Happy Halloween! Which means tomorrow is #NaNoWriMo. Oh my. Remember to breathe! This is the last installment of NaNoWriMo prep. I actually did mine over the weekend, but there’s still enough time for tonight. The last thing to do – is the dreaded outline! I actually break down my concept, close my eyes, think about it scene by scene and write it down.
When I write, I reference the scene I’m on. Makes it MUCH faster. Now sometimes the story changes, and I add/delete, change things around as I go if it naturally takes me somewhere else or doesn’t make sense. This is a plan, but once actually on the battlefield of writing a book, plans need some improvisation. Don’t worry about that. For now, it’s just about developing your idea so you can write it faster and save yourself some headache.
It’s simple enough, go write that outline then go write!
As a bonus, here’s the outline of the first two scenes of my forthcoming novel, Star Realms: Rescue Run. I won’t give you any more than that as to not spoil the book! I did change quite a few details hwen it came time to production of this, so while it may give a loose feel for the book, don’t take this as expected to see (I didn’t leave the character with an Ark, for example, for those who follow Star Realms). Enjoy:
- JOAN SHENGTU pilots her salvage ship, The Ark, approaching Balibran Station, a Star Empire mining outpost near an asteroid debris field by the planet Aradel [Planet reference from the App Chapter 1]. Due to its proximity to ore, the station has a lot of traffic. Joan cuts power on her approach, attempting to glide in undetected. Her AI guides the way, leading her to a soft landing near an exterior hatch for her to sneak inside. She dons a pressure suit, pops the hatch, makes her way into the station. Her AI guides her to a locked room, where Joan is supposed to be stealing a data crystal with mining process patents worth more than a trillion credits on behalf of a mysterious client. She disables a security system, hides from people walking the corridors and finally gets to the Kastle Mining Corporation’s central system room. Her AI has trouble with the lock sequencer when it pairs with her HandTab. It short circuits, but the door pops open. Joan steps inside, only to see an older gentleman inside saying he was expecting her, and shoots her with a stun-burst.
- DARIO ANAZAO has been thrust into a leadership management position, Director of Research Operations at Regency Biotech, Inc, recently out of their in-house Masters Business Administration program. He has no real experience leading a team, but his computer systems make most decisions for him. His father is the CFO and Dario attempts to get some time, finding his plate way too full and having no direction, but is told his father can’t take any meetings. Dario meets his assigned assistant JAKE DYLAN retires alone to his quarters.
My original outline for this book had 36 scenes! It ended up with quite a few more when I wrote it. Be sure to check out this book when it comes out Mid-November and enjoy NaNoWriMo!
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