Transcripts
1. Introduction: New to writing and struggling
to finish your first book. Having a clear and
concise structure can help with that high. And they see at this point, I've written two books, dozens of short stories, dozens and dozens of outlines. Here's the thing. When I was first starting out, I thought that outlines a
complete waste of my time. I thought they were
useless and very boring. And what happened was that
it took me four years to finish my first
manuscript for years. And what happened
at the end was that I actually started looking
more into what outlining was. And I noticed that there was
a very specific structure. So I went back to see how my novel measured
up to that structure. And it turns out
they were identical. I had followed that
exact structure only it had taken me four
years to figure it out. So in this class, I would like to fast-forward
this process for you. Because by the end
of this class, you will walk away
with a complete story, knowing full well who
your characters are, what their story is, and basically all of the
events that happened within the story to make
it great and compelling. I've spent countless hours
poring over articles and books and videos
about outlining. And what I notice that they
tend to make things quite complicated and convoluted
and it's just not needed. So inside this class, I've simplified the process of bolted down to the essentials. And you will only have to answer a few questions that I will
pose that are very strategic. And just basically questions
that all writers have to think about at 1 or another
throughout their story. You'll walk away
from this class. Knowing full well, what
your novel will be about this class is for anyone who
wants to finish their Novel, be it a beginner or a seasoned
writer, anyone is welcome. Although this class is
primarily aimed at beginners, you don't need any
prior experience. You don't need to have any
sophisticated knowledge, and you don't need to have any complicated tools
or anything like that. Your project class will
be to create a project, to create an outline
of your book. So each lesson is designed
to walk you through the main points that are going to help you
create that outline. So I hope you found this interesting and I will see
you inside lesson number one.
2. Class Project: Before we dive into
the good stuff, Let's talk about your project. The thing you'll
have to create by the end of this course and
upload to the project gallery. And it's very simple. You guessed it. It's an outline of your
first or next book. All you'll need is a laptop. Or if you're old school like me, a pen and some paper. And that's it. I chose this project because this is what
we're here to do, right? You'll walk away
from this class with a master outline of the story
you want to put on paper. And how are you
going to do that? I'll take you step-by-step
through all of the stages of creating
an effective outline, I'll be asking you questions and all you have to
do is answer them. It's that simple. And once you have
your outline ready, All you have to do is upload
it to the project gallery. You can take a picture
or a screenshot loaded up and I'll give you feedback
to upload your project. Just go to the Project
and Resources tab and click on the green button
that says Create Project. Then follow the instructions
and click on Publish. It's located in the
top right corner. To help you with the process, I've created a workbook that you can download in the
projects and resources tab. You can print it out and
directly write on it, or you can simply use
it as a guideline. Now, let's get into
the nitty-gritty.
3. Lesson 1: Plotting vs Pantsing: Before we dive into outlining, we need to get a couple of terms clear because it's important to differentiate what
type of writer you are or your plotter
or are your pencil. So what does that mean? Plotting is when you create an outline before you
start writing your story. Ben sink, on the other hand, is when you make things
up as you go along. In other words, by the
seat of your pants. So what are the pros
and cons of each one? Plotting coffers, a few pros, such as you have a
clear story structure. It's easier to see
the big picture, the forest versus the trees. So you can make better
use of foreshadowing. We just so happens to be one of my favorite narrative devices. You can also see plot
holes much faster and the chances of getting a
writer's block or minimal, since you know where
your story is going. And thus, you will need
to do fewer rewrites. On the other hand, of course, plotting has a few cons, such as it may take
a long time to come up with the
plot or the outline. But the good news is, we are here to shorten
that process. Another con, is that you may get fewer surprises
along the way. And I'm putting this in
cans because honestly, I like how surprised
I get by plot twists. I didn't see coming even if I'm the one
coming up with them. And the last column
that I can see is that the process can become
a little bit boring. Fencing, on the other hand, also offers a few pros and cons. And pros being that
it's a lot more fun. You have more freedom to make
changes and the process can feel so much more satisfying because you don't
know where you're going. But when you get there,
it's absolutely beautiful. But of course there
are a few cons, such as it's much easier
to get the writer's block and you will need to do
probably many more rewrites. Another con is that the
story may get confusing and, or just too long and complicated because you don't
have a clear direction. So which one are you? Hopefully you're a plotter
or at least inspiring Q1, and that's why you are here. In the next lesson, we'll go over the main
reason why you need an outline and what is the single most
important thing that makes historic rate,
in my opinion. I'll see you there.
