Take time to outline your book! Create a book map
Just like GPS directions are indispensable for your destination, so is a book map—the outline!
If you’re new to writing, or even if you’ve been at it for a while, outlining is one of the most important steps in your book-publishing journey. It can help keep your story on track and make sure that you have all your points in place before you start writing the actual manuscript.
In addition to outlining being critical for overall story structure, it can also be very helpful when it comes time to revise your draft. If there are any holes or gaps in the plot or story line, an outline will reveal them before they become big problems later (we’ll talk more about revision down below).
If we’re being honest though—when was the last time anyone did an outline of anything? Sure, you may think about what your next blog post or sermon or speech should look like when you’re working on it, but you don’t write out every single point ahead of time so that you know exactly what needs to happen when.
One reason for this is probably because people forget how helpful a clear plan can be throughout the whole book-writing process.
Another reason authors don’t outline is because they don’t want their creativity constrained by too much structure; maybe some people just don’t want all those extra pages cluttering up their files! Whatever your reasons may be (and there are many), not creating an outline first will likely lead directly into trouble down the road…
So, take 30 minutes (or more) and create a working outline. Remember this might change. Don’t worry. Create your map now, and it will give you guidance as you head toward your desired destination.
Abraham Lincoln was purported to have said, “If I had 4 hours to chop down a tree, I would take 3 hours to sharpen the axe.” Sharpening the axe is an indispensable part of being a writer. And it comes in form of preparation which, in turn, speeds and facilitates the writing process.
Coming up next: Create an effective writing plan
