Creating a book outline

I thought I’d write up a quick post on creating a book outline. I’m an outline kind of guy and I guess I developed my affinity for them when I was in school. There’s a time for brainstorming, free writing, stream of consciousness, and all that good stuff, but for me, when it comes down to entering the battlefield that is beginning a book, I’m a fan of outlining.

That’s how I started Souls of Astraeus, and that’s what I’ve done with Games of Astraeus. It’s a very simple thing. It helps me play through the chronology of the plot and helps me hack away at the book, chapter by chapter, and stay focused. Of course, I can move chapters around, tweak, add, and delete as I need to, but the outline definitely helps me stay on track with major plot elements, events and scenes that I want to make sure make it into the final product. I’ve especially found it helpful for developing the arc of the story, climax, suspense-building, and so forth.

What are the methods to your madness for helping you stick to your story?

– Jeramy

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