Outlining: Reverse and Otherwise

2/13/2013

Hey All,

BSFW has been having an extended conversation about outlining for about a year, particularly the novel group. Arguments for and against have been made with compelling clarity. I for one am all for outlines, although for the longest time I was, to be honest, afraid of compacting my novel to its most
fundamental elements.

One reason I feared outlining was the possibility, that once I did, I’d find my story just didn’t work, and that others would see it too. Another difficulty was finding the right format; one that was helpful to me, the author, yet flexible and relatively easy for the critique members to follow with limited time constraints.

This struggle has resulted in some interesting answers. Mark Salzwedel, a new BSFW member,  put up the synopsis of his novel Bauble based on my recommendations given in the letter announcing the dual meet-ups. It needed to include most of the following basic criteria:

1. Who your protagonist and antagonists are, & his/her/their main
conflicts

2. Themes

3. The key plot points & or events in your story

4. (Optional) What kind of story is it? First Contact, space opera,
swords and sorcery,  urban fantasy,etc.

Marks synopsis was clear, concise, fit on one page, and still managed to be exciting and sound like a book I wanted to pick-up and read. After reading his, I finally redid my outline. It took just under an hour and I’m pretty happy with the results. And that’s not all.

Recently, Brad Parks re-posted a great article on reverse outlining on the BSFW Facebook group. The article, by Aaron Hamburger, gave me the idea of incorporate reverse outlining into an outline template that would then allow me to go back and easily check on my story organization by answering questions like: How many words am I expending on this section? What part of the story it? What job is this section doing?
That way, I just get to focus on writing a great story.

I've attached the outline template here for you to download. Let me know if it works for you, and any thoughts to make it better. Consider this open source.

-Rob Cameron

short_synopsis_template.doc
File Size:	47 kb
File Type:	doc

Download File

3 Comments

Marcy Arlin

2/13/2013 12:06:13 pm

Thanks, gentlemen. I will give this a try on "Jellyfish"

Rob Cameron link

2/19/2013 04:22:40 am

I'm also trying it out for short stories.

Mark Salzwedel link

2/13/2013 12:48:19 pm

I'm glad I was able to inspire you. I had a more extended synopsis some agents required, and I went through that 10-page version picking out the major plot points and skipping over mere complications. That left me with close to 30 points, and I feared I would give away all the suspense, so I pruned it down to 18 points and took out all character identifications other than the protagonist and antagonist. Perhaps for those who can handle it, writing the jacket flap copy would be a better exercise. It is designed to entice the reader into browsing and buying the book, and so it is oriented toward sales and marketing. Since you said we wouldn't be critiquing the synopsis or outline, I'm not sure why the entire plot arc needs to be furnished at all if not for the enticement of readers that the flap copy would also accomplish.

As an example:

"The Walking Trees of Bauble: First Book in the Bauble Trilogy
by Mark Salzwedel

"In a time when the human race has outgrown both the Earth and its moon, near-light propulsion space barges are sent out to two nearby stars to bring back enough water to make Mars a new home. But war breaks out between the Earth and Luna Colony and makes the military nervous whether the human race will survive.

"Raymond Najarian commands the Methuselah, one of the barges, and he has to fight scientists and soldiers who want the mission to serve their goals alone. Throw in a crew member who tries to keep her past hidden by brainwashing the troops one by one, a saboteur, and an alien world where the inhabitants mimic Earth plants and the plants are hungry and you get the most suspenseful first-contact story in years.

"Mark Salzwedel is an actor, editor, writer, masseur, hypnotherapist, singer, and game designer living in New York City. The Walking Trees of Bauble is his first novel, which forms the first part of a trilogy that includes The Great Distraction of Bauble (book 2) and The Battle for Bauble (book 3)."

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Outlining: Reverse and Otherwise

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