How to Outline a Novel (Even If Outlining Makes You Sick)

How to Outline a Novel (Even If Outlining Makes You Sick) How to Outline a Novel (Even If You’re Not an Outliner) I know what you’re thinking: How does the author of nearly 190 books, two-thirds of them novels, get off telling me â€Å"How to Outline a Novel† when he’s on record as a non-outliner himself? Hey, not only that, but we non-outliners have a name! We call ourselves Pantsers. Okay, so it’s not that creative. It just means we write by the seat of our pants. We could just as easily be known as No-Netters, like high wire walkers or trapeze artists who work without safety nets. And it’s not like we’re some crazy offshoot, like the cousins you never talk about. We make up about half of all novelists, and there are some famous mega-bestselling types among us. Does the name Stephen King strike a familiar tone? Why couldn’t we just be known as members of the Stephen King School of Fiction Writing? Need help writing your novel?Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide. Which Are You- Outliner or Pantser? It’s a good thing to determine early, you know. You’ll save yourself a lot of agony, starts and stops, frustration. There’s enough of that in novel writing already. No sense adding more when you don’t have to. Now, trust me, whichever you are- Outliner or Pantser- you’re often going to wish you were the other. It’s just like people with curly or straight hair. The curlies are always trying to straighten theirs, and the straights are always trying to curl theirs. Human nature, I guess. When I hit the wall at the halfway to three-quarter mark for just about every novel, I yearn for a tidy outline that tells me where to go next. But down deep I know better. Story outlines just don’t work for me. Somehow, when I plot the story out in advance, things get predictable. Plus, the organic nature of a story always has its way with me and the characters wind up taking over. They’re cantankerous sorts and never let me put words in their mouths or take the fork in the road I think they ought to. Go Where the Process Takes You The aforementioned Mr. King says, â€Å"Try to put interesting characters in difficult situations and write to find out what happens.† How fun is that? I live for it. It’s writing by process of discovery, and for me- and any Pantser- it’s the only way that works. I grew up on television. Maybe that’s why I’m an intuitive plotter, and my stories tend to have beginnings, middles, and ends. It doesn’t always feel that way while it’s happening, and sometimes I wonder why things are happening the way they are, but things always seem to come together and work out. Be What You Are Now, if you’re an Outliner and you try writing by the seat of your pants, you’ll soon know you’ve made a mistake. If you’re not an intuitive plotter, your story will be all over the place, your rabbit trails will take you to parts of the forest you have no business in, and you’ll never find your way back. You’re one or the other, so decide and stake your claim. Neither is better, neither is right or wrong- unless you choose the opposite of what you are. Then you’re not going to be happy till you switch. The Ultimate Novel Outliner If you’re an Outliner and want to jump in with both feet or dive in headfirst or whatever clichà © you choose to apply, you can’t do better than to tap into the very strange and wonderful mind of my friend, Dr. Randy Ingermanson. Who’s he, you ask? Only the Sheldon Cooper of novelists. Literally (and I use that term literally). On The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon has a masters degree and two doctoral degrees. Randy got his M.A. and Ph.D. in physics, specializing in elementary particle theory. He also did two years of post-graduate work on superstring theory. Somehow he now applies his intellect to the science of novel writing and teaching novel writing, and he is the story outline extraordinaire. If you’re an Outliner, go to his site and check out his Snowflake Method of outlining your novel, and also invest in his Writing Fiction for Dummies. But You Said I know! I was going to tell you how to outline your novel even if you’re not an outliner. If you’re not an outliner, you need to stay at least 100 yards from Randy Ingermanson. He’d tell you that himself. He doesn’t even want my business! Randy agrees that Outliners are Outliners and Pantsers are Pantsers, and never the twain shall meet. If you’re a Pantser, don’t try to be an Outliner. Then How Am I Supposed to Okay, here’s how. No one’s saying that just because you’re not an Outliner you should simply sit at the keyboard and wait till magic happens. It doesn’t go that way. At least it never has for me- although some critics may disagree. Though you may not have an outline per se, obviously you must have an idea or you have no business in that chair. I repeat: don’t go to the keyboard with nothing to say. Come with an idea! Be able to state it in one sentence. Tell me what your story is about. My first novel was about a judge who tried a man for a murder that the judge had committed. I had to have at least that much or I would have sat there all day twiddling my thumbs. Now, if you’re an Outliner, Randy Ingermanson will have you inventing characters with names and backgrounds and virtually blueprinting your story before you keyboard â€Å"Chapter 1.† As a Pantser, my thought was, come up with a couple of character names, put ‘em on stage, and start telling the story of that judge. Let’s see what happens. It sure won’t be predictable to the reader, because I don’t even know what’s coming. And if a reader writes to demand why I killed off some favorite character, I can say, â€Å"Hey, I write by process of discovery. I didn’t kill them off, I found ‘em dead.† Then What Did You Mean by ‘Novel Outlining’? That there is a basic story structure that works whether you have a novel outline or you’re writing by the seat of your pants, and it looks like this, according to bestseller Dean Koontz: 1- Plunge your main character into terrible trouble as soon as possible. (That trouble will mean something different depending on your genre. For a thriller it might be life-threatening. For a romance it might mean choosing between two suitors.) 2- Everything your character does to try to get out of the trouble makes it only worse. 3- Eventually things appear hopeless. 4- Finally, everything your character has learned through all that trouble gives him what he needs to personally conquer the opposition. That’s a structure that will keep you- and your reader- engaged and insured against boredom. And that’s how to outline a novel, whether you’re an Outliner or a Pantser. Need help writing your novel?Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide. So, which are you, an Outliner or a Pantser, and what will you do next?

