outline – Quill and Books

Outliners and Discovery Writers, do I have some information for you!! You are going to love this! First, if you are not sure what a discovery writer or an outliner is, check out this post. https://quillandbooks.com/2019/01/04/discovery-writer-or-outliner/ Before I begin with this review, let me tell you how this might work for you. Outliners you can use this tool as a planning tool along-side your outline or as your outline. For discovery writers, you can still use this tool, but not before you write your first draft. Most discovery writers tell me that it totally kills the story if they do any planning prior to the first draft. I get it but that doesn’t make this tool useless, it just changes when you use this tool. You can use this a tool for learn what is broken and what needs a little tweaking. Or you can use it if you get stuck. Many people who get stuck or get writers block in the middle of the story, actually have something in their subconscious telling them that something is broken with the story which is why they can’t move forward. This tool can help you find that thing your subconscious is fighting with, and fix it! Read more....

I read the Save the Cat! Writes a Novel book a few years ago. I liked it because it approached story in a very logical way, which appeals to me as an outliner. It works like The Hero's Journey and many others--it takes the major story twists and turns and lays them out in a flexible pattern. You do not want to use this as a formula, or your story will become stilted. Many people argue against using "formulas" such as these but these guides are merely a tool and any tool used incorrectly can be bad. Used correctly this book can be very helpful, especially for new writers. When I first started writing short stories I used a tool like this to guide my plot and keep the story tight. After a few dozen stories, it became ingrained in me and I don't need to use that guide as much.