outlining

TLDR: How important is it to have the theme of your plot (and subplots) nailed down prior to writing? As I have started down this path to write my first novel I’ve heard a lot of good advice when it comes to the importance of an overarching theme. Most will say having a theme is important...

I've seen a lot of threads where people talk about their writing process, but mostly those seem to deal with the actual writing/drafting part, and don't go to deep into how they create their outlines. It never really stood out to me before because I kind of assumed all outliners just did it the...

The topic arose in a recent thread: Within the discussion, the issue of story structure reminded me of my own frustration with trying to conceive the flow of the story across scenes/sequels, chapters and acts. That would be the challenge for me; I have often had trouble with meandering as I...

A useful tool for outlining works of writing (scripts or novels), a beat sheet helps you keep the progression of a story in line with the specific beats of a story as they follow the Three Act progression. I've written up an article outlining the beat sheet, providing a visual example of the...

Hello everyone.:) A few years ago, I had an idea for a story and immediately began writing on it, pantser-style. I wrote maybe 100,000 words, over a period of a few months, before I came to a screeching halt. I wasn't happy with where it was going. I had done scarcely any world-building...