Planning Outlining Novels Using Scrivener Writing Software

Learn the Step-by-Step "Story Beats" Process That Two Bestselling Writers Use To Publish 1.5 Million Words a Year

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 3.8

- Plan your entire story from Day One starting with a no-fuss
- stepwise outlining process ... but WITHOUT locking yourself in and cutting off creative expansion as happens with most outlining methods.
- Learn how "casting" your characters the way Hollywood does will give you amazing shortcuts to understanding their personalities
- appearance
- and mannerisms.
- Use "location scouting" (complete with online
- image-based research) to effortlessly build your story's locations and world (even if your world isn't on Planet Earth).

What you'll learn

Plan your entire story from Day One starting with a no-fuss

stepwise outlining process ... but WITHOUT locking yourself in and cutting off creative expansion as happens with most outlining methods.

Learn how "casting" your characters the way Hollywood does will give you amazing shortcuts to understanding their personalities

appearance

and mannerisms.

Use "location scouting" (complete with online

image-based research) to effortlessly build your story's locations and world (even if your world isn't on Planet Earth).

Find your book's central nuggets by working "narrow to wide

" beginning with a single

simple sentence.

Effortlessly craft a story summary

book description

and boiled-down "elevator pitch" with no extra work as you follow the process.

Use Scrivener's native organizational features to keep everything together and searchable

right where you need it whenever you require it.

See how the deepest stories can come from the very simplest of ideas -- and learn how you can make a great story from just about anything.

* Requirements

* Scrivener software (not required for planning process
* but recommended to get the most out of it).

Description

In this course, Smarter Artist co-founder Sean Platt will show you the step-by-step process our 3-person bestselling author team uses to plan and outline over 2 million words per year of high-quality, reader-loved fiction without hassle, delays, or the frustration most writers face.

The most important thing any independent author must do to sell more books and make more money is to "write, publish, and repeat," getting new work to market fast. In this course, we'll show you how to get faster while making your stories richer, deeper, and flat-out better.

Through ten videos and just under 3 hours of content, you'll learn a pre-production process we call "story beats" -- a way of planning that combines the thoroughness of traditional outlining with the flexibility and high creativity of "seat of the pants and trusting the story" writing. Having the very best beats in place before writing will take the frustration out of daily writing because you'll always know your characters, their world, their motivations, and their conflicts. You'll know what they look like, how they act, and what they're up to.

Sean will show you this process using our favorite writing program: Scrivener. He'll show you what to put where, how to use images and the different sections to define your project, and how to show up at the desk tomorrow ready to kick butt and take names.

Who this course is for:

Authors who want to write better stories faster.

Course content

6 sections • 10 lectures

An Introduction to Using Scrivener for Beats 1 lectures

An Introduction to Using Scrivener for Beats Preview 16:40

In this introduction, Sean explains the reasons we use beats, how they help us write faster, and the general architecture of the entire system using Scrivener software.

Synopsis to Outline 1 lectures

Synopsis to Outline Preview 14:29

In this lecture we go over how to start with your story synopsis, and then progressively break the story down until you have a full outline for the entire book.

Character Planning and Development in Your Outline 3 lectures

Character Planning and Development in Your Outline (Part 1) Preview 19:06

This module explains our method for planning characters and "casting" them the way Hollywood casts actors in movie roles. We'll take you through how we break down character development, how we source photos, how we build backstory, and more. (Video 1 of 3 in this module.)

Character Planning and Development in Your Outline (Part 2) Preview 09:01

(CONTINUED) - This module explains our method for planning characters and "casting" them the way Hollywood casts actors in movie roles. We'll take you through how we break down character development, how we source photos, how we build backstory, and more. (Video 2 of 3 in this module.)

Character Planning and Development in Your Outline (Part 3) Preview 12:03

Scouting Locations for your Story 1 lectures

Scouting Locations for your Story Preview 18:37

In this video Sean explains how to scout locations for your story, using real-world locations (or visual ideas from unreal worlds) as building blocks to create the world for your book to take place in.

Story Construction and Writing Your Beats 3 lectures

Story Construction and Writing Your Beats (Part 1) Preview 15:20

In this module, we'll show you how to expand the story summary you wrote earlier into a fully fleshed-out set of story beats that will take you chapter-by-chapter through your book -- giving you a rough roadmap without locking you in to a rigid framework and allowing your story the freedom it needs to grow. (Video 1 of 3 in this module.)

Story Construction and Writing Your Beats (Part 2) Preview 13:17

(CONTINUED) - In this module, we'll show you how to expand the story summary you wrote earlier into a fully fleshed-out set of story beats that will take you chapter-by-chapter through your book -- giving you a rough roadmap without locking you in to a rigid framework and allowing your story the freedom it needs to grow. (Video 2 of 3 in this module.)

Story Construction and Writing Your Beats (Part 3) Preview 11:01

Further Learning Resources 1 lectures

Further Learning Resources Preview 04:31

This final video wraps up the course and provides "next steps" and places where you can find additional resources on self-publishing, writing, and more.