NANOWRIMO Notes and Ideas (Day Three)
A Proper Outline
Having a solid outline is one of the most important things that you can do prior to writing anything at all. While this may seem backwards, remember that writing a novel in a month is an extreme challenge and as you go through this, you will need something to look at . If you have been following along with the math, by the end of the this day, you will need at least 5000 words and you will be about 1/10 of the way through with your novel. Before you go any further, think about these ideas and essentially fill in the blanks. Yesterday, we filled in the most important scenes
For review, the most important scenes are:
- The opening Image
- The Theme reveal
- The Exposition
- The Inciting Incident
- Hero’s Challenge
- Accepting the Challenge
- Subplot
- Preparation for the challenge
- Raising the Stakes
- The villain Attacks
- What Death Smells Like
- The Worst Night
- The Climax
- The Resolution
- The Final Image
Today, we are going to finish an outline that we can use in addition to writing our words for the day. the outline serves two purposes: to make sure that we are covering everything and to look back to if we get off track and have some issues along the way. You can always use this outline to fix things along the way and add details in if you have forgotten them later. Sometimes, it is a good idea to use it as review if you are struggling with something along the way. You should also always review your outline at the beginning and end of each day and at the end of each week to make sure that you are ready to go. This should be added to your story notes document.
Do your best here:
STORY TITLE:
ACT I (Week 1 Focus)
Briefly describe all things that happen between the opening image to the acceptance of the challenge. This would be essentially the first six steps of the story.
Describe the Exposition and the setup of your story.
Describe the mood and the tone that is established
Identify the Inciting Incident
Identify the Hero’s challenge
Identify the acceptance of the challenge
Identify what is at stake for the audience (why should the audience care?)
Protagonists Introduction
Protagonists Motivation
Important things to remember about the Protagonist
Antagonists Introduction
Antagonists Motivation
Important things to remember about the Antagonist
Supporting Characters
Setting Details
Props, wardrobe, furniture details
Time Period Details
ACT II, Section 1 (Week 2 Focus)
Describe what happens from when the Hero Accepts the Challenge through Raising the Stakes.
Describe the mood and the tone that is established in this section
Describe how everything intensifies for the hero
Describe the subplot
Describe any wins for the Hero.
Settings for Act II
Props, wardrobe, furniture details
Time Period Details
Any New Characters
Why these characters are needed
Things to Remember
Act II, Section 2 (Week 3 Focus)
Briefly Describe what happens int he major scenes from The Villain Attacks through The Worst Night
Describe the mood and the tone that is established in this section
Describe how everything intensifies for the hero
Describe the changes in the subplot
Describe any wins for the Hero.
Settings for Act II, Section 2
Props, wardrobe, furniture details
Time Period Details
Any New Characters
Why these characters are needed
Things to Remember
Act III, Week 4
Briefly describe what happens in the climax and the resolution.
Describe the final obstacle that the hero must overcome
Describe eat climax in great detail
Describe the any details that are important for the resolution
Note anything here that need to be tied in this section, so that audience now knows everything.
How is the villain defeated?
What are the villains mistakes? How does he go down?
Does your hero win in the end of the story? What does he learn in going through this battle in the climax?
How does the hero change?
Describe the mood and the tone that is established in this section
Describe how everything intensifies for the hero
Describe the changes in the subplot
Describe any wins for the Hero.
Settings for Act II, Section 2
Props, wardrobe, furniture details
Time Period Details
Any New Characters
Why these characters are needed
Things to Remember
How does this prove your theme?
Research
Lastly as you go through the outline, you may find things that you still need to know and need to research. It is very important to get details correct. the internet is a treasure chest of information and there is really no excuse for not knowing exactly what anything looks like including small towns or places of interest.
Keep track of these details here:
Research Details:
Topic to research:
Details that are important:
Notes for authenticity:
Don’t forget to re-read your outline daily to make sure that you are on track and are moving things forward.
Remember to keep the writing moving forward and to keep looking ahead. Don’t worry about perfection in your novel at this point. Just keep plugging away and moving forward.
My Day Two Wordcount: 1308. I know yikes again. I am running behind at this point, but I have the weekend to do a little catching up.
