The Ten Day Outline: A Writer's Guide to Planning a Novel in Ten Days (The Ten Day Novelist Book 1) by Jorstad Lewis

Author:Jorstad, Lewis [Jorstad, Lewis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Novel Smithy, LLC
Published: 2019-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

If you saw those four characters early in a story, how likely would you be able to remember who they were, even a few pages later? Not very.

(And yes, all four of those Tolkien characters came from the Silmarillion , if you were wondering.)

To help prevent this confusion, I encourage you to go back through your alphabetized list and rename any characters whose names are too similar. You can even go so far as to cover every letter of the alphabet before your let yourself repeat any beginning letters. While naming conventions can be great, such as triplets being named Harry, Harriet, and Harvey, you should always do this purposefully, never on accident .

Think of it this way—you may discover a new name you wouldn’t have used otherwise, falling in love with it and the character it’s attached to in the process!

The Character Sheet

With the list you’ve created now in hand, we’re getting closer to starting your character sheet.

By the end of today this sheet will be comprised of two parts, meant to organize and explain every member of your cast. The main part will simply be the character sheet itself. Any character that is significant enough to be named or that will play a repeated role in your story will be recorded here. Alongside this sheet, your protagonist and a few other core characters will get their own, more detailed pages.

However, before creating this character sheet, we have one more task to complete—labeling your core cast.

This core cast will obviously include your protagonist and antagonist, but it’ll also include important mentor figures, allies, and enemies. Essentially, these are the most active players in your story. To pick out these characters, you’ll need to consider what role they’ll play in your final novel:

Do they have a significant influence on the outcome of your conflict?

Will they be a regular presence throughout your protagonist’s journey?

Do they oppose or challenge your protagonist and/or their allies in a meaningful way?

Will readers see them grow or change significantly as the story progresses?

Do they meaningfully impact your protagonist, either as an ally, mentor, or enemy?

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