“If you’re still not sure how you want to outline your novel, try outlining a novel you love by another writer. As with writing a synopsis, it’s usually easier to practice on someone else’s work, because the emotional attachment is different and probably not as intense.”
The above is from one of Lynn Viehl’s posts on outlining. I say this with every book, but this time I’m really going to try and do it—I’m going to outline. I’ve already started writing the book, but I’ve reached an impasse, and it’s because I don’t think things through. I try, but you know me—full speed ahead, discovering the mountain without a map, just instinct, so that I don’t know where the canyons or dead ends are until I hit them. Forced to backtrack. At night, in the dark, with mountain lions on my trail.
This is not always a bad thing. Sometimes I enjoy it. But right now, I’d like to try something different.
Anyway, we’ll see what happens. Here are some of the links and articles I’m trying to learn from:
Ten Point Plot Template by Paperback Writer
Your Novel Outline in 30 Minutes by Alicia Rasley
Finally, this is a must read: Shiloh Walker’s essay on e-piracy and how it hurts both authors and readers.
Updated to add: I wake up this morning and find this! Another video of me at Romance Novel TV where I go off on why the differences between Urban Fantasy and Romance don’t matter. If you head over to that site and leave a comment in the original post, you might win a UF book!