What's the point of an outline? Whether consciously or not, every writer is in search of a process. A lot of writers want to dive right into their first drafts and start amassing pages. Though …
Book Outline
Outlining: The Dramatic Question
Your characters are a function of the plot, archetypes that constellate around the dramatic question. Story is essentially an argument with the dramatic question being the thesis statement we are …
What Happens Next?
The first step in creating a fully alive story is imagining the world. This simply means envisioning your characters in relation to each other and asking, "What happens next?" With each idea or image …
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What Happens Next?
The first step in creating a fully alive story is imagining the world. This simply means envisioning your characters in relation to each other and asking, “What happens next?” With each idea or image that springs to mind, we follow it to its conclusion. At this point we are not trying to “figure out” our …
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The Value of an Outline
What’s the point of an outline? Whether consciously or not, every writer is in search of a process. A lot of writers want to dive right into their first drafts and start amassing pages. Though there are those writers who claim not to outline, upon questioning (and I’ve asked many of them) I usually discover …
Read More
Outlining: The Dramatic Question
Your characters are a function of the plot, archetypes that constellate around the dramatic question. Story is essentially an argument with the dramatic question being the thesis statement we are setting out to prove. Exploring the Dramatic Argument In the Will Ferrell comedy Anchorman, the protagonist Ron Burgundy wants to maintain a “men only” newsroom. …
Read MoreThe 30-Day Outline Workshop
In this five-week workshop, each writer will discover a process of connecting to the primal forces in their characters to reveal plot. Through this process, you’ll discover the foundational elements that will help you to unlock the story within. The 30-Day Outline workshop will be meeting on Thursdays at 1:00-3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) for five …
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The Value of an Outline
What’s the point of an outline? Whether consciously or not, every writer is in search of a process. A lot of writers want to dive right into their first drafts and start amassing pages. Though there are those writers who claim not to outline, upon questioning (and I’ve asked many of them) I usually discover …
Read More Outlining: The Dramatic Question
Your characters are a function of the plot, archetypes that constellate around the dramatic question. Story is essentially an argument with the dramatic question being the thesis statement we are setting out to prove. Exploring the Dramatic Argument In the Will Ferrell comedy Anchorman, the protagonist Ron Burgundy wants to maintain a “men only” newsroom. …
Read More What Happens Next?
The first step in creating a fully alive story is imagining the world. This simply means envisioning your characters in relation to each other and asking, “What happens next?” With each idea or image that springs to mind, we follow it to its conclusion. At this point we are not trying to “figure out” our …
Read More