October Is The Month To Outline Your Book

Without an outline your story will fall apartDon't let your story fall apart.

Whether you’re writing a novel, memoir, or non-fiction book, one of the primary questions new writers face is whether to outline their book or not.

When I was a new writer, I just wanted to dive into writing. I didn’t know how to outline because I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about—I thought I’d figure it out through the process of writing.

This approach lasted for years.

I wouldn’t even outline my blog posts or articles.

The result? It would take me hours to finish an article, and there was no guarantee it would lead anywhere.

I filled tons of notebooks and digital files that never turned into anything. They were great practice, but none of the work became a finished product.

Then, something changed.

I discovered an outline for writing articles. 

Image Credit: Psychotactics Article Writing Course

It worked like magic. I could finish writing my articles in half the time. And quality of my articles improved significantly.

I became a convert.

I wrote my first book using a loose outline and finished it in just one week.

There are some clear advantages of outlining:

• Provides Direction: Even a broad outline helps provide direction for your book, guiding you through the writing process. It can also ease blank-page syndrome, giving you the push you need to start writing your book.
  

• Improves Focus: An outline keeps you on track, helping you stay focused on the core message or goal of the book. It reduces the likelihood of getting distracted by unnecessary details or topics.
  

• Enhances Consistency: Outlining ensures that your key themes, arguments, or data are consistently supported throughout the book. It helps avoid contradictions or gaps in your content.
  

• Simplifies Editing: A strong outline makes the editing process easier. It provides a clear roadmap for reviewing and refining each section, making it easier to spot weak points, redundancies, or areas that need expansion.
  

• Clarity of structure: Outlining helps organize your ideas, ensuring your book has a clear and logical flow, making it easier for readers to follow and understand your main points, arguments, and conclusions.
  

• Saves time: With a well-thought-out outline, you avoid getting stuck or going off on tangents. You can write more efficiently, knowing exactly what needs to be covered in each chapter.
  

• Completes your book: With an outline, your book not only has a better chance of being completed but also a stronger potential for publication.

Outlining a fiction book is called ‘plotting.’ Plotting has several advantages too: 

• Strong Plot Structure: Plotting helps you map out the main events, conflicts, and resolutions in your story, ensuring the plot stays coherent and engaging. It provides a clear framework to prevent plot holes or inconsistencies.
  

• Character Development: An outline allows you to plan character arcs and relationships in advance. You can ensure that your characters grow and evolve naturally throughout the story, with their motivations and actions aligning with the plot.
  

• Prevents Writer’s Block: With an outline, you always know what comes next. This can reduce the risk of getting stuck or experiencing writer’s block, as you have a roadmap to guide you through each scene and chapter.
  

• Control Over Pacing: Outlining helps manage the pacing of your story. You can plan where to insert action, tension, and quieter moments, creating a balanced rhythm that keeps readers engaged from beginning to end.
  

• Allows for Creative Flexibility: Contrary to common belief, outlining doesn’t stifle creativity. It provides a flexible guide that allows for creative improvisation while keeping the core elements of your story intact. You can adjust your outline as you go, making space for new ideas without losing direction.

Without an Outline, You Risk Losing Your Entire Story. Are You Prepared for That?

Some writers feel that outlining take the spontaneity and joy out of their creative process. They think it forces them to predetermine the entire structure and direction of the book, leaving little room for creative exploration or discovery as they write.

But that’s not the case.

Outlining gives you freedom to be more creative.

Once you’ve figured out the broad structure and core message of your story, you’r free to be creative without having to worry about going off on tangents or ending up with a lopsided book.

Just as writing down your goals makes them more likely to be achieved, outlining your book makes it more likely to finish.

Now that we’ve established that outlining is a ‘necessary evil’ for writers, I’m excited to announce a series of articles in October on how to outline fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs.

October is the Month of Outlining.

If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo challenge, then you need to outline in October and be ready to write your book in November.

If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. Each November, thousands of people worldwide commit to writing a 50,000-word novel in just one month.

We at ‘Author Circle’ are going to tap into the universal energy of NaNoWriMo and write the first draft our books in November.

I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo for almost ten years, and it’s been a game changer for my writing journey.

I have written more about my journey with NaNoWriMo here.

If you want to be incredibly productive, I encourage you to participate in NaNoWriMo.

I am running NaNoWriMo challenge here on ‘Author Circle.’

It’s gentler than NaNoWriMo. You don’t have to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

You can choose how many words you want to write. You can chose anything from 10,000 to 50,000 words in 30 days.

Divide your goal with 30 days (10,000/30 = 333) and that’s how many words you’re writing every day.

If you’re interested, sign up on this Google Sheet.

It’s free.

Whether you want to write a memoir, a novel, or a collection of essays, this is your chance to make your dream real.

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Throughout October and November I will be writing a series of article to help you write your book.

Last week I wrote 3 articles to help you validate your book idea. Here are the links:

I thought, I will give you the links:

Are You Writing A Book People Will Pay For

Don’t Let Your Book Idea Die in Silence

Validate Your Book Idea Using 'The Mom Test’

This week I will write a series of article on how to outline a memoir.

Stay tuned for that.

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That’s all from me this week.

As always, thanks for reading.

See you next week.