Cure Writer's Block - Outlining Workshop

DAY ONE

Introduction to Outlining

Welcome to the Outlining Workshop. For those who don't know me, my name is Tia Wood. I am an aspiring fantasy/sci-fi/horror novelist and one of my strengths is outlining.

Outlining has helped me overcome many obstacles over the hurdles of writing such as generating novel ideas and curing writer's block. We are going to use four methods of outlining as described below:

• Outlining a Novel
• Outlining a Novel Advanced
• Writer's Block Outlining
• Index Card Outlining

However, these methods are for all types of writing (articles, essays, short stories, songs, grocery lists, etc) and not strictly for novels.

Outlining is a great help in the first draft process and can also help you in the editing process. Each method can be mixed with another or used alone. The fun part is, outlining is a creative process in itself and really helps jump start your inner muse!

For this workshop you will need paper, pen/pencil and index cards. If you don't have index cards handy, you can take a piece of paper and cut it into four parts. Whatever works.

I like to assign homework but homework is optional. You can scan your outlined pages and upload them to ImageShack.us and paste a link here for us to review. Or you can sit back and read. Participation is up to you.

Outlining a Novel Using the Bubble Method

It's exciting when we're in the worst places of places and a novel idea pops into our head. That's usually when I scrounge around in my purse for my tiny composition book and I scribble the main idea of what my novel would be about.

The main idea is important. It can be a simple title, sentence or even a single word. Whatever the main idea is about, write it down in the middle of a piece of paper and circle it. For example, let's say our novel is about the journey of a tiger targeted towards a young adult audience. I would write "journey of a tiger" in the middle of the page and circle it as pictured below.

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The next step is to ask yourself a set of questions which is prompted by the topic. For "journey of a tiger", I could ask:

- Where would my tiger go?
- What would my tiger see?
- What problems would my tiger face?
- What is the point of the journey?
- What message (if any) do I want to come across to my reader?

Get out four more pieces of paper and spread them out on a table. On each piece of paper, write your topic in the middle and circle it, just like the first one.

At the top of each piece of paper, write down the questions you asked. For example, on my first piece of paper, I would write "Where would my tiger go?". On my second, "What would my tiger see?". So on and so forth as pictured below:

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When you have your five papers and questions set up (and the amount of questions you have may be different), begin answering them one by one while continuing to outline. Write down the first thing that pops into your head, no matter how silly.

Q. Where would my tiger go?
A. zoo, city, restaurant, bath, get hair done, dance club, play golf

Q. What would my tiger see?
A. people, other animals, balloons, spoons, trees

Q. What problems would my tiger face?
A. people would run, people surprised that he can talk, too big to fit on city bus, no money, got a boo boo

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Simply continue to bubble until you run out of ideas. You can also go a third, four, fifth level. Whatever it takes to keep your muse flowing.

Q. Why would people run away from my tiger?
A. people don't normally see tigers out of zoos, he's red, he's scary, nobody understands him, he has matted hair

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The point is to get the ideas flowing. Do not worry about how silly or stupid or impossible something sounds or seems. Just keep writing and letting it flow.

This outlining method prepares you for the next type of method, which takes much more time and thinking. It's not as fun as the bubble method but it will help show where your story can go.

Homework

If you've had a novel idea stewing in your head, outline it using the method I just mentioned. If you want: scan it in, upload it to ImageShack.us and paste a link here to share. Or come back and tell us how it went. Questions are welcome.

DAY TWO

Turning Small Ideas into Big Ideas

Welcome to day two of the Outlining Workshop. As explained yesterday, the advanced way to outline a novel is not as fun as the bubble method. However, we are going to use yesterday's homework to create an extended outline.

The reason for the bubble method is to generate ideas and plot that you might use in your story. Some people feel more comfortable diving into the advanced version. Some people want to begin by throwing ideas around. Whatever works best for you.

