Outline Magic

I am writing an outline for book 3 in the Descending series. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time since high school I am actually writing a real outline. I wrote a main event outline on a large whiteboard for the second book, but I’m actually writing a real one this time. Complete with chapter breakdowns, subplots and bulletpoints.

I keep thinking about what Carina MacKenzie (screenwriter, showrunner and creator of Roswell, New Mexico) said regarding never having writers block by using an outline. If you already know what’s going to happen going in, you shouldn’t ever have this “block” affliction that writers dread so much. I don’t really get writers block myself, but I do burn out sometimes on one particular project, which is why, as I think I’ve shared before, I have so many simultaneous projects going on at one time. Again, the same reason why I have two books releasing so close to one another. As I write the third book, I full expect to be working on another script at the same time. That is, after I’ve finished editing my last one first. I already have an idea for a new tv pilot script. Again, I will outline that, too.

I have been a hardcore outline hater before now. I see the importance. If I were writing just one book, maybe not, but I am writing a series which means certain things happen in the first book that I forget all about once I finally get to writing the second and last one. I don’t want to foreshadow something and not even use it later on. What a total waste of creativity!

Also, I need to make a character breakdown. It’s damned hard to remember all the characters, especially the less important ones that are only mentioned a handful of times throughout the whole series. I know, a lot of you other writers are probably rolling your eyes at me, but something to consider, I never really wrote my books with the anticipation of actually publishing. I mean, sure I guess that was the end goal when I started writing them, but I didn’t think about keeping things straight, not having plot holes, making sure readers were engaged, even during the slow but important dialogue.

So here I go! I’m going to try and finish the outline this weekend, send The Hunt off for editing and, if I manage to get that all done in just today, I can write an outline for the pilot I mentioned. Next week can be dedicated to editing my feature script and I can work on it, if I have to, which I think I will, during the writers summit next weekend. That’s NEXT WEEKEND! I am so totally stoked! I hope to go to a creative writers summit or conference next year. Balance it out. This will be my first time doing something like this. I’ve gone to conferences for a direct sales company I worked with before, but I know this will be really different. I hope to take in a lot of information and mingle, network and makes friends as much as possible while I’m there. And maybe even sleep in at least once. The hardest part will be the fact that my baby doesn’t drink formula and I don’t have any back up milk right now. We tried the formula last week and she refused it.

I guess I will have to pump like mad this week. 😬