Creating an outline for your novel isn’t a one-size-fits-all job. Try these exercises from Lizzie Enfield to help you find the outline that works best for you
I’m at that stage. I’m starting a new novel. Actually, I’ve already made a start and am about 25K words in, the stage at which I always realise that it’s all very well starting off and seeing where you end up but that this novel actually needs a bit of careful forethought.
Writers tend to divide into two camps: planners, who meticulously plot every twist and turn of the story and ‘splurgers’ who spit it all out before trying to get it into shape. I fall into the latter camp. I hate planning but I am aware that all writing, even a short story, benefits from some form of basic outlining.