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  1. Pharthan

    Pharthan Active Member

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    Novel Revamping a Novel - Where to start?

    Discussion in 'Genre Discussions' started by Pharthan, Apr 24, 2018.

    My novel was originally Discovery Written up through end of the first act. While I learned a lot of good stuff about my book that way, I found that it wasn't right for me.

    Now that I'm taking an Outline Approach, I want to do this right.

    What do you all suggest I start with outlining? So far I've got my premise, and a vague idea of the final climax, I know who my main characters are, and multiple major beats and whatnot, but what do I truly need to start with?

    I'm aware of the idea that I need to find out for myself what works for me, but I suppose my real question is "What works for you? What do you do to plan out a story?" So that I can try all these methods and find what works. I just don't know where to start, I suppose.
     
  2. GlitterRain7

    GlitterRain7 Galaxy Girl Contributor

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    I, personally, made a very vague outline, including just the main events of the chapters. Really, each chapter outline was two or three sentences. And I added to the outline as needed, including a huge add on right when I decided that I need to be writing daily.
    If you're not happy with your first act, I'd break it down to something similar to what I did, a few sentences highlighting the chapters. Then I'd go do that for the rest of the book. Just keep adding to that outline as you get new ideas. Eventually you'll get to the depth you want the outline to be. That may be a few sentences per chapter, which was all I needed, or you may need two paragraphs. That part I can't help you on; you'll just need to decide that yourself.
     
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  3. John Calligan

    John Calligan Contributor Contributor

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    The novel people are betareading now, which is my second finished book, had really, really flat characters for the first half because I didn't know them. I spent a lot of time on world building, but not enough on character building, and it made the revision take a lot more work.

    So next time I'm going to do my world building, think up characters, and do a bunch of free writing about them and conversations between them before I start the first chapter.
     
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  4. Cephus

    Cephus Contributor Contributor

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    You're either an outliner or you're not. I am and I meticulously think through every aspect of the story and the characters before I ever commit a word to paper. I can't do it any other way. I know every single character as well as I know myself. I know all of the locations. I know all of the actions. It's only when I have the story firmly in hand that I can sit down to write, and it isn't really writing, it's just putting what I already know in my head down in written form.
     
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  5. zoupskim

    zoupskim Contributor Contributor

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    1Story Goal: Luke Skywalker wants to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like his father. Luke wants to fight the evil Empire.

    2Consequences: Death, moisture farming, lose friends(already left to academy), lose family(they die), Empire wins.

    3Requirements: Learn the Force, leave Tatooine, join Rebellion, fight Empire

    4Forewarnings: Parents could get killed(they do), Luke sees Jawas murdered by Empire, sees Obi-wan Killed, sees Alderan destroyed.

    5Costs: He has to leave his family(although dead), sells speeder, must fight in war, looses friends.

    6Dividends: Rising Force power, knowledge of the world, and mastery over Empire, new friends.

    7Prerequisites: Learn Force, find way off planet, learn to use light saber.

    8Preconditions: Han Solo must be paid, princess must be rescued, droids resist capture, Empire fights back, Darth Vader fights Luke.
     
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  6. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    How much are you planning to change about the story you wrote, @Pharthan ? (Or did I pick you up wrongly and you're writing a different story?)

    If it's your original story that you want to revamp, that should be easy.

    What went right? Do you have good characters, etc? Decide what you are happy with.

    Then focus on what didn't work. Is there a plot hole or two that you need to plug? Does the story drag in places? You sound, from what you said, that the problem isn't so much with word choices etc, but structure.

    First, identify what the structural problems are. Then—and this is important—spend some time away from writing, thinking about these problems. Confront them, and figure out how to fix them, same as you would confront and fix any other kind of non-writing problem. Sometimes solutions drop into your lap. Other times solutions take a bit of thought and some trial and error. Don't be afraid to try new approaches, or to dump stuff you thought was necessary when you began. Sometimes a radical change works wonders. If you make a radical change during the thinking process, then you haven't wasted any writing time if it turns out not to work. Don't be afraid to experiment at this stage. Play lots of 'what if' games, until you land on something that solves your problems.

    Once you know what's wrong and how to fix it, I'd say the outlining should be simple. I'd say go chapter by chapter, because that's how books are organised. Decide what each chapter will contain, and write a couple of sentences telling yourself what each chapter needs to do. With those smaller goals in mind, THEN start re-writing, making sure that each chapter reaches the goal you set for it. Of course each chapter needs to lead into the next as well, so work on that aspect too. Each chapter sets up the next one, as well as providing pieces that lead to an overall conclusion to the story.

    Each chapter also contains more than just 'what happens,' so make sure that your goals include the reader's emotional involvement, little surprises, recognition of the nature of your characters' relationships, etc. There will be things going on 'behind the scenes' as well, so hint at these things, if you can. As they read that chapter, you want your reader to feel and think ...what? Make sure you lead them to what they need to think and feel, as well as showing them the events they need to watch. Never forget that reading your book will be an emotional journey for your reader. The more emotionally involved they are, the more they will be engrossed in your book. So make sure all the ingredients are there.

