Outling

The writing of this post came just at the right point for me.

As I recently mentioned, I am in the midst of edits of AWAKEN. Lots of fun...joking, I am not a fan of editing. I needed something new to keep my creative juices flowing.

Enter...STORY WITH A NAME TBD.

I had this idea while reading some news headlines and I was just like WOW. WOW. Oh my gosh. I have to write this story. And, regardless of the million things I need to do this time of year, the idea would not go away. I was growing restless as it grew inside me. I literally could not sleep, I just keep feeling like I had words I needed to vomit. You're welcome for that visual.

I made a deal with myself. Finish three science assignments and you can start outline. Shake? Shake.

So I began to outline...

I have found that there is no exact formula outline. Perhaps for the specific writer there would be a specific formula, but overall, not so much. This is my outline process.

Well, scratch that. This my outline process for this particular WIP. I am literally constant with nothing my writing world. ANYWAY...

1. Define my characters. This involves writing out character descriptions, hobbies, as well as negative and positive character traits. Additionally, depending on the character, I write out their relationships to other characters.
2. Main story lines. These would be just two or three sentences about the main plot(s) of the story. Typically, I have two or three main story lines that I weave together throughout the course of the story
3. Nitty-gritty details. Lastly, I plan out the scenes of the novel. These are sometimes super detailed or sometimes just a sentence. Depends on the scene...and my mood.

And there you have it, folks! What's your outlining process?

(Remember, I'll be posting Saturday's post a day late! Thanks for reading, have a FABULOUS weekend.)