TECH: Million Dollar Outlines? (1)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting 12 April 2013

A friend recommended I take a look at this book, I bought it, and since I'm going to be reading it, I thought I would do a "read-along" here on the list. That's where I summarize and comment on what I'm reading, and you can join in, comment, or just ignore it, if that's what makes the most sense.

So! The book is called Million Dollar Outlines. It's by David Farland. Available in Kindle here http://amzn.to/153JfZb . It's not really a book about outlining, although you might get that impression from the title.

The start of the book, the Overview, jumps right into the issue of what kind of a writer you are. After all, outlining -- everybody does outlining, right? But what this book is going to tackle is the question of why some story ideas "hit" better than others. So it's going to dip into the psychology of stories, what makes a good story, and how to make an outline (back to the title!) that really brings out the best of that story.

Oh, and while we're at it -- discovery writer? Just like to dive in and discover what the story is about in the process of writing it? You may not be interested in this book at all. Outliner? Want the whole thing cast in bullet points before you start? Might help, but... Hybrid? Mix up outlining and some free-writing? All right!

What this book offers you, no matter which kind of writer you are, is a way to "recognize and develop those great ideas." And that's something we all need, right?

Organization? Well, stories go through brainstorming, but also get into outlining or other left-brain, logical organizing, right? And the organization of this book goes through:
1. What elements make a bestseller?
2. What elements let you plot your story?
3. Put the plot together!

And Section 1 is called "What makes a bestselling story?" I'll pick up there in a while, but let me jump ahead to the first exercise in this section. I'll quote it here:

"You probably have a good idea about what you want to write -- horror, mainstream, fantasy, historical, romance, Westerns, religious fiction, and what not. Sit down for 10 minutes and list five things that you feel you most like in the fiction you read. Then list the biggest potential danger you see in trying to create that effect.

Doing this exercise will help you understand who your potential audience is, and some of the challenges you may face in reaching that audience."

There you go. Something to work on. Feel free to get a copy of the book and read ahead.