Zara Case report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Zara Case report - Essay Example Porter’s Five Force analysis emphasizes that market trends of apparel and fashion industry are comparable to certain other industries and going to be more challenging in near future. The report critically explains the supply chain research as one of the strongest point of Zara; because it’s flexible structure entertains the primary activities to be executed smoothly. Primary supporting activities like human resource management, procurement, and research and development departments play a key role in formulating business and corporate level strategies. This case study highlights that Zara’s success is based on its low cost and product differentiation strategy. It further suggests that hybrid strategy could be more effectual for the company as it reduces the production cost of high quality products. The report also explains the two sad incidents which took place in recent years and have left a negative mark on the reputation of Zara. At the end of the case study, f ew suggestions are briefly presented for the further growth or expansion of the company. The reports also elaborates few techniques i.e. how to implement the internationalization strategy of Zara. In the context of Zara’s global expansion, few steps of corporate level strategy are discussed. By adopting these techniques, Zara can make maximize its speedy growth with respect to different regions. Table of Contents Contents Page No EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 02 1. INTRODUCTION 05 Question – 1: MACRO LEVEL ANALYSIS 06 2.1 PESTEL Analysis 06 2.1.1 Political Factors 06 2.1.2 Economic Factors 06 2.1.3 Social Factors 07 2.1.4 Technological Factors 08 2.1.5 Environmental Factors 08 2.1.6 Legal Factors 08 2.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 08 2.2.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Moderate 09 2.2.2 Bargaining Power of Consumers: Moderate 09 2.2.3 Competition among Existing Rivals: High 09 2.2.4 Threat of New Entrants: Low 10 2.2.5 Threat of Substitutes: Low 10 Question – 2: ZARA VAL UE CHAIN 11 3.1 Primary Activities 11 3.1.1 Design 11 3.1.2 Production 12 3.1.3 Logistics 12 3.1.4 Marketing 12 3.1.5 Store Operations 12 3.2 Supporting Activities 12 3.2.1 Company infrastructure 12 3.2.2 Human Resource Management 13 3.2.3 Technology / Research and Development 13 3.2.4 Procurement 14 3.2.5 Cost Factor 14 Question – 3: ANALYSIS OF PR CRISIS 15 4.1 Sweatshops 15 4.2 Shop-staff Abused 16 Question – 4: STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 17 5.1 Zara Business Strategies 17 5.1.1 Low Cost Strategy 17 5.1.2 Product Differentiation Strategy 18 5.2 Zara Corporate Strategy 18 5.2.1 Market Growth 18 5.2.2 Diversification 19 5.2.3 Vertical Integration 19 5.2.4 Product and Market Development 19 5.3 Recommendations for Future Strategies 20 5.3.1 Hybrid Strategy 20 5.3.2 Growth Strategy 20 5.3.3 Online Retailing 21 5.4 Techniques to Implement Recommended 21 Strategies 5.4.1 Owned Subsidiary 21 5.4.2 Joint Venture 22 5.4.3 Franchising 22 CONCLUSION 23 BIBLIOGRAPHY 24 1. INTRODUCTION Z ara is one of the leading apparel and fashion retail companies which is based at Artexio, Galicia in Spain. It was established in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Roselia Mera. The company is characterized by its massive infrastructure (almost 1750 stores in more than 90 countries) and flexible internal environment. Zara is beautifully decorated with vertical integration system within the organization which is helpful in designing, manufacturing, transportation, and distribution of the products to the markets. The system has enabled the company to be less dependent on

