180 | TTT004 | Outlining & Planning

Transcend HumanThe Transcendent Trilogy

Mar 25

Written By Daryl McMullen

March 25, 2024

Welcome back!

Today's Topic: Outlining & Planning

All the options
Do what works for you
One spreadsheet to rule them all

// CHAPTER 1: ALL THE OPTIONS

So this episode is really just the continuation of the last one.

We looked at the differences between pantsers and plotters. And I owned up to the fact that I fall into the plotter camp.

Quite heavily in fact...

And I can't say with 100% certainty that it's a personality thing - though it definitely fits my personality.

But there is a chance it could also be due to a lack of skill. Because I'm new to the craft. I've never written a novel before much less a trilogy. So what I lack in experience I could be making up for in pre-writing activities - like outlining and planning.

But I don't believe there is anything wrong with that - either way.

Pantsers will pants and plotter will plot. Right up to the point where they don't - and maybe at that point they cross the line and do the exact opposite - or perhaps a hybrid approach.

What I'm saying is it really doesn't matter - you do you. Pick the thing that feels the most comfortable to you and the one that gets the job done.

At the end of the day a pantser who can't tell a well structured story may miss crucial story elements - and the story will fall flat...
But the same goes for a plotter who does all the right things related to story structure and required genre elements but can't write an inspired story to save his or her live

On some level you have to start with a good story - then pick your poison when it comes to getting it from your heart into the world.

For me - it's been decided - I'm a plotter - and I'm going to start with outlining and planning.

And like we said last time there are numerous strategies to accomplish this.

I read through a list quickly - but realized I wasn't being very fair to these strategies.

I simply glossed over them and went right on to the thing I suggested would work.

But to be honest - my plan isn't going to be for everyone - so I wanted to go back over the list this week and actually describe them in enough detail so you can decide if one of them would be more up your alley.

As a reminder - the original list came from Kathy Edens over at the ProWritingAid.com blog. But I also linked to separate websites for some of the methods so you have everything you need to get started with one of them.

The Snowflake Method:

Created by Randy Ingermanson
It is a planning method that starts small and builds upon itself until you have a complete novel
According to Randy, there are 10 Steps to this method:

One sentence summary
Expand that to a paragraph (starting to divide the ideas into a three act structure)
Write a one page summary sheet for each of your characters:

The character’s name
A one-sentence summary of the character’s storyline
The character’s motivation (what does he/she want abstractly?)
The character’s goal (what does he/she want concretely?)
The character’s conflict (what prevents him/her from reaching this goal?)
The character’s epiphany (what will he/she learn, how will he/she change?
A one-paragraph summary of the character’s storyline

Take the initial paragraph and expand it into full paragraphs for each sentence in the opening piece. All but the last paragraph should end in disaster - but the last paragraph should explain how the story ends
Write one page descriptions for each of the main characters and a half page for each supporting character. These should tell the story from each characters point of view
Now expand each paragraph from the one page summary into a page
Expand your character descriptions into full character charts with every possible detail about each character
Make a spreadsheet - and from the 4 page summary pull all necessary scenes into the spreadsheet
Optional: Write a multi-paragraph summary for every scene in the spreadsheet. When completed - print this out and use as the Bible for your project - adding notes, ideas and content in red to these pages
Write your first draft

The 30-Day Method:

Developed by Karen Weisner
This one is similar to the Snowflake Method in that you continuously build on an outline you generate in the beginning
And as you write - the outline continues to change and expand based on your ideas
The interesting thing about this one is that you supposedly have a rough draft completed in 30 days
That's a little aggressive for my taste...

The 5-Step Method:

Found on the Mythic Scribes blog
Less structured than the previous two
You start with two sentences
Next you write a 3-5 page summary of the plot, characters and their motivations
From that synopsis - you create an outline (basically a bullet point (or 3x5 card for each scene in the book
Next - write your first draft...

