Step 1) One sentence summary.
Shorter is better - about 15 words.
No character names!
Step 2) Expand to a paragraph summary.
Put setup, disasters, and ending in there.
*Some people might like the 3 disasters + the end, each disaster takes up a quarter and so does the end.
Step 3) Meet your character.
The character's name
A one-sentence summary of the character's storyline
The character's motivation (what does he/she want abstractly?)
The character's goal (what does he/she want concretely?)
The character's conflict (what prevents him/her from reaching this goal?)
The character's epiphany (what will he/she learn, how will he/she change?
A one-paragraph summary of the character's storyline
Step 4) More expanding...
Expand each sentence of your summary into a paragraph.
Step 5) Socialize with the character.
Make a one page description of each main character, and a half page for minor characters.
Step 6) Another expansion...
Expand each paragraph from step 4 into a full page.
Step 7) Know your character.
Make a full page character chart with everything there is to know about your character: birth date, description, history, motivation, goal, etc. Most importantly, how will this character change by the end of the novel?
Step
Spread sheeting
Now you make a spreadsheet of scenes that will come out of your four-page summary.
One column - POV character
Another - what goes on
More - expected pages
Step 9) I don't like this step because I find it very boring, and does nothing for the story.
Step 10) On your mark, get set, GO!
Now you start typing. The guy says that the first draft with the outline is much better than the third draft without an outline.
SO USE THE OUTLINE!
Hope this helps...
Even though I never can get past step 7.
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