Why do you think some aviation hazards go unreported How might you Essay

Why do you think some aviation hazards go unreported How might you change attitudes of people who do not report such problems - Essay Example dents tend to go unreported is because they are considered either to be minor or there is lack of knowledge as to the effect that such minor incidents may have in the long term. The most important step that needs to be undertaken and is being undertaken is the fact that awareness of such hazards and their knowledge is given to the crew so that they are able to interpret the potential hazard and its outcome. Furthermore pressurizing the crew to report such incidents and any untoward incident which might be a potential hazard should be done. The training on such aviation hazards should be made mandatory. The occurrences of such hazards and the threats they pose have been taken into account by many aviation authorities and there have been measures undertaken so that such hazards do not go unreported which include developing simple reporting system. However, until and unless strict implementation is adhered to the customary practices of such hazards going unreported would continue. The measures that need to be adopted are prolonged but are of

Business Case Study Essay Example for Free

Business Case Study Essay A report on investigation into Business Case Date: May 02, 2013 Acquainted with your Business situation. I see a few problems within your business. One of the problems is changes in economic environment, which lead to conflict between stakeholders. The other problem is change of business structure. A success factor for any business is to analyse and understand the external environment in which it operates. Understanding of different types of stakeholders within business is essential too. To analyse business situation various method can be used. To analyse your current business situation I have used SWAT analyse which will give you opportunity better understand external environment and how it can impact your business. And will help you better understand conflict between stakeholders. The most basic SWOT analyse will examine how threats and opportunities can be dealt with while allowing the organisation to utilise its strengths and weaknesses to meet its key success factors [objectives]. A basic SWOT analysis should include an assessment of where the company is at current time and where it wishes to be at some point in the future . The organisation also needs to decide how far away that future is-it will vary from a few month to many years depending on the organisation, the nature of the business and its current situation (B 120, Book 1). SWOT analysis for the The Lodge Bistro Chain Strengths New IT system Initiative management stuff Possibility to adjust to changes Name and business recognition| Weaknesses Informal structure High stuff turnover Inconsistency in standards | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Opportunities New consumers base Reinstate some formal structure and rules| Threats Complete loss of concept Lose of standards Competition External economic environment| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As you can see from analyse above that the strengths will be recognition of your business and possibility of the business to adjust to new economic environment as you have initiative management team as it is described in Business Case: As an example of these issues, the young manager of one of the cafes in a central urban location began to offer a range of less expensive snacks to cater for diners on low incomes and reduced packaging to respond to the environmentally friendly principles of many customers. Another, in an area close to an office complex, offered a range of healthy eating options. It clearly shows that you have opportunities to attract new consumer’s base. Reinstate some formal structure and rules will give you better opportunity to control business Weaknesses arise from high stuff turnover, as you spend time, recourses for educating stuff. I think it would be beneficial to investigate why they leaving and looking for benefits packages you can purpose to your stuff And main threats arise from losing standards, huge competition and economic environment. For future I would purpose you to use methods like SWAT, STEEP and analyse of stakeholders before making any changes. Would be beneficial to make SWAT analyse on the way business was in 80’s and use it as comparison to current situation. It will give you opportunity to reinforce some formal structure more successfully. References The Open University (2006) B120 An Induction to business studies, Book 1, What is a business? ’, Milton Keynes, The Open University, page 95.

