
I used this method to outline my first novel and continue to use it when I want a quick and dirty outline because as the title of this post says What I really want to do is get writing already.
2. Three Act Structure
I’m recommending people read this article: Outline Your Novel With the 3-Act Story Structure — Well-Storied. By Kristen Kieffer. I love the way she breaks it down into the three parts so you can watch/work on one at a time. Such nice bite-size pieces for our attention-lacking selves to consume.
3. Dan Harmon’s Story Circle
Again I am sending you to one of my favorite resources for all things writing: How To Use Dan Harmon's Story Circle To Plot Your Novel (prowritingaid.com). This article is by Krystal Craiker and to promote this approach I can’t say it better than she has here:
One of the advantages of the Story Circle is that the narrative structure is so universal, it can apply to books, short stories, TV shows, plays, and movies. It’s a great place to start building the plot of your story. If you’re not much of a plotter, you can identify the main eight pieces and then start writing. Or you can take your story circle and flesh it out into a more detailed outline.
And to paraphrase her final words from the quote above: ‘If you’re not much of a plotter, you can identify the main pieces and then start writing. Later you can flesh out your story with a more detailed outline.’
Writers waste an unfortunate amount of precious time researching, plotting, scrolling YouTube for craft videos, reading Craft Books, etc. to the point where you’re left wondering when you are ever supposed to find the time to write. Stop making excuses, choose a method from the list above and get started. You’ll be so glad you did!