MOOSE JAW - One of the first events at this year’s Festival of Words was a presentation about the creation of literary outlines led by author, scientist, and speculative fiction writer Premee Mohamed.
The workshop, titled “Outlining Novels,” began at 9 a.m. and ran for three hours in the Herb Taylor Room at the Moose Jaw Public Library.
Where to start
Many writers are often stalled when it comes to finding a starting point. To help overcome this writer’s block, Mohamed offered a few words of advice during her presentation.
“A good time to start is wherever a pattern breaks,” she said. In such a case, the writer has the liberty to introduce a “new normal” for their character and can readily cover their transition from one point to the next.
She gave an example where a gardener went outside to water his roses. Nothing interesting came from that, and the sentence almost guaranteed a lack of momentum. To overcome this, she re-read the statement adding that the gardener found a human hand in his flowerbed — although extreme for demonstrative purposes, that’s exactly what a pattern break looks like.
Blending the seams
Next, Mohamed recommended several apps including Google Keep, Scrivener, Scapple, and Plottr for writers to develop a plot outline. For linear thinkers, Scrivener is a great recommendation, and an app like Plottr is best for non-traditional timelines and handling multiple overlapping lines.
However the writer decides to proceed, Mohamed said the exercise is valuable because it allows the story to flow better by discovering plot holes — events that don’t lead to the next development.
The summary, she continued, should include both active and emotional aspects. Action points include things that happen, whereas emotional points cover the unseen feelings and inner struggles that drive the characters.
Stories typically follow the setup, twist or reversal, and then resolution format. By mapping out this progression, the story’s main points will be easier to develop and it’s simply a matter of blending the seams from one event to the next.
“As long as you hide the seams, your outline will not get in the way — I promise you,” she said.
The cauldron
In order to capture the protagonist in a story that’s engaging for the reader, Mohamed introduced the “cauldron” concept.
“The cauldron makes it so that when things heat up, the character cannot simply climb out,” she said.
To achieve this, the writer has to basically “trap” the character in a story that guarantees their involvement. Using Luke Skywalker’s saga in Star Wars, she said Skywalker was trapped when the Empire destroyed his family farm, leaving him nowhere to go, and his involvement was necessary because he was being hunted down relentlessly.
To establish a cauldron scenario, Mohamed said the character has to be “too invested in the plot” to simply walk away. This can be achieved through their personal flaws, the actions of other characters, a sense of responsibility for family, financial stability, threats, or even blackmail.
“The walls of that cauldron have to be high and curved,” she explained.
Mohamed is a Nebula award-winning scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alta. She’s the assistant editor at the short fiction audio venue, Escape Pod, and in addition to several published novellas, she authored the “Beneath the Rising” novel series.
For a glimpse into her most recent book The Butcher of the Forest and to learn more, visit PremeeMohamed.com.
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