October Novel Prep Challenge

Thanks for notifying us of the broken link, Joshua. I'll try to find another one, but in the meantime: Traditional outlining involves a numbering system and indents, like this:

I. Main stuff
         a. Stuff underneath main stuff
                   i. Stuff underneath stuff underneath main stuff
etc.

In a novel, that usually translates into something like this:

Chapter 1. High-level overview of what happens in Chapter 1.
         Scene 1. Detailed description of what happens in Chapter 1, Scene 1.
         Scene 2. Detailed description of what happens in Chapter 2, Scene 2.
etc.

Or if you are dividing your book into "Parts" you could use:

Part 1. High-level overview.
         Chapter 1. High level overview.
                   Scene 1. Detailed description.
                   Scene 2. Detailed description.
etc.

This is a very organized approach to planning your book. People who enjoy strict organization do well with this format. People who are more creative and less analytical would probably do better with the snowflake method.

If you choose the snowflake method, go to Step 2 because Step 1 is essentially the premise that you already did in Assignment 1.

If you do choose the traditional format, remember that you'll get five iterations of your outline throughout October. Your outline is not expected to look as detailed as the examples above on the first pass. It would look more like this to start:

Beginning: Rough idea of how the story starts.
Climax: Rough idea of how the tide turns for your character with respect to their goal.
End: Rough idea of how the situation is resolved.

Remember that "resolved" doesn't necessarily mean that the character successfully achieves their goal, but that something has changed in comparison to the beginning of the story. Either they achieved the goal, or the goal has changed, or they've realized the futility of the goal and entirely given it up.

Cheers,
Michelle