4. Lesson 2: Do You Need an Outline: So do you actually
need an outline? Unless you're a
Stephen King who is probably the world's
most famous Benzer. The answer is yes. But why? Let me ask you this. What makes a story great? Is it unforgettable,
well-rounded characters? Or is it the plot development, or is it the scenes that
keep you up awake at 3AM? Yes, to all of these. But it all boils
down to one thing. And if you know what
Stephen King has been most heavily criticized
about over the years, then you probably
know the answer. And it's the end. The end can make
or break a story. Think of a book
or even the movie that you absolutely love. But that fudge descending, one of the best examples of
the top of my head is lost. The show introduced
so many mysteries, but it had no idea
where it was going. So it ended up in a place
that disappointed everyone. That's what a plotting comes in. Because a few of the benefits is that you get to dig deeper. Because once you start
thinking about why your characters do what they do and how it's all connected. You'll see new sites
to them and you know their backstory before you've
even written a single word. That dimension that you write faster because you'll
have an anchor, something you can always
go back to whenever you feel lost in double that, you'll have a lot more fun
because you essentially have your whole story ready before you've even
written chapter one. Inside the next lesson, we'll finally dive into the
actual outlining process. I'll see you there.
5. Lesson 3: Step #1 - Story: Let's start outlining. And the first step to doing that is focusing on the main story. And to do that, we
need to understand the difference between
plot and story. Plot or the external
events that happen while story is the journey
the character goes through, also known as their
character arc. And that is what's most
important right now, the story, this is what you
need to focus on and anything else
is just clutter. So take the notebook
you've downloaded from the projects and
resources tab or just a piece of paper or your laptop and answer
the following questions. We'll start with the
hero of the story. So the first thing you need to understand is who
your main character is and what do they want
internally and externally? What is their deepest desire? Then you need to understand
what their flaws are. This is very
important because you want your character
to have loss. That is what is going to make them interesting and relatable, and that is what the
character arc will be about. In other words, this is what the whole story will be about. That's why it's so crucial
to figure this out. Then you also need
to understand what lies the character has
been telling themselves. These are the characters
wrong beliefs that they need to change
by the end of the story. A very basic example of this is, let's say your character doesn't believe that love exists. Well, by the end of the story, they started believing in love. And finally, you need
to understand what the main lesson your
character needs to learn is. Then we need to talk
about the villain, because the villain
is just as important as your main character
and your hero. So you need to understand
who the villain is and what do they want
internally and externally. It's important to note that
the hero and the villain, they're the same person. They want the same things, and they have the
same wrong beliefs. The only difference
between the two is how they decide to deal
with they're wrong beliefs. The hero is open to change
while the villain is not. And they will do many bad things just so they don't
have to change. This brings us to our final
and most important question. What is the conflict about
breaking it all down? The conflict is something
that character desires, most of all internally, but there is a fear that's
keeping it from getting it that is based on the lie they've
been telling themselves. Now pause the video here and answer the questions
we just covered. Go back to this video
and to this lesson, and then we'll go
to step number two. Are you ready? Now, let's get to step number two of the outlining process. I'll see you in the next lesson.
6. Lesson 4: Step #2 - Plot: Alright, so step number one
was all about the story. Now it's time to dive
deeper into the plot, the external events that happen. Keep in mind other
books and tools. We'll talk about the
different acts of a story along with other
various breakdowns and charts, but I find them to
be too convoluted. That's why I've taken all of these moving pieces
and I've turned them into simple questions
that you only have to answer. So take your workbook, you're loose piece of paper or your laptop and answer
the following questions. Number one, what does my
hero status quo look like? What does he do every day? What is his routine?