Write from the Middle Method:

Developed by James Scott Bell
Simple - yet profound
The idea is that every great novel has a turning point somewhere in the middle
A point where the protagonist is faced with a life changing decision or event
The idea is to figure this out as quickly in the process as possible - then allow this to inform everything before and after it

The 5-Draft Method:

From Jeff Goins - a podcaster I found a while back - and loved listening to
The idea is to write and re-write your book 5 times:

Junk Draft: Word vomit as fast as possible
Structure Draft: Ensure there is structure to the story
Rough Draft: Polish line-by-line and chapter-by-chapter
Surgery Draft: Cutting out the parts that are not needed in the story
Last Draft: Able to be tweaked - but polished enough to send out to beta readers and editors

The Novel Factory Method:

Step 1: The Premise - one line that includes: character, situation, objective, opponent, and disaster
From there you walk through another 14 Steps to complete your first draft:

2: The Skeleton
3: Character Introductions
4: Short Synopsis
5: Extended Synopsis
6: Goal to Decision Cycle:

Goal – your character must have something they either desire or desire to avoid
Conflict – someone or something stops the protagonist achieving their goal
Disaster – something happens that not only takes the protagonist further than ever from their goal, but preferably adds on extra layers of peril
Reaction – following the disaster, the protagonist has an emotional and or physical response
Dilemma – the hero should have two choices, neither of them good, so the reader can empathize with the hopelessness of their plight
Decision – the protagonist chooses from the options available – which gives them a new goal… rinse and repeat

7: Character Questionnaires
8: Locations
9: Advanced Plotting
10: Character Viewpoints
11: Scene Blocking
12: Draft 1
13: Theme and Variations
14: Draft 2
15: Final Draft

// CHAPTER 2: DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

So there you go - 6 Alternative Methods for writing a good story.

Along with the information I've already given you about The Story Grid, and The Hero's Journey.

Obviously - I've picked my poison. And we walked through that last time:

From Story Grid:

The 20 Skeletal Scenes
Obligatory Moments
Genre Conventions
And making sure that the book, each Act, each quadrant and every scene includes the 5 Commandments of Storytelling:

Inciting Incident
Progressive Complications & Turning Point
Crisis
Climax
Resolution

Then from The Hero's Journey:

Ensuring that each of the 12 Story Elements described are included:

The call to adventure
The refusal of the call
Meeting the mentor
Crossing the threshold
Tests, allies, and enemies
The approach to the inmost cave
The ordeal
The reward
The road back
The resurrection
The return
The freedom to live

But here's what I want to do now...

I want you to think about what I just said and then think back to the other 6 methods we talked about.

See any similarities? I sure did. But it makes sense right? If a great book works because it is structured well and has elements the reader is expecting to be there - then it also makes sense that the method used for writing would get you to the same place.

They might use slightly different wording - or slightly different techniques - but at the end of the day - if your action novel doesn't include a scene where the villain is about to kill your hero - you're dead in the water...

If your love story doesn't include a scene where the relationship looks to be completely lost - people are going to feel cheated.

If your horror story never reveals who the monster is and how or why it is killing people - the reader isn't going to pick up your next book.

And so on and so forth.

So here are just a few of the similarities I saw in the various planning methodologies:

In the Snowflake Method you create a spreadsheet with a line for each scene in the book - as you'll see in the next chapter you do the same thing with Story Grid
In the 5 Step Method - you eventually create a outline or use 3x5 cards - one for each scene in the book - sound familiar?
In the Write from the Middle Method you're asked to find the turning point in the story - with Story Grid the turning point is one of the 5 Commandments of Storytelling and you are required to have one in every level of the book from the overarching plot to every scene
In the 5 Draft Method - the second draft is called the Structure Draft - what is Story Grid if not the structure for your story?
And finally in the Novel Factory Method - you find the Goal to Decision Cycle:

Goal – your character must have something they either desire or desire to avoid
Conflict – someone or something stops the protagonist achieving their goal
Disaster – something happens that not only takes the protagonist further than ever from their goal, but preferably adds on extra layers of peril
Reaction – following the disaster, the protagonist has an emotional and or physical response
Dilemma – the hero should have two choices, neither of them good, so the reader can empathize with the hopelessness of their plight
Decision – the protagonist chooses from the options available – which gives them a new goal… rinse and repeat

Now - this may not be word for word - but sounds interestingly close to the 5 Commandments of Storytelling...
Right down to the part where it says to rinse and repeat...

So there you go.