Drop The Bomb? Essay -- essays research papers

U.S. History - Grech Atomic Bombs Dropped on Japan, Justified?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August 6th and 9th of 1945 U.S. bombers dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing utter destruction and many deaths. These bombs were dropped as the Pacific battles of World War II were coming to an end. Soon after Japan surrendered, ending the war. But, was the use of atomic warfare necessary? Was it too harsh and cruel to the Japanese? The first question was whether or not to drop a bomb. The effects of atomic warfare had not been known and studied, but it was apparent that it would be a good tool in ending the war. The first bomb did appear necessary to ending the war. It would put Japan in check to bring a quick finish to the fighting, saving many lives, as well as prevent the Russians from joining the Pacific War. The second on Nagasaki, however was obviously not. It was handled foolishly, in that the Japanese were not allowed enough time to surrender and it seemed like a big sick experiment. The United States of America was justified in dropping the atomic bomb on the island of Hiroshima, but not justified in doing the same to Nagasaki.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the war scientists had been involved in the notorious Manhattan Project, the production of the atomic bomb. In three years the U.S. was ready to test the first atomic bomb, and did in Alamogordo, New M...

Examine The Ambiguity Of The Play S Conclusion Essay

When the audience does not receive a rounded story, and causality is being blurred the effect of a play can be unsettling, suggesting the presence of an unsolved situation. Although in the case of Death And The Maiden ambiguity is used in an unusual, opposite way where the created effect is best described by calmness and acquiescence. Does Paulina kill Roberto, or does she let him stay alive? Is Roberto really there in the theatre or is he just a fantasy? Leaving these questions open is very provocative. For the first sight the reader might feel intimidated, that the  foundations for any interpretation are removed, there are so few facts to start from. Because as he might discovered from the context before there is a symbolism, that one can associate characters with the people of post Pinochet Chile, or people of any country in a state of healing. But then how does this symbolism work? It does not say too much about the ways of reconciliation, and what is more that even if it does so it feels like an analytical dead end. Because it says that no matter in what ways you try to set yourself free of trauma, by revenge or by forgiveness the outcome will be the same, Roberto or his phantom  will always be there. This provocative nature of ambiguity forces the reader to look for new explanations. And where is the solution to be found if not in the book’s yet least understood part, in its title. What is death and the maiden for the reader? It can be the Schubert piece, or a motif that manifests itself in arts and literature from the medieval ages. But most importantly it is the motif for the universal presence of death. And suddenly all makes sense, Dorfman does not intend to intimidate the reader azzal, hogy azt mondja nincs megoldas a tramumaval valo megkuzdesre.

The Atomic Bomb - 1181 Words

â€Å"Two aspects of the 1939-45 conflict have come to be seen as defining elements of twentieth-century experience. The first of these was the planned extermination of an entire people-the event that resulted in the murder of approximately six million Jews (as well as significant numbers of other groups deemed â€Å"undesirables† by the Nazis, notably homosexuals and Roma), and that has come to be known as â€Å"The Holocaust.† The second is the use of the atomic bomb against Japan by the United States in 1945-and the consequent dawning among the world’s population of an awareness that humans now had the capacity to destroy the entire human race.† (The Early Twentieth Century p.1047). The dropping of the atomic bomb was a massive shock to the entire†¦show more content†¦So, too, related controversies over the benefits and costs, the legality and morality, of biotechnical innovations in reproductive technologies, genetic engineering, and cloning, to say nothing of the ecological consequences of new biological, chemical, and nuclear weaponry that constitute central preoccupations in contemporary society.† (Nature p.234). It appears that humanity has been detrimental to its host for quite some time now, particularly in the last hundred years or so. The subjugation of fellow man and earth stems from a central theme; the idea that humanity seeks to conquer, categorize, and control whatever is in their sights. There are exceptions, of course. This idea does not apply to all people, but can be seen in instances such as the aforementioned subjugation and slaughter of the Jews during World War Two, in the form of the Holocaust, and the continued destruction of the natural world for profit. â€Å"Nature† also touches upon a similar idea, posed by theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, â€Å"In their influential work Dialectic of Enlightenment, the Frankfurt school theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno exami ne the perils of an ever â€Å"advancing† scientific, technological, industrial society governed through the logic of control and domination. 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