I highly recommend the use of an outline for National Novel Writing Month.

Of course I haven't yet written one myself... but, um, I plan to!

So I thought I'd share my NaNoWriMo warmup exercise with you. In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, I've outlines how to write a novel outline in 2 days.

This isn't your usual novel outline. You'd normally take a month or so to do that properly (say using the Snow Flake method). But this should be enough to keep you on-track during NaNoWriMo

1. Summary: (10 minutes)

Write a one-sentence blurb describing the story, just like you might find on the New York Times bestseller list. No details, names, etc.
e.g.
“A Spanish shepherd boy travels to Egypt in search of treasure.” (THE ALCHEMIST, by Paulo Coelho).
“A dead detective once suspected of murder reaches out through a Ouija board to clear his name” (THE SÉANCE, Heather Graham)

2. Intro Paragraph: (20 minutes)

Write five sentences describing your story:

• setup (act I)
• one for acts II -IV (each major climax/disaster)
• finale (act V)

3. Character Overview: (1/2 hour each)

For each major character, write a one page summary stating:

• name & age
• one sentence summary of their storyline
• motivation (abstract desires)
• goal (concrete desires)
• conflict (what prevents them from realising their desires)
• epiphany/transformation (learns/changes in what way)
• one-paragraph summary of their storyline

You may have to revise your one-line and one-paragraph summary (from steps 1 & 2)

4. Synopsis: (1/2 hour)

Expand each sentence of your one-paragraph summary into a full paragraph. All but the last probably ends in a climax or disaster. The final paragraph ends the book.

5. Screenplay: (5 hours)

Take each paragraph from step 4 and expand it to a full page. Figure out the high-level action and relationship plot-lines and make strategic decisions now. Cycle back and edit the previous steps often as you work.

6. Scene List: (5 hours)

Take the screenplay and write a list of scenes. Briefly mention what happens, and each major character's motivation/transformation.

With thanks to Katowulf’s summary (posted over at Critique Circle) of Randy Ingermanson’s SnowFlake Method