The most important thing to remember is this is not set in stone. Look at it as your personal creative playground and have fun with it. I personally like to "wing it" and used to create my novel as I go. However, I ran into many problems with plot, forgetting important events and being victim to writer's block. That's why outlining comes in handy but you don't have to outline every single detail, nor do you *have* to follow your outline. It can be seen more as a guide or a cliff's note of your novel.

Outlining a Novel - Advanced

I'm going to use the completed version of yesterday's "journey of a tiger" bubble which features the question "What problems would my tiger face?"

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One a blank sheet of paper, write the topic on the top (which was previously put in the middle and circled in the bubble method). Don't worry about titling your novel right now, just worry about getting ideas on paper.

I am going to put "Journey of a Tiger" at the top of my paper.

Next, break your ideas into parts, either by chapters or sections, however you normally work. We are going to work on plotting out the first four chapters of "Journey of a Tiger". Leave space between each section as pictured below:

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Spread your bubbles on the table. It doesn't matter what order they are in.

Choose one of your bubble papers which should have a question at the top. I am choosing "What problems would my tiger face?". In your bubbles, choose which problems seem to go together. For instance, I am choosing "people would run", "Too big to fit on city bus" and "people surprised he can talk".

Since my novel is about the journey of a tiger, it would seem logical to start at the beginning and tell the reader where the tiger came from, who he is and try to make the reader guess what problems he'll come across. Normally, we'd see a tiger in the zoo. So let's pick "zoo" for our opening scenario and write it by "Chapter One". This is the topic for chapter one, without worrying about titles. (They can be changed later).

If my tiger starts in the zoo, then what can happen that makes him leave the zoo? Also, what can we inject in the background that can lead the tiger to our chosen problems? Since my tiger can talk, that can be injected into the first chapter.

But first, since we have a new setting (zoo) and a new set of problems (leaving the zoo), we have to do another bubble method to plot out the first chapter.

In the middle of a new sheet of paper, write "zoo". Think of things that would make a talking tiger escape a zoo and how. Could he see the city buildings in the background and yearn to explore beyond (now I'm thinking of Madagascar lol)? How about if a talking bird told him stories of the outside world sparking the tiger's curiosity? How would he get out? Could he somehow convince the bird to steal the keys of a guard?

As with yesterday, keep bubbling no matter how silly and let the ideas flow. When you're done, you'll have something like this for chapter one.

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If you happen to get stuck, it's important to keep going. What I do is I find the best word or idea and put brackets around them. Like this: [WRITERS BLOCK HERE]. You can always come back later when you're editing.

Take a look at your paper and mentally join the similar plot lines. Star them with your pen or mark them with a highlighter so you can transfer them to your advanced outline. Do some mental connect-the-dots and brainstorm which way the plot would seem most natural. Don't worry, nothing is set in stone. You can always change this later.

For my chapter one, I choose "talking bird tells stories", "tiger yearns to explore" and "offers bird [something] in exchange to steal the guard's keys.

Write your key plot points down, leaving space for writing as pictured below:

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Next, simply brainstorm in your head what actions could take place to lead up and connect your plot points. You can write this down on scratch paper, do it in your head or use the bubble method. Don't forget the very beginning of your story that leads up to your first plot point!

- tiger is fascinated with the city
- talks to his friend, the hippo
- his bird friend flies up

Talking bird tells story
- tiger listens with wide eyes
- he sighs and asks more about beyond the city buildings

Tiger yearns to explore
- he reminds himself how boring life is in the zoo
- he wants to be a 'real' tiger, like in the stories bird talks about
- daydreams of an escape idea

Offers bird [something] in return for stealing guard's keys
- bird is reluctant at first
- but bird realized there is [something] he needs and wants to go with tiger [for some reason]

Get these dots on paper in their respective places. You'll connect them later when you begin writing.

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Now that we have our first chapter outlined, it's time to review our bubble papers and choose which question we'll work with first. My choice is "What problems would my tiger face" as pictured in the beginning of this post.

My problems are: "people would run", "Too big to fit on city bus" and "people surprised he can talk".

