Writer's Fallout Shelter

Hi, Tara - welcome to the Fallout Shelter! Here's my advice, coming from the perspective of a 'serial starter' (I'm great at starting things, not so hot at finishing them): outline, outline, outline. When you have a burst of creativity and fear 'losing' a particular scene, put it into the outline (I do this, sometimes even adding in specific lines of dialogue I don't want to forget), but do your best to avoid skipping around and writing all the fun parts first. Doing that will make it well-nigh impossible to go back and turn your creative bursts into a seamless whole.

Outlining doesn't have to be boring (I've come to really enjoy it), and it doesn't have to follow any specific rules. You can outline by chapter, by events, or by a timeline. My outlines vary wildly in form -- sometimes they're neat and organized, other times they're little more than stream-of-consciousness rambling. I've found that outlining goes more quickly when I simply summarize. Here's an example, lifted from my outline of Part 2 of my book:

Enlas has a row with Wosha’s husband, who accuses Enlas of putting the entire Midlands at risk because of his refusal to cross the Selessnek. The attacks from the Sindreians are increasing, and refugees continue to pour into Brish.
Rya visits the Chronicler and he asks her opinion on a Fate board he has set up. She thinks it looks as if the Sindreian side is sending out advance parties in anticipation of a much larger force, but it doesn’t make sense because the force could not arrive from the direction the advance parties indicate. She talks to him some about the Warrens and learns that many records were destroyed when the Great Library was sacked. He tells her she is welcome to look through the old books and scrolls, and she smuggles some out to Mark.
Haddwyn goes to the city gates to bid farewell to a battalion of the Queensguard leaving for the Keep. Enlas makes a comment about ‘your’ army, but Haddwyn does not realize yet that he is troubled by their devotion to her.

I KNOW it's tempting to just start writing, but in my own experience, when I succumb to this temptation I end up sabotaging myself and I DON'T finish. And I'm proof-positive that a serial starter can finish things...I have four completed novels. Three of them suck, but who cares? I finished them!

~Rose

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