The Skeleton of the Novel: a Good Outline Makes a Good Story

I have always admired people who can write novels, often writing dozens or even millions of words. After reading this book, I have a general understanding of novel creation and a methodology. Only by practicing it will I know how effective it will be. The author emphasized the importance of writing an outline and also listed the format of an outline. The writers interviewed at the end of each chapter also attached great importance to writing an outline, and also gave them methods and some precautions for writing an outline. The book also talks about the core elements of the novel, the three basic elements, behind-the-scenes stories, background, character interviews (character tables), structure, etc. Character interviews are somewhat equivalent to character biographies. It also mentioned the reverse outline. When writing forward and encountering problems, work backwards from the results, ask questions, and solve the gaps in front. For every point mentioned in the book, the author basically uses his own works or the works of other famous writers as examples. Unfortunately, the author is a foreign writer and has never been exposed to him or his works before. I haven't read most of the works in the examples he gave [awkward laugh][awkward laugh][awkward laugh] I searched and found that the author is a female writer. I was too lazy to change the "he" in the comments.

This book is really great! It provides many practical writing skills and methods, giving me a clear direction when writing novels. Katie Weiland is like a friendly mentor who makes writing less difficult by sharing examples and exclusive tips. The content in the book is also very interesting and easy to understand. I particularly like the tools mentioned in it, such as Connect the Dots and the Enneagram, which feel very novel. As the author said, writing an outline is not boring, but makes creation more interesting. Recommended to all friends who like writing!

I have always watched video novel authors providing novel writing methods, and without exception they are very shallow. I have also bought tutorials, but they are useless. I have to say that the things taught in this book may be difficult to obtain from other channels, but it is still very good.

A good writing method, a large number of factual cases and interviews with writers, show readers the importance of writing an outline and the possible drawbacks, and provide inspiration and warning to readers. It is a good writing experience for learning and reference.

As a novice who came into contact with writing for the first time, this book helped me a lot. When I got rid of the confusion of how to write, I found the direction of writing, how to complete a novel, and what preparations to make before writing. Thanks to the author for all the useful information, I have benefited a lot.

This book is the only writing that made me realize that I am a normal person. Because other books teach how to write, this book makes it clear that some authors can directly write the full text, while others need to write an outline and complete the purpose of writing the full text by improving the outline. There are also sharing of writing experiences and writing outlines by various novel authors.

How should I put it, it's of no use to me because I don't write an outline [laughing]

It's a good book, much better than some books that seem to be useless.

It's very well written, and I suddenly became enlightened after reading it.

Very objective and practical.

Watch carefully, you will gain a lot

Very logical and inspiring!

The methodology and importance of writing an outline 🤔 If you want to write an outline before writing a novel, you can quickly read this book

Good book, I took a lot of notes. I hope I can write a satisfactory outline next month.

You have learned a lot and have a lot of useful information [Like][Like][Like][Like][Like]

Provided great help

Thank you, I'm very impressed

Very useful and rewarding!

Learned a lot, useful

Useful, good, good, good

Not bad, very helpful.

The content is good and I benefited a lot from it.

There are indeed many ideas for newbies to broaden their horizons.

Give an anchor to thoughts that have no way to start writing

Useful, useful for budding fiction writers

The novel is quite detailed. However, foreigners speak differently from Chinese people. You may need to read it a few times to fully understand this book. It is very good. Read it slowly.

After reading this, I already know my previous mistakes and areas that need improvement, and I have also learned many methods. I highly recommend this book, which is worthy of everyone's study and discussion.

When writing an article, you must have an outline so that your writing does not deviate from the main line. Thank you to the author for your hard work

Not bad, looks clear and clear

A book dedicated to teaching outline writing, very practical and recommended.