Who does he need? What is his lacking, and what is missing in his life? Number two, what is the
inciting incident that happens that pushes my hero
to leave his comfort zone. It needs to be
something big that doesn't leave much
choice to the hero. It shatters his life and
he has to act upon it. Number three, what
internal conflict does this decision posts? In other words, what
insecurities does it bring up? Number four, who does the hero meet to help
him along the way? New friends, new enemies, list down all the
main people you see are influencing your hero. It's important for him to have
someone who supports him, someone who reminds
him of his values, someone who questions
those values and are four different ones. Someone who doubts
the heroes methods and challenges them. Someone who reflects upon the heroes decisions and actions
before taking their own, and someone who is
impulsive and neurotic. These don't have to be
all separate characters. One character can serve two
or even three purposes, but it's important to have those different points of view. So the hero may look at
all of them and he can look at the issue
from different sides and come to his own conclusion. Number five, what does the hero do in this new
world? Does he like it? Does he hated? What does he discover about it? Some people call this
part the hook of the story or the main reason your reader
will buy your book. We'll be all the
little adventurous your hero will have in this new world that will reveal
different aspects of it. And they will also reveal different aspects of
the heroes personality. It's important that
each adventure increases in difficulty
as time progresses. Number six, this is the
midpoint and there needs to be a cataclysmic event that pushes your hero
towards further change. So what is that event? Up until this point,
your hero wasn't a 100%. Sure he took the
step towards change, but he wasn't
completely convinced. So here in the
middle of your book, there needs to be another
big event that pushes your hero to make up
his mind that yes, he's going to change and
yes, he's going to do it. Number seven, what did the bad
guys do to test your hero? This is the part. You put
even more obstacles in the way of your hero and those obstacles should
increase in difficulty. The bad guys are seeing the
progress your hero is making, and they come up with
new ways to stop him. Number eight, what
does your hero do when he is at
his lowest point? Here it will seem
like all is lost. The bad guys are too strong and they've put up too
many obstacles. The hero is desperate
and this will bring back all of his
past insecurities. But the thing is
now he's changed. So we can stand up to those insecurities and
do the right thing. Number nine, what does the hero do to
resolve the conflict? This is important, and this is something that the
hero needs to do himself. There can be no
magical solution. And even if he does have help, it needs to come
from a relationship that he has already
developed in the past. In other words, no random
characters can just show up to save the day is the hero's
job and no one else's. And finally,
question number ten. How does the heroes new
status quo look like? This part should
mirror the answer to question number one only now, the thing that the
hero was missing in question number one
will already be there. And does they said they
lived happily ever after? Now pause this video and
write a brief answer to each of these questions. Ready? Now, let's proceed to the
third and final step.
7. Lesson 5: Step #3 - Write it All Out: Now we've reached
step number three. Write it all out. Now, it's time to
put pen to paper. Write your outline in
the form of chapters, things are boys or whatever
you want to call them, along with a brief explanation of how the main
storyline progresses. I prefer to write in scenes, and I was thinking of
an outlandish idea to give you as an example. And I came up with a story about a woman who saves a village in the Amazon rainforest from an alien invasion by
sacrificing her bedrock. Now here is what that example
outline will look like. Seen one, Lisa is overworked
and she needs a vacation. She books a flight to the
Amazon and the airport. She discovers her nephew put her old bedrock and her luggage. S2. This is booking agent
messes up your reservation and she ends up in a
small village where the local start worshipping
her pet rock. They tell her that
their ancestors were visited by the
gods in the sky, wanted to destroy them, but the rock was
their salvation. Seen three, you get the
point and keep in mind, you can have as many things as you need in order to develop your main plot and hit
the main story points. Now, what will your outline look like when this
video is over? Write it all down.
Take a screenshot or a photograph of what you've created and uploaded to the projects and resources tab. I'm so excited to see
what you've come up with.
8. It's a Wrap!: You've made it until
the very last video. Congratulations,
this is so exciting. I'm so proud of you because
you've done so much. I mean, just learning
the difference between penciling and plotting, and then learning difference
between plot and story. This is huge, not to
mention the fact that you now know what
your story is about, who your main character is, who the main villain is, what the supporting
characters are. This is just incredible. You've done some tremendous job. And I congratulate
you for that kudos. Now, I would love to actually see what
you've come up with. So please remember to
upload your project, take a screenshot
or a photograph and upload it to the Projects
and Resources tab. And I will give you feedback. Last but definitely not least, I would really love
to hear back from me. What did you like
about this class? What could be improved? And even more importantly, what are their classes would you like to see in the future? If you would like
to get in touch with me or just see
what I'm up to. You can follow me on Instagram
at facts and fantasy. And that's it. We've done it. We've made it. Yay. Okay. So yeah, that was it
from me until next time. I hope to see you again soon. Bye.
JD Millar, Writer
