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Guide to Polished Writing - Plot the Course, Phase 2: Create Your Framework

June 8th 2008 00:12


Note: This post presents Part 4 of my Guide to Polished Writing series. For more thorough coverage of the topic, please consider reading Parts 1 to 3 first.


Plot the Course


Phase 2: Create Your Framework

Begin mapping out the precise route you will follow when you begin your writing journey.


Make an Outline

Preparing an outline will allow you to map out the specific route you will take to reach your destination. (For guidance on how to format an essay outline, go to this page at BookRags [simple outline] or this page at Albany.edu [complex outline]. This traditional outline format may also be used for non-fiction books. For outlining your non-fiction book using the modern mindmapping method, visit this BookCoaching.com article. To create a plot outline for your fiction book, get the link to Holly Lisle’s free PDF mini-course at HollyLisle.com.)


Step 1: Main Points

First, determine your main points. Generally, about three main points are recommended when outlining shorter works, though this could vary considerably based on length of writing project, as well as depth and complexity of topic or storyline.

• In book length works, these are the equivalent of topical or chronological sections (non-fiction), major plot elements (fiction), or other similar divisions of your content into major categories.

• In articles, essays, or other short non-fiction pieces, these will include the main section topics and/or major points into which your work will be divided.

• In plays or screenplays, these will be your Acts.

• In short stories, these might be your sections or Parts (if your story is long enough and you stylistically choose to include these plot divisions.)

• For poetry, you’ll want to outline—or at least list—the progression of ideas and images you hope to achieve as your poem unfolds. The structure or lack of (formal) structure of your planned poem will, in large part, determine the degree to which you’ll be able to do this in advance of the actual writing of your poem. (Again, don’t worry too much about this, if your chosen poetic form is non-conducive to this particular planning technique; you’ll be able to make up for it during the creative stage.)


Step 2: Sub-Topics

Next, break these main ideas into sub-topics. (Again, the number will vary based on project format and size, as well as subject or plot complexity.)

• With books, whether fiction or non-fiction, this step will involve dividing your content into chapters. (This could vary, however, based on the book’s complexity, with more involved works possibly requiring further subdivisions prior to the chapter-division step.)

• For articles, essays, and other short non-fiction, these will be your secondary points or sub-headings.

• In plays/screenplays, and even short stories, these will be your Scenes.

• In poetry, this stage is akin to determining what you hope to convey in specific parts of your poem, such as in each verse—or even in, say, the first or last line of every verse (i.e., the progression of ideas and images that will carry the thread of your main idea or message through to the end of your poem.)


Step 3: Major Support

Then, add the major points of evidence, explanation, or clarification which support your premise, theme, or message to each of your sub-topics.

• For non-fiction books, these will be the major divisions of each individual chapter, or the main sections of which each chapter is built.

• For fiction books, this will consist of the skeletal structure, or basic framework, of each chapter—the main plot elements that will occur in the individual chapter.

• For articles, essays, and other short non-fiction, these will comprise your main supporting information for each sub-heading or sub-topic.

• With plays/screenplays, and short stories, these will be the plot portions that begin to unfold in each scene.

• For poetry, this section will likely be unnecessary—except, perhaps, in the case of lengthy epic poetry, which is broken down into sections, with various parts of the tale unfolding in each segment of the poem.


Step 4: Minor Support (Details)

Finally, add supporting details to each of your major supports.

• Book-length non-fiction, to be sure, will include still further divisions beyond these, as each individual chapter will also need its own outline (in which case, what we are here calling “supporting details” will, in reality, actually become the secondary points, or sub-sections, of each chapter-long subdivision of the book). We are, however, still following the same basic outlining format by applying outlining principles to both the main divisions and the more specific subdivisions of the larger work.

• For book-length fiction, this portion need not be nearly as involved as it is for non-fiction. In fiction, this would consist of notes on what the meat of the chapter, the actual narrative, will contain, including the specific scenes and descriptive and explanatory elements of the story. In fiction, it's rarely necessary to make a detailed outline of each individual chapter, as it is in non-fiction. It will generally suffice in this step to simply list any important plot or other elements you want to be sure you remember to include in the chapter.

• In shorter works, these will be the nuts-and-bolts details which illustrate, describe, or prove our points (non-fiction), fleshing out our piece, or a list of the specific actions, images, occurrences, conflicts, descriptive elements, or character-development revelations (fiction/plays/screenplays) that move our story forward. Again, for fiction, this may be limited to the more important elements, plot twists, etc., that the writer wants to remember to include.

• For poetry, these consist of the particular phraseology, and the specific imagery we choose to convey our message, as well as the manner in which we choose to express the more concrete aspects of our poem.