At this point, you need to guess which answers would go where in each section. For instance, I could put "too big to fit on city bus" in chapter two, but that doesn't make sense because I haven't address how people would react to my tiger yet.

I've decided it makes the most sense to have my tiger make his full escape beginning in chapter two where we can begin to address the way people would react to seeing a tiger walking around the city. Both "people would run" and "people surprised he can talk" seem to fit together, so I'm going to inject both of them into chapter two.

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As you can see, a person running away from my tiger before he's escaped doesn't add up. People won't run away from a tiger who is securely behind zoo bars. So we need to brainstorm exactly how our tiger gets out which would be our next brainstorm before "people would run". In addition, we need to connection that plot point to the next, which is "people surprised he can talk".

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Congrats! You now have two chapters outlined to start your novel. Tomorrow we will work on our other bubbles and how to inject those into the main plot. We will also work on problems in the outline and how/when to rearrange sequence.

Homework

Create the first 1-4 chapters of your novel idea using the advanced method while reviewing the bubble method you learned yesterday. Only focus on one question (the best one to focus on is the problems the character will face).

You might find it more efficient to use Microsoft Word instead of paper to do your advance outline as I promise you'll do plenty of arranging and rearranging.

Let me know if you have any questions!

DAY THREE

Outlining - The Writer's Playground

The more we write, the more serious are about our writing and the more it seems like work. However, outlining is the writer's playground: an area untouchable by any editor or inner muse killer. It's the cool spring on a summer's day, it's the chocolate bar during your diet and most importantly; it is yours and yours alone.

Outlining a Novel - Advanced Part II

Get out your advanced papers from yesterday and study them as well as your bubbles from day one. Yesterday we approached the question "What problems will my tiger face?". Today we are going to learn how to implement the other questions into the chapters and work out whatever problems may arise.

The other questions we need to face are: "Where would my tiger go?" and "What would my tiger see?". These questions are going to help add flavor to your setting. Instead of a boring city and zoo we can spice things up a bit.

The first question is "Where would my tiger go?". My answers were: zoo, city, restaurant, bath, get hair done, dance club, play golf. We already the zoo in the first chapter so that can be deleted. Next, I need to connect the dots and pick places that can connect with each other. They all seem to connect except for "dance club and "play golf".

While I can probably incorporate "dance club" into the story, the tiger may have to go outside the city to play golf. This is where you must decide if your character is going to venture outside your chosen setting. Since I haven't outlined anything beyond chapter four, it's best to delete this for now but leave it in the back of my mind for later.

In chapter one, we explained where the tiger begins and why he starts his journey. In chapter two, we show how foreign city exploration is.

Therefore, in chapter three we can begin to show the places he explores and what happens in those places. My choices are: restaurant, bath, get hair done, dance club.

What would be the next logical step? He's a tiger. He's new to the city and new to meeting people. It would seem he would do something familiar and take a bath. Write that down first. After his bath, let's say he gets hungry as typical tigers do. We can place him in the restaurant next.

Our next two choices are: get hair done and dance club. These two are equally the same because it would be something out of character for a tiger. What order we write them down as doesn't matter. Therefore, we are left with something pictured below:

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Next, connect the plots as we did yesterday in chapters one and two.

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Continue this until you have filled up chapters 1-4 with the rest of your questions. When you're done, you should have an idea where the novel is headed. Keep this piece of paper in a folder (I always keep a dedicated folder for my novel to keep notes in) as you'll need it while you go along.

When you're finished outlining all the questions, begin writing on the chapters. Remember, this is a rough draft and anything can be changed, moved or deleted.

Problems in the Outline

Sometimes no matter how much we try, things don't go the way we planned. This is typically true in writing. You are bound to hit brick walls, even when you outline. Here are the most common problems and how to face them:

* Unable to make the transaction from one plot point to the next

If you can't connection the plot points with action, connect them with dialogue instead.

