Book Review of "Outlining Your Novel (Map Your Way to Success"

(Please note: All book reviews are unsolicited and unpaid. The reviews represent the viewpoint of the reviewer alone and are offered as an aid to other writers.)

(Book Review by Kathy Akins)

Outlining Your Novel (Map Your Way to Success) 
by K.M. Weiland

K.M. Weiland writes in several fiction genres as well as non-fiction books that help other writers get their stories out of their heads and onto the page. She also mentors other authors through her blog helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com.

I found this particular book to be great at explaining why she thinks outlining is so important to getting your novel finished with a polished story you will be proud to share with the world.

Outlining Your Novel is divided into eleven chapters. She included a checklist and Q and A with a different author at the end of each one. Her approach addresses all writing personalities, lifestyles, and writing preferences by suggesting ways that each individual can enjoy the process of mapping a novel so that the author and reader will benefit from a well-written story.

The introduction begins with the comparison of two ships on the wide-open sea of possibilities. There is the Art of Fiction, a wave tossed ship that goes where the sea takes it, And there is the Craft ship under the expert guidance of a captain who can decipher the map to carry through the story on the precisely right course. Craft is all about organization – where the outline (map) becomes so important. The best part of outlining is that it is entirely learnable.

Each chapter tackles different aspects of writing and finishing your novel. Chapter one asks the question – Should you outline? Before you answer a resounding NEVER! – look at the misconceptions of outlining: requires formal formatting, limits creativity, robs the joy of discovery, and takes too much time. The benefits, however, are: It gives balance and cohesion to your story, prevents dead-end ideas, provides foreshadowing, indicates preferable POVs, maintains consistent character voice, and gives motivation and assurance.

Before you begin your outline, decide what method would work best for you. Ask yourself:
• Are you short on time – try an abbreviated method
• Are you worried it will impair creativity – Jot down scene ideas and keep a file
• Are you a visual learner – Try colored note cards pinned to a bulletin board
• Do you like full-blown challenges – go with the extensive sketching and planning method

K.M. prefers the full-blown challenge for her own writing. She recommends YWriter by Simon Haynes. This is free software.

With the progression of the book, different parts of the story – premise, structure, character motivation, desire, and conflict, setting, POV, and discovering your story - are explained is understandable terms.

She sums up the use of outlining with this conclusion: The trick to using your outline to gain the maximum productivity is remembering an outline is as fluid as you want it to be. An outline is a guideline, not law etched in stone.

I plan to add this book to my personal library and recommend the same to all authors. ***** stars.

(Copyright 2017 by Kathy Akins. All rights reserved.)