Outlining
01/10/20 • 27 min
Outlining your story is like a puzzle for plot. In this episode, we talk about how mapping out what will happen before you start writing gives your story shape, and makes it much easier to write. This way, you can land a satisfying ending and give focus to your process to free your brain up for new discoveries.
Consume: Listen to The Shadows, a six-episode podcast series by Kaitlin Prest.
Create: Write a six section outline with a max word count of 60 words for each section. Give your project a beginning, middle, and end. Have the character’s growth matches the plot, and that the ending is set up by the structure. The goal is to figure out what happens within each section.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Outlining your story is like a puzzle for plot. In this episode, we talk about how mapping out what will happen before you start writing gives your story shape, and makes it much easier to write. This way, you can land a satisfying ending and give focus to your process to free your brain up for new discoveries.
Consume: Listen to The Shadows, a six-episode podcast series by Kaitlin Prest.
Create: Write a six section outline with a max word count of 60 words for each section. Give your project a beginning, middle, and end. Have the character’s growth matches the plot, and that the ending is set up by the structure. The goal is to figure out what happens within each section.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Previous Episode
Slowness
We talk a lot about creating with enough speed to turn writing into habit, but working slowly puts the finish line so far out of sight that you can focus on something other than the final outcome. Slowness is a way to make something big by allowing you to break your writing down into manageable parts, and gives you enough space to enjoy the process. It also means you can work a little bit on something everyday, even if you don’t know what it is yet.
**
**Consume: The Taxonomy of Air, a visual art piece by Susan D’Amato
Create: Every day for one week, set aside the time to write three sentences. For the first four days, just get those sentences out and don't think about the bigger picture. On day five, start thinking about where the piece is going. For the last three days, bring the piece to an end.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo:
https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Next Episode
Writing for Performance (Live from Boston)
We’re live from Boston with special guest Bilal Dardai, alum of the Neo-Futurist theater company and writer for the podcast “Unwell.” In this episode we talk about writing specifically for performance.
Consume: Gnome Sane by Joey Rizzolo, New York Neo-Futurists
Create: Write a 100-word story, 3rd person, someone confessing a crime. Then, write it again in 1st person by the person confessing. Then write it one more time for live performance. Think about what the performer should do with their body. How is the audience involved?
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written by Joseph Fink and performed by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor, and the live audience. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
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