* Plot points in chapter 3 no longer work with chapter one

Trying rearranging or deleting the plot point altogether. Sometimes it may help to do another bubble outline to see if you can connect the dots logically. If not, it may be a sign that the plot point should be deleted from the story.

* I have thought of a new scene or problem but it seems like it should go between chapter one and chapter two.

If I had the point to one or the other, it will just bulk up the chapter and lose the reader

That's okay! Change chapter two to chapter three and bump up the rest of your chapters. Then, plot out the new chapter two.

* I can't seem to write my story in the way I've outlined

That's also okay! Outlining is just a guide or cliff's note version of your novel. As you get to know your characters, your plot points may change slightly or completely. During the first draft of my novel, I often have to change my outlines 2-3 times.

Homework

Finish outlining the rest of your bubble papers and address any problems as described above. If you feel daring, start chapter one from your completed outline. After you finish the rough draft of your first chapters, restudy your outlines and bubbles. At this point, you can use the same process for the rest of the novel.

DAY FOUR

The Five Senses

I have a problem writing scenes and I tend to leave out important information thinking the reader can 'see' what I vision in my head. Kelly, my editor , advised me to think of the five senses: hearing, smell, taste, touch and vision.

When you are outlining, it's important to think of the five senses and how you can incorporate them into a scene or plot. It's one thing to say how great a festival was. It's another to say our character stepped on abandoned popcorn while walking through the crowded festival and eating his candy coated apple.

We will address this more in tomorrow's lesson when we learn how to overcome writer's block.

Index Card Outlining

Another brainstorm method is index card outlining. I find it best to use this method after I've used the bubble method. Get out your bubbles from day one. I am going to use the bubble from "What would my tiger see?" with the answers: people, other animals, balloons, spoons, trees.

Get out about ten index cards. If you don't have index cards, you can make them by cutting a piece of paper into four parts.

Pick out your plot points. I am going to choose all five points: people, other animals, balloons, spoons, trees.

For each index card, write down one plot point at the very top. For example, I would put "people" on one index card, "other animals" on the next and so on.

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Next, under each plot point, write down what action can happen under that particular point which would cause the character to experience that particular thing.

For "People", I could write:

People
- escapes zoo, sees people
- walks in city, sees people
- talks to people
- sees people while boarding bus

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Do the same for the remainder points. When you are finished with what your character can see, do the same for the rest of your questions. One of my other questions is "Where would my tiger go?" with the answers: zoo, city, restaurant, bath, get hair done, dance club, play golf.

Just as before, write one plot point down per index card. Then, write what actions can happen inside of each point.

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When you have finished incorporating all your bubbles to index cards, take a glance at each one and arrange them on a table in an order in which you think they could go in. Can you logically connect the dots in a way that makes sense? If not, rearrange the cards to see what they would look like.
Keep playing and rearranging until you are satisfied with the order. Remember to number them so you don't lose your order.

Mixing Methods

As explained before, some people feel more comfortable diving in to the advanced version and outlining each aspect of their novel. Other people feel that too much outlining hinders the creative process during the first draft.

You can mix and match these methods. For instance, start with the bubble method, then use the index card method to help write your advanced outline. Or you can bubble in your head and skip directly to the index card outline while omitting the advanced outline altogether.

Homework

Take your bubbles and incorporate them into the index card method. Have fun! Come back and let us know how it went.

Tomorrow we will talk about the method that everyone has been waiting for: Writer's Block Outlining. You can use the previous methods, mix and match or omit them completely. The best part is it's even more fun than the bubble method! See you tomorrow.

DAY FIVE

The Many Hats of a Writer

A fiction writer tends to wear many hats: artist, editor , investigator, journalist, promoter, etc. Today I am going to ask you to try on another hat. Luckily, it's not as boring as investigation or research. It actually embraces the creative side, an area at which we are more comfortable with.

Writer's Block Outlining

This method should be used when....you guessed it: when you have writer's block.
Writer's Block outlining concentrates more on creative flow and discovery rather than order and outlining. We can use the bubble method, advanced outlining and/or index card outlining, mix and match or omit them completely.