    The problem with ordinary outlines can be what happened to @John Calligan , as he explained in his post above. If you concentrate only on what happens and what happens next, your writing can be flat and your characters just become agents to move the plot along. So make sure you get that necessary emotion in there as part of your outline. Not so much characters' emotions but rather what emotions the characters and the situation will create in the readers. Saying something like "Nancy screamed and yelled at Jake" indicates Nancy's emotional state, but it doesn't create any emotion in the readers ...unless we know Nancy well, and understand what's at stake here, and care about how it turns out.

    Using @zoupskim 's Star Wars example, I would adopt the overall story view in the outline ...but change the approach to scene by scene.

    When you watched the movie for the first time, and met Luke in that second 'chapter' ...what did that chapter accomplish? Okay, Luke is a farm boy with a hidden history (hinted at), whose friends have all left to get on with their lives somewhere else. He's living with his uncle and aunt on a dry, isolated part of Tatooine. Luke and his uncle buy a couple of droids from the Jawas, which are Luke's job to repair.

    That's more or less all that actually happens in the plot—and if that's all you portray, following a strict outline, your story is going to be fairly flat. BUT ...the 'chapter' also introduces us to Luke's personality and gets us emotionally involved with him.

    He's a good kid, trying to do his best at a job he doesn't like and trying to resign himself to being left behind by all his friends. His only companions now are his uncle and aunt, who are nice enough people, but don't seem to be in tune with him at all. There isn't really any feeling of love between them. Only obligation. Uncle Owen and Luke buy a couple of droids which Luke is sent to repair. The scene ends with that amazing shot of Luke sitting looking at the moons, and we know that he LONGS to be somewhere else and do something else with his life.

    It's wanting to find out whether he gets to live his dream that keeps us eager for the next scene—not the fact that he lives with his aunt and uncle and they just bought two droids. Understanding Luke's dream kicks our emotional involvement up a gear. So these kinds of emotional undercurrents need to be firmly placed in your outline, whatever form it takes.

    What do you want that scene/chapter to accomplish? In Lucas's case, it was more than just introducing Luke, Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru and getting the droids on board. The audience also needs to know that Luke's dreams are being thwarted by his grumpy uncle, and Luke longs to be elsewhere, and live a different kind of life. Luke's emotional state is what makes us keep watching, eager for the next scene to begin.
     
    Last edited: May 1, 2018
  7. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    I'm not sure that I actually have any advice, but I know I revamped my novel so many times I've lost count of the number of drafts I have. I have 368 files in the folder for this novel. I have at least 5 drafts that I actually remember, and a 6th current draft, on top of multiple edits on each of these drafts. Some of them entirely from scratch, others with pieces lifted from older drafts and reused. I know my characters inside out by this point - their interactions and emotions are easy to pinpoint for me because I have a few core backstories for each of them that I've written too many times. I even have a file called "Will - for the last time" - as in, this is my "last" draft on Will (my MC for the novel). Of course, that was not the last draft... how did you guess?

    From all this, I'd say, at least for me, I'd do "discovery writing" (eg. write wherever my ideas take me with no idea of the end). Pause every so often, and go back and flesh out back stories, motivation etc. Make a simple outline, give myself some sense of direction. And then more discovery writing according to the direction or milestones I've decided on. Pause, go back, fix it up. Until I get to the end.

    For a novel you already have an idea of, try and find your first scene and then go from there (the first scene might change multiple times, but hopefully each time your first scene would be closer to the true first scene your book actually needs). Figure out what you really wanna keep and throw out the rest. Stay true to your original vision no matter how the elements change.
     
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  8. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    What's the goal for this novel? Do you want it to get published?
     
  9. Lawless

    Lawless Active Member

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    Have you tried this idea? (I found it in a book.)

    Write a summary of your novel, like explaining it to a completely uninformed but interested person – first, such-and-such happens, then such-and-such happens, and so on. Also explain the why whenever it feels appropriate.
     
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  10. Raven484

    Raven484 Contributor Contributor

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    I kind of do discovery and outline at the same time.
    I am writing a story that will span at least three books, possibly four. I started with an Act1, Act2, Act 3 mentality, so I made a brief statement of what I wanted to happen in each act.
    Then I break down the acts into chapters, after chapters I move to scenes.
    When I actually am writing the story, I do not start from the beginning. I pic a chapter that is fresh in my mind and go from there. A lot of times new ideas or edits to the story come to me and I update the outline. This works for me and helps keep my stories timeline straight in my head.
     
  11. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    I wrote a 52000-word novel 'Haiti's Nun' and found I was lacking in skills at the time. Four years later, I rewrote it as 'Deceitful Survival' 90000-word novel that survived a lot of betas and editors.

    What I had to do with 'Haiti's Nun' was scrub everything that didn't move the story, which ended up being about 35000 words left, and with that skeleton of a story I wrote the new novel around that frame work.
     
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  12. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Duct Tape Fix.jpg
     
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  13. exweedfarmer

    exweedfarmer Banned Contributor

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    I suggest that you READ the novel again, don't edit. Then, chapter by chapter, note the important plot points. Make all the points agree throughout, and there is your outline.
     
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  14. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    For me I get stuck when I don't know where the story is headed - in this sense, I need some semblance of an outline. But I'm also a bit of a pantser so I like to make things up as I go. In this sense, I'd start with an opening scene, whatever that might be, and start theorising what could happen next. Once I have a milestone (a direction to head towards), I start writing towards it and make changes along the way. So far that's been the best approach for me I think.
     

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