Outlining the FIRST CHAPTERS of a novel + how to organize your writing | *write a novel with me*

Watch this BEFORE you start writing.
Let's talk tips for writing opening chapters and writing tips for starting a novel. This month, I spent time outlining my novel and wanted to bring you along. Think of it like a "writing month in my life" or "writing day in my life" where I share my progress and provide tips that I hope will help you as you're writing the first chapters of a novel.
In this video, as you watch me write a novel or write a novel with me, we'll talk about how to organize your writing (I used Google Docs) and outlining the first chapters of a novel (I cannot stress this enough: add details).
There were a few surprises along the way for me this month. Let me know if you have similar thoughts as you outline a novel with me :).
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[@OnWriting.]

For you, what's the toughest part of starting a novel?

[@jimwoodswrites]

Hi Megan, I'm a writer and writing coach. I gotta say, I'm so impressed with your vulnerability in video. I was nodding my head to a lot of this video.

[@ChromeVader]

One of the things I struggle with is writing fatigue---I write nonfiction all day work and often don't have much left in me when I finally get home and have an hour or so before bed to work on my book. But it helps to be able to see someone else pushing through and pursuing their own novel despite life's challenges, so thank you for posting this video. I also loved your comment on keeping track of subplots and character stories in my outline even when those things aren't on the page, so that when they do resurface in the narrative they have believably progressed from where they were the last time they appeared on the page.

[@OnWriting.]

Writing fatigue is SO REAL. When I worked full-time as a communications writer/blogger, oh man. It was so hard to write after work haha. I found that if I wanted to be consistent, I had to do it before work when my energy was fresh. But not everyone likes waking up early. I had a colleague who would write on Saturdays because she found she was similarly fatigued during the week. So, sacrificing the daily word count but dedicating weekly time to it instead. I'm glad you found this helpful, though! I honestly was hoping it wouldn't just be me rambling about outlining haha - hoped there would be some helpful nuggets in there, so I'm glad that was the case for you ^.^

[@joicheri6206]

This video went straight to my favorites. I also struggle a lot with the whole "I wan't to write, but I don't want to outline, because I don't want to wait to write, but if I write without an outline it won't be good and I'll find myself having so many creative blockings thing. So every time I feel like I cannot go through the waiting to write the real thing while I am working on the outline, I'll come back to this video. I found your channel because of your Taylor Swift reactions, so I haven't seen your other outline videos, this is the first one, but I also love to write! So this kind of videos are really helpful (and your song reactions videos as well!) So glad you've decided to show us your progress, I am always interested in everything you have to say about writing. Thanks for that. I will make sure to watch your other videos on outlining now. I wish I could join your Patreon and support you there, but as a foreigner there's a few currency problems that keeps me from doing it, but I am always looking forward for your videos here on KZbin :)

[@OnWriting.]

Aw thanks so much! I'm glad it was helpful. I really appreciate your support ^.^ I'm cheering you on!

[@krystalv1189]

As an avid reader it feels difficult to come up with a story that feels original or tell it in an original day

[@OnWriting.]

One thing that helps me with this is by taking my natural reactions and then giving a character the opposite reaction. For example, I was running one day when I heard thunder in the distance, and my first thought was "I should head home." Then I imagined what kind of character might have the opposite reaction and think, "I want to run TOWARD the storm." Turned into a short story! :) But overall, yes, I feel you. It can be difficult to feel original when there's so much out there already. I think the devil is in the details a lot of times. What unique details can you pull from your own life and experiences that will make your story feel set apart?

[@BooksForever]

Today’s video was great! (An unexpected bonus was seeing the many daily faces of Megan, making this like a one-person beauty pageant in which everyone wins.) I really love the outlining process because that is the most creative phase of the novel-writing process; you get to let a mere phrase stand in for each important beat of the various plot lines, allowing you to try many different combinations of waypoints and causal links to facilitate character development to serve the theme and premise, ensuring that the tale logically and seamlessly flows from an interesting and pertinent opening scene to a meaningful and memorable climax. And with the creative outline in place, the mere tradecraft of connecting the dots with prose actually becomes a secondary aspect of creativity (albeit on a more granular level) as you find joy in discovering the right stylistic flourishes and details along the way to make this the kind of novel that only YOU could’ve written.

[@OnWriting.]

Haha aw shucks, you are too kind! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and I agree!! Outlining this way is super creative and fun even though it doesn't seem like it would be. Really appreciate you sharing your perspective! What are you working on these days?

[@BooksForever]

@@OnWriting. My current project is a dystopian coming-of-age novel that could serve as a superhero origin story for nerds if digested with just a bit of whimsical interpretation on the part of the reader.

[@philpascali4070]

I have so many ideas , not sure how put all that in order

[@OnWriting.]

If you want to talk through this, we can book a consultation! :) Are you struggling to know which idea to pursue or how to turn them into full stories?