How I Wrote My Debut Novel: Part Three – The Two Documents that are a Novel in Progress

Now that we’re writing daily and have a place in which we do so, we turn to the tactics— elements of the practical process I used to write my debut novel. As with everything in this series, if you choose to use it, make it your own. Tweak, bend, and shape it to your own needs.

We are familiar with the idea of creating an outline to support a piece of writing. We learned this in school as we wrote papers. Sometimes we had to turn in our outline or note cards with our paper to demonstrate we’d planned and thought through our assignment. Creative work is different, but not a lot different in this regard. Most writers create some sort of metawriting (writing about the writing, of which outlines and notecards are a type) to accompany their project.

A novel-in-progress for me is two documents: an outline and the manuscript. For my current project, I have both documents open side-by-side on my laptop.

The outline is not a traditional point-by-point affair, but a document which contains information I’ve gathered or written to guide the manuscript. It contains notes on my approach, lists of books I’ve referenced, a table with a summary of each chapter of the manuscript, and a list of planned tasks for further development of the project. This outline is a piece of creative work in support of the manuscript.

The manuscript, the product being created for the reader, is informed by the outline and as it develops, informs the outline as well. The outline and manuscript are informing each other, evolving in parallel. In writing the outline, and developing it, I learn more about the project itself. Each draft of the outline and manuscript are finished at the same time.

So, your task is to create a piece of metawriting to sit beside and grow with your work-in-progress—a document in which to capture all your ideas, thoughts, concerns, and plans for the piece you are writing.