The Perfect Outline?
Greetings, dear Noters!
New year, new name -- how do you like it? My Noteworthy Noters…you're more than just readers to me by this point. You’ve gone out of your way to note down things about my writing life, and I feel like that should be celebrated.
Happy New Year! How are we already at the end of January? I cannot believe all that has happened in just 31 days. Things are picking up with the release of #FollowMe for Murder rapidly approaching. In just 16 days, celebrity blogger and influencer Coco Cline will be back out in the world.
Coco's journey to re-publication has been wild, and I can feel that the best things are yet to come for Coco. Where this is a traditionally published book from publisher Level Best Books, I feel like this experience has already been so gratifying and satisfying. There's hype for Coco! She's garnered more advanced reviews than any of my other books…combined!
I'm also stunned to come across reviews of #FollowMe for Murder posted by bloggers and bookstagrammers! I'm scrolling, scrolling through my newsfeed when BAM -- there's a picture of my book on someone else's account. Someone I don't know! It's so, so cool to see Coco out in the world. She's showing up on lists and podcasts for books to look forward to in 2022. Eek!
With all this excitement going on, I thought I would struggle to get my writing goals achieved for the month, as I wanted to reach 20,000 words in Too Much to Candle, the next Glenmyre Whim Mystery. Yet, Book 2 is going surprisingly well, and it's all due to the killer outline that I have *finally* perfected.
Wait, a perfect outline? That's giving myself a bit too much credit, but I think I've finally hit my stride on what works for me. And since I bet there are a lot of "Noteworthy Noters" who made goals and resolutions to finish writing a manuscript this year, this tool might be a way for you to achieve that goal! Or, you may be one of my amazing readers who are interested in how I take an idea for a book and make it across the finish line. So, for this month's post, I wanted to share my outline process.
I've started a lot of manuscripts in my lifetime. You think I've written a lot of books? That's just a tiny portion of the manuscripts saved within the recesses of my computer. I’ve written so many Chapter Ones in my lifetime, I really have lost count. However, I can say with absolute certainty that every book I have outlined using the process below, I have finished writing. My outlines are basically my brain's way of telling me: here is your story. There is no reason for you not to finish writing it.
And it's not because I have every little detail mapped out. I really, really don't. I don't even have chapters mapped out in these outlines. What I focus on and has become my path to writing success, is the days.
The days covered in the storyline. My Plot-by-Day outlines take the days of the week(s) and go through the events that need to take place each day to move the mystery along.
Here's an example from You Can't Candle the Truth, to give you a behind-the-scenes look -- keep in mind, there are some major spoilers from You Can’t Candle the Truth below!
Plot-By-Day Example
Day One - MONDAY Hazel goes to book signing, sees Kevin's timer. He's kinda sickly looking, but just says it’s a cold
Day Two - TUESDAY Hazel drives into work and passes an ambulance. After work, she and Poppy find out Kevin was found dead in his bed that morning. It appears he died naturally in his sleep. Hazel knows that's not the case. She phones in the tip to the NYS Troopers and thinks everything is resolved.
Day Three - WEDNESDAY Visit Cora and see the detective coming out. He thinks Cora poisoned Kevin somehow, and so does the town because the Finchmores are pointing an accusing finger at her. Hazel and Poppy decide to clear her name. Go to work, then at 4, go to the inn to speak with Constance for tips. Find out Blair was kinda scorned by Kevin. Seems suspicious. Then head to the trivia night to get a read on what Kevin's movements were. Confront Ione and clear her. Now, Yvonne and Blair are both suspects.
Yes, THIS is part of the outline I used to write You Can't Candle the Truth. A 270+ page book.
For those of you who have read the book, you may be thinking "how did Sarah turn two sentences of Day One into FOUR chapters?" That's the beauty of this outline format. I know what needs to happen to get me moving forward, but I also have the freedom to really explore my characters and go in uncharted directions.
I find if my outlines are too detailed, I feel too restricted with my writing, and I don't do well with feeling creatively confined.
That's why this outline works so well for me. It gives me room to go off on adventures, while still giving me a little map to the answer at the end. As long as I am keeping those important story details in mind, I can stay on track.
Of course, while I'm writing, the outlined details can switch days. Those days are not set in stone. Maybe something that was plotted to happen on Day Three actually happens on Day Four. But as long as the detail happens, I can move forward with the plot.
It's also important to note that I only outline the details that happened in the book’s mentioned days. If there's a period of time where everyday life events are taking place, I don't map those out. I just outline the days where the plot is actively moving forward. So, if your book covers a month's time, I recommend only outlining the days of the month that your character is actively going to be experiencing in the book (let's say, they only investigate on the weekends). Whatever days are moving the story forward, focus your outlining energy on them!
I hope this little behind-the-scenes peek about Plot-by-Day outlining has been helpful! Maybe this outlining format will be what you need to finish writing that book this year. Good luck!
What outlining tips do you have to share? Let me know!
Arms around,
S.B.