Asking yourself the questions listed in Phase 1 of this section and assembling your data into a coherent outline (or other format appropriate to the specific type of work) will help you maneuver through the planning stage, which is considerably more specific than the preparatory stage and puts each of the more-detailed systems into place that will enable you to move into the action stage—the stage of actually completing the project.


Happy framing!
Jeanne


Stay tuned for the next installment of this series: "Pursue the Goal, Phase 1: Complete Your Research."



Did you enjoy this post? Have any tips about creating a framework for your writing? Any outlining tricks, secrets, or preferences? I'd love to hear your ideas!



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12 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by tlcorbin

June 8th 2008 00:27
Jeanni, there's nothing like a road map to success. I find myself doing just that far more often now and I'm just blogging.

Great suggestions.

Raven

Comment by Jeanne Dininni

June 8th 2008 00:43
Thanks, Raven!

It's so true that having that road map can even make blogging easier.

Appreciate your visit!
Jeanne

Comment by tlcorbin

June 8th 2008 06:52
And it truly does Jeanne . . .

Comment by Jeanne Dininni

June 8th 2008 07:12
...Which is always a good thing!

Thanks again, Raven!
Jeanne

Comment by AmyHuang

June 8th 2008 08:37
Hi Jeanne,
Great ideas! I thought I'd share one more I lernt from the writing lecture this week - drawing storyboards. It's used for film and screen production but can also help writers get a grasp of their overall story and remembering character appearances. It always helps when trying to describe something on text, to see it first

Comment by Jeanne Dininni

June 8th 2008 09:51
Hi, Amy!

Thanks for a fantastic tip! It always helps to get input from other writers--who often think of things we don't! No doubt there are some great websites out there that explain exactly how a storyboard is used.

Thanks again for an excellent suggestion!
Jeanne

Comment by Lillie Ammann

June 9th 2008 16:09
Jeanne,

This is great advice for writers who plan their writing in advance. I know many "seat-of-the-pants" fiction writers who say that if they created this much detail before they wrote the story, they would be tired of it already and wouldn't finish it.

Although I do have a plan when I start a novel, I don't outline in this much detail. In fact, I wasn't sure who the villain was in the novel that will coming out this summer until I was well into the book! I don't advise that for everyone, but I do think there are variations in how people plot and write. There's isn't necesarily one perfect way, although your plan is excellent. And your method will likely to result in fewer rewrites than "seat-of-the-pants" writers go through.

Comment by Jeanne Dininni

June 9th 2008 17:29
Hi, Lillie!

Every writer has a method that works for him/her. Admittedly, fiction writing can be quite different from writing non-fiction--often not requiring the level of preparation or planning so essential to non-fiction.

Since it's such a "creative" medium, where imagination comes into play to a far greater extent than it does in non-fiction, "seat-of-the-pants" methods can often prove quite effective with fiction. It's really a matter of the writer's preference--and possibly also the writer's level of experience, confidence, and ability to keep an eye on the novel as a whole, while at the same time effectively incorporating each individual element to advance the plot and create a cohesive, coherent tale. Often, planning will help make the process easier--particularly for less-experienced writers. Yet, the level of planning a given writer uses is certainly a subjective choice that each writer must make individually.

Thanks so much for sharing the insights drawn from your own experience writing novels!

Appreciate your visit!
Jeanne

Comment by Dianna G

June 13th 2008 23:51
I generally prefer to start off with a basic idea of what I'm writing. If I start with anything more than that I get sick of the story or write it too quickly because I'm rushing towards an end.

I can't even plan out nonfiction. Which is horrible for publication because they like outlines, not writing-by-the-seat-of-my-pan ts here's my three chapters now. Sorry I never ran the outline by you. Sorta didn't have one.

Well okay, I usually either a) write an outline halfway through or b) write one at the end to say 'hey look at me I'm so special now I can edit'.

That said, it's a great post for some people.
~Dianna

Comment by Jeanne Dininni

June 15th 2008 23:21
Hi, Dianna!

Many writers have a sort of sixth sense, if you will, that enables them to write coherent articles and even books without using a formal outline--and this is great for any writer who can do it! Every writer is different, and each writer should do what works for him or her.

I say that if a writer can produce a piece of writing that appears to have begun with an outline even though it hasn't, it would be very safe for that writer not to worry about using one!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Jeanne

Comment by Dianna G

June 16th 2008 03:41
Jeanne,

Yeah... if only publishers agreed all the time

~Dianna

Comment by Jeanne Dininni

June 16th 2008 05:51
Dianna,

As you say, you can always prepare the outline as you go--or even after you're finished writing the piece--if you need one simply to keep the editor or publisher happy. As long as your piece is well-organized, they'll probably never know the difference.

Jeanne


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