A few examples of how each method not only overlaps - but is also heading you in the same direction - toward a story that works.

// CHAPTER 3: ONE SPREADSHEET TO RULE THEM ALL

That said - let's dive into our final thought for today. I hinted at it earlier - when I said I was creating a spreadsheet based on the Story Grid method.

I linked to an article on the Story Grid website that explains the entire spreadsheet from top to bottom. So if you are into that sort of thing - feel free to head over there and check it out.

I actually pull it up every now and then if I can't fall asleep - does the trick right quick 🙂

Jokes aside - it's a powerful tool - but not for the faint of heart. It's one of those things you hear someone mention - and you're like, "How hard can it be?"

Then you see it and you're like, "Nope. I want nothing to do with that..."

Because it's daunting. So much so that I doubt I'll fully create one for my book.

But I will use the concept - and adapt it to work for me.

I say that because I don't have the full thing completed yet.

But I'm far enough along to know it's going to be a mandatory part of my planning process. It will basically be my outline for the entire trilogy as well as the outline for each of the three books within the trilogy.

So let me explain it as simply as possible...

My spreadsheet consists of three sheets - one for each book
At the top of the page I have the Trilogy Specific information

The scene number (yes - I'm keeping a running total through all three books)
The Hero's Journey (for the overarching story - ensuring the 12 elements are found within the global story)
Story Grid Elements:

5 Commandments of Storytelling are represented from beginning to end
Obligatory Moments
Genre Conventions

Below that comes the information for the specific book:

In my case I've broken each book down into the four quadrants:

Beginning Hook, Middle Build 1 & 2, Ending Payoff
And in my case I've added a Prologue - one at the beginning of each of the three books (more on that in a later episode)

Next, there is a column for every scene in the book
A column for the word count for each scene
A column for The Hero's Journey (ensuring the 12 elements are found within each book)
Story Grid Elements:

Making sure the 5 Commandments of Storytelling are represented in each quadrant
Making sure Obligatory Moments are found in each book
Making sure Genre Conventions are found in each book

Next is a short description for each scene
And finally a row for the turning point identified in each scene

Now - like I said - this is a work in progress and I only see it growing over time - not just as I write scenes - but as other columns/rows are added for importing things I might need in there.

For example - I can see adding a row to document breadcrumbs, easter eggs, foreshadowing and callbacks to things. Stuff like that in order to keep track of the overall story arc.

But for now - it looks pretty good:

I have the Prologue, Inciting Incident, Middle Build 1 & 2 and Ending Payoff listed across the sheet
I have the 20 Skeletal Scenes in separate columns as well as some additional columns just to start
And just like that I have 62 scenes listed on my spreadsheet
That's enough for an average novel with 1500 word scenes - making up a 93,000 word novel
I'm assuming I may have more than 62 scenes and get closer to 120,000 total words - but we'll have to see how it goes...
For now - I'm stoked that I'm this far
My plan is to flesh this spreadsheet out with scene descriptions for each of the three books - along with making sure all elements are accounted for and then my outline should be complete

So does that mean I can start writing? Close...but probably not. I'm pretty sure there are a few things I'll need to do in order to feel ready to dive in:

Characters:

Defining and writing a summary of each character in the book
Determining the true protagonist(s) and antagonist(s)

Yes - still trying to decide if I go the whole dual/multiple protagonist route or not...

Making sure I have strong internal story arcs for the main characters (what change happens in each?)

World Building:

Taking a stab at a document defining the world
Key people, terms, history, timelines, past occurrences, magic allowed in the world and boundaries that exist
Items that don't exist on our world, or things that aren't of this world
Defining real world people, companies and organizations in fictitious ways to ensure it isn't too real

Let's Land the Plane:

Thanks friends for making the time to join me. I hope this was interesting - and that it's given you some ideas for ways to plot your novel ideas - or movie ideas - or whatever it is you're working on.

Next time - my plan is to dive into my Big Idea and where I'm heading with the whole thing... I know this is a tricky thing right? How much do you give away? How much of your Big Idea do you allow the world to hear about before it is released?

I still haven't made up my mind on some of those details - but I guess I'll need to make some decisions before the next episode huh?

Alright friends - until next time - have a great week - and keep Transcending Human!

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