Tag: outlining

Preptober Week Four

It’s the last full week of October. This means that we’ve reached week four of Preptober.

This also means that next week is Halloween and the start of November which means any sitting down or breathing you plan to do you’d better get out of the way now.

Week four of Preptober is always my favorite week. Because it’s the week we start outlining our stories.

Hold your applause.

That’s right, we are outlining this week! Now, there are as many ways to outline as there are writers. But I thought it might help today to tell you the way I outline a rough draft. It might work for you, and it might not.

Step 1, Start with the big scenes

Whenever I start thinking about a story, some scenes just jump out at me. Or, if not a whole scene, an image. For the book I’m working on now, I have an image of an older woman in dress clothes, standing on a battlefield with a sword.

Start with the scenes you’re excited about. The scenes you know need to happen.

I like to write my scenes out on index cards. These can be moved around, erased, and thrown out if need be. This will be important later.

Step 2, Plot out the main storyline

Now that you’ve got the big scenes in place, we need to figure out how we’re getting to them. Figure out the plot points for the main story you want to tell.

Now, here’s where some people get caught in the weeds. And by some people, I mean me.

You don’t need to write down every single little that happens in this story when you’re outlining. For one thing, you probably don’t know everything that’s going to happen yet. That’s the joy of a rough draft. You’re still learning about the story. Just get down the points you’re pretty sure you want to hit.

Step 3, Layer in subplots by order of importance

Next, you’ll be outlining your subplots. I usually have too many of these, to be honest. But a good subplot adds to the main part of the story. It cannot generally be lifted out without requiring a change to the main storylines.

There’s no time or space here to go into the hows and whys and how nots of sub-plotting. But if you want, I could do a post about that at a later time. Let me know in the comments if that’s something you’re interested in. For now, it’s just important that your sub-plots come after your primary plot.

Step 4, Prepare for this to all go out the window when you start writing.

Writing a rough draft is a wonderful discovery process. You do not know everything you want to say in the book until you start writing the book. Which is, of course, the fun of writing a rough draft.

Yes, an outline is a great place to start, so you have some direction when you’re beginning your rough draft. But don’t get committed to it.

Give yourself the freedom to redo your entire outline. Let your story go off the rails if it seems better or more exciting. I usually redo my outline at least once before my rough draft is finished.

So that’s it for our Preptober series. I hope you’re eager to get into Nanowrimo next week, armed with a solid story foundation.

See you then.

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Storytelling with Tarot Pt 2, The Lovers to Wheel of Fortune

If you missed last week’s episode, please check it out here. I went through a lengthy disclaimer that I don’t think anyone wants me to repeat.

The short version is this. Tarot cards tell a story. It’s the Heroe’s Journey told in playing cards, with The Fool as our hero. Being both a witch and writer, I like to use the Major Arcana cards of the tarot to outline my story. This is not a lesson on how to read tarot, but a lesson on how to use tarot as a tool to write a detailed outline in a fun way. 

One thing I don’t think I mentioned last week is this. This is not a list of plot points that we’re going to hit in order. This is a way to hit some important plot points, as well as discover important characters and relationships. Some stories will have all of these things, and some won’t. This is just a fun way to get you thinking about the details of your story. 

We’re talking about some of my favorite cards today, so let’s get started. 

The Lovers

Ah, the love interest. The character that makes your Fool’s heart skip a beat. The one who seems to light up the room when they come in.

The one that isn’t necessarily needed, in my opinion.

Look, I got five books into Station 86 before Sennett found a partner. 

But love can be a wonderful addition to a story, even if it’s added later. Love stories like Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas, or Chuck and Sara from Chuck. These sorts of warm, lovely relationships can be a breeding ground for plot bunnies. 

The Chariot

This is one of my favorite cards to pull because it’s so empowering. It’s all about having control of a situation.

In your Fool’s journey, this is when they realize that maybe they do have this under control. This is facing a challenge that is well suited to our Fool’s strengths. Like Klause Baudelaire in a library, this is the moment when your character has everything under control. 

Strength

This card is all about grace and success under pressure. It’s handling a battle, struggle, or uncomfortable family gathering with ease. Especially when this was something that would have once felled the Fool. 

This should be something difficult. Like when Mulan climbs the pole to fetch the arrow. She does so using her strength and intelligence, both of which she’s earned. This is the moment, maybe after our Fool has failed and become more determined to meet their goal, that we start to think they might really win this thing. 

Or at least not die. 

The Hermit

There are times when we all need to do something alone. Or at least, take some time alone to sort ourselves out. That’s the moment the hermit card represents. It’s a solitary time to grow. To be alone, but maybe not lonely. This is the time to grow, to learn. To like our own company. 

Maybe your character was cast out of their home or friendship circle. Maybe everyone they love was taken from them or walked away.

The best example I can think of this is going to show my age. But it’s the song Close Every Door from Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. Joseph is tossed in jail, away from his doting parents and jealous brothers. And he takes that time to figure himself out. He comes out a better person than when he went in. 

Wheel of Fortune

Plot twist! 

Maybe our Fool is doing well. Then it’s time for them to face something way too powerful for them. Maybe our Fool’s been a sad sack so far, and they’re in desperate need of a win. Wherever we are now, it’s time for the tides to turn.

How many examples can I possibly reference here? Think of Cordelia in Angel, after her family loses all their money. Whatever moment your character’s world flips upside down, that’s the Wheel of Fortune. 

Another way to think about this is karma. What character in your story needs to get what’s coming to them? Either good or bad. There’s a great line from the first episode of Firefly that I always think about when I see this card.

Mal, the main character, looks at Badger, the underworld mob boss who just betrayed him. “The wheel never stops turning,” he says. Badger responds, “That only matters to the people on the rim.” 

We are all on the rim, Badger. And sometimes when that wheel turns, our characters are going to get chucked off. 

That’s it for this time. I’ll be back next week with the next five tarot cards. And I want to hear what you think. Have you tried using any of these tarot cards as outlining prompts so far? Let us know in the comments.

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