While writing my 3rd novel "The Colossus of Love and Rhodes", I had trouble with a scene where Chares of Lindos made his first appearance at home. The novel's setting is based in ancient Greece. To top that off, Chares was a sculptor whom was obviously creative (and probably as messy as most artists). I had imagined that he would have clay and drawings scattered everywhere in his home. Beyond that, I was completely stuck. I could not imagine what I sculptor's home would look like in ancient Greece. That's when I learned how to use the Writer's Block method.

Get out a piece of paper. We are going to use the five senses: hearing, smell, taste, touch and vision. But, instead of your character experiencing these things, I want you to pretend you are.

Leaving room for answers, write "What would I hear?". Next write "What would I smell?", "What would I taste?", "What would I touch?" and "What would I see?". You can also write "What would I do?"

Next, put your piece of paper down and go do something relaxing: walking, bathing, TV, playing with animals, art. Anything but reading or writing. Get your mind completely off your work for 30 minutes to an hour.

When you return, make sure you are alone and your environment is quiet. Turn off the phone, put a sign on the door, whatever it takes. It's important not to be disturbed.

Now we're going to put on that hat I was telling you about: the actor's hat. I want you to close your eyes and imagine what Chares looks like. Now, step into Chares's body and become Chares. It may sound strange or even silly but bare with me. From now on, everything that happens to Chares, happens to you.

Start sculpting. What would you pick up first? What would you do with it? When the answers pop into your head, jot them down under one of the questions it falls under. Except it needs to be in a self sense. (Take the knife with my hands , push the mold with my knife)

Close your eyes again. Is it light outside? Can you hear noises? Write down those answers when they come to you. What is your room starting to look like to you? Keep asking yourself questions and answering them as they enter your head.

When you are finished, you will have something like this:

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[What would I see?]
- It is at night
- I am in a dark room lit by candlelight
- I live alone, so my house is a tad messy, I don't care.
- My house is small but comfortable
- I have gifts from women around Rhodes who adore/love me
- I don't use them but I don't fend them off: I leave them hanging
- My dinner was a pot of beans. it's all i know how to cook
- there are statues everywhere and putty and artist things

[What would I do?]
- Take the knife with my hands
- push the mold with my knife
- hum the song anothia sang?
- think about alex's instructions
- push her out of my mind, she does not suit me for the plans in my life
- Think about a society problem and ponder at how I can fix it
- wonder if demetruis would invest to help society's problem
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Most of the time what you've come up with will be out of time order. Choose one of the outlining methods to sort your answers while adding more details. Mine looks like this:

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[ The Outline]
- First I would take the knife in my hands. I would wipe off the left over beans from my hands so they won't get on my statue.
- I will push the mold with my knife and hate it that the candlelight doesn't give me enough light.
- Things will fall as I bump into them because I have a messy house.
- I will sip the wine that [x1-woman] gave to me. I will think about her
- I will begin to hum Anothia's song while thinking about Alex's instructions for the play's statues
- I will think slighly of Anothia but quickly push her out of my mind, she does not fit my current plans in life
- I will take a break and eat two bites of beans in a small pot, as I do almost every night cause I don't cook much.
- [RESEARCH: find problems in Rhode's society at that time. This will make Chares need Demetruis more and desire Anothia less. We want to make that love connection unlikely so when it does happen, it is more tragic when its taken away.]
- I will wonder if Demetruis will invest to help society's problem
- I probably don't bath because I stay up too late sculpting.
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And there you go! You've successfully jumped over the writer's block hurdle.

When You Get Stuck

The best thing to do when you experience writer's block is to step away from problem and relax. The more you attempt to concentrate, the more stressed you will become, therefore the more blocked you will become.

Homework

Use the method above to get past you own writer block. Come back and post your experience.

I hope you enjoyed the Outlining Workshop as much as I did. Feedback is appreciated. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.