Formatting
Book Outlining
May
Writing A Book Is Easy… Or Is It?
Many people think writing a book is easy, and it can be. But there are also many of those who lack the proper foundation to do so. We have natural writers out there who can crank out a book in 30 days. Doesn’t mean that it is finished, but they have a story start to finish that can be worked on and adjusted or edited until it is where it needs to be before publication. Then we have the people who struggle to get the words onto the paper properly. In their mind they know what they are saying, but once put on paper they unfortunately cannot articulate it enough or hold the reader’s attention.
A lot of that comes from the lack of focus in the book. Whether you are writing a nonfiction or fiction book, there needs to be a focus to it. In my personal experience with editing books, most of the lack of focus comes from nonfiction books such as self-help or books about people’s lives. Some writers sit down in front of a blank computer screen and hope for inspiration to hit them out of the blue. Others have the opposite problem, with ideas for plot twists, article topics, greeting card taglines, and even song lyrics buzzing incessantly in their heads. Both of these scenarios can be problematic.
Lack of Focus
As mentioned, sometimes being a writer can take a little more work than we hoped, and having an outline is the perfect tool that can help you. Then you have the writer that has too much going on in their head, which contributes to losing focus in your writing, and more so rambling on in multiple directions, losing your reader. Lack of focus can happen any time and no one is immune to it; there are more so preventative methods to losing focus and getting off-topic in your writing.
Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Reader’s like a book that is either complex or simple, but in that, the comprehensiveness of it and readability needs to be on point. Especially with books that are more complex in storyline. There needs to be a reason for what you’re writing and how you’re getting your reader through the book.
Outlining
Outlining can really help you map out a great story. Some road maps do change directions but at least you have a basis and where to start. Viewers should understand that without focus in their story, the reader will lose focus and move on. It’s not fun as the reader to feel like the writer did writing the book all over the place.
No matter which type of book outline you choose, planning before you write has many benefits. It’s not just about getting your thoughts on the paper, either. It’s about so much more than the actual writing. You don’t need to spend huge amounts of time learning how to outline a book either, but some prep before writing will be time well-spent since you won’t be spinning your wheels staring at the blank screen of death. When you start with a plan, you’ll unconsciously make connections and think about your draft, even when you’re not actively writing.
You should also understand the importance of completing your thoughts. Again, this goes back to the notion of putting yourself in the shoes of the reader. Act as if they know very minimal of what you are talking about and make sure that you can explain your points as clearly as possible without rambling or creating extra fluff where it is unneeded.
2 Methods of Book Outlining
- Simple Book Outline
- Chapter-by-Chapter Book Outline
A simple book outline is just as it sounds; keep it basic and brief. Start with the title. Don’t get too hung up on the perfect title at this stage of the process; you just want to come up with a good-for-now placeholder. Starting with some kind of title gives you a better idea of where you want your book to go. Plus, it jump-starts the creative process.
Next, you’ll list all of the key points that cover your book’s overall theme and message. You’ll use these key points to generate your notes. Later, you’ll flesh out these notes to draft your book chapters.
Your chapter-by-chapter book outline is a pumped-up version of the simple book outline. To get started, first create a complete chapter list. With each chapter listed as a heading, you’ll later add material or shift chapters around as the draft evolves. Create a working title for each chapter, and list them in a logical order. After that, you’ll fill in the key points of each chapter.
