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Plot Outline
Some writers prefer plotting and others prefer free writing. Like many things in life, there are various techniques to achieve your writing goal and one method is not better than the next. If you want give plotting a try to structure your book, below are two exercises to consider.
Use Index Cards to Outline Your Novel
Writing a good plot, may require you to outline your novel. Before you outline, you don't have to have a full idea of where the story is going, or how it's going to end. In the beginning stages, creating a plot requires you to simply jot down ideas. That said, it would be helpful if you at least had an idea for the protagonist.
For this plotting technique you can use index cards. There are various ways you can outline with index cards. The system I'm going to layout is one that I use. Hopefully you find it helpful.
Write down random scenes, one on each index. Don't censor your thoughts. At the end of the day, you don't have to use all the scenes, but it's great to have a variety you can choose from. One of the reasons to write an outline for your novel is to gain a deeper understanding of the story you want to tell. If after you plot a novel and all the pieces don't fit, that's fine. Who knows, you may develop ideas for upcoming books.
Here's an example of a scene:
Paul discovers his mother's affair with his best friend. While eating dinner with his father, Paul internally weighs the pros and cons of telling his father the news.
As you can see, the info on the index card is short. You don't have to include dialogue, excessive description, or other elements. Writing a loose outline provides structure and at the same time gives you flexibility to change direction when necessary.
Once you have all your ideas written down, put the scenes in the order each will appear in your story. You can pin the scenes on a cork board or you can buy a recipe box and place your index cards in there.
Use Treepad to Plan Each Chapter and Scene
I've heard from writer friends of mind that Treepad is a great tool to plot and organize your book into chapter and scenes. Personally, I haven't used Treepad so I'm unable to provide a review. To give the free software a whirl, go to treepad.com.
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