Everyone thinks that Uber is just a novel idea (it is), but what they don't realize is that Uber wouldn't have been Uber. A Novel Idea is the essential app for the beginning novelist. Is the task of writing a full 300 (+) page novel too daunting? Dec 28, 2019 Milanote is a super-versatile app that allows you to organize your research, ideas, characters and outline in one single place. Its visual workspace lets you clearly connect your thoughts, create mind maps, and develop moodboards.
Since the internet age first entered society, our lap tops, cellphones and other electronic gadgetry have become our constant companions. Like me, you may have heard the murmurs of concern that the custom and pleasure of reading is in jeopardy because of the dependency on electronic devices. Going by recent conversations, I have to assert that the art of reading is still quite alive and well. Thriving, even—at least in many Sedona circles. If you like to curl up with a good book but have trouble finding the time, compelling results discovered by Emory University researchers in Atlanta, Georgia, may inspire you to make a trip soon to the nearest bookstore.
That study, along with additional brain/mind research suggests reading an engrossing novel can enhance brain power in several intriguing ways—
Embodied Cognition: During the Emory University experiment, changes were noted in the subjects’ left temporal cortex—the brain’s primary sensorimotor area also associated with language receptivity. ‘Embodied cognition’ mirrors what is sometimes referred to as ‘visualization’. Just thinking about jogging by the seaside, for example, can stimulate neuron activation that actually occurs during the physical act of jogging by the seaside. The evidence suggests, then, that the novel reader gets transported into the body of the protagonist, thus enhancing compassion, understanding, and other desirable inter-relationship attributes.
This is a state of being closely related to what psychologists refer to as ‘theory of mind’ (ToM). Wikipedia describes ToM as, “The ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are different from one’s own.” ToM is a term frequently used when describing interactive issues that individuals with autism may face with their relationships with others. Experts observe that people with autism are often unable to conceive that other people have their own set of beliefs, thoughts, and plans. They also seem to have difficulty understanding what those emotions or attitudes might be. When viewed from the context of the absence of ToM, it is easy to see both the societal significance and individual importance of being able to ‘walk in someone else’s shoes.’
Short-Term Memory converted to Long-Term Memory: If you do a little daydreaming before, during, or after your story, you could get additional benefits. An article by Christopher Bergland in Psychology Today describes the advantage of daydreaming—a term often used when the mind is in a restful state, as may occur when reading fiction. He cites research out of Germany that discovered that during daydreaming…“patterns of neuronal activity which represent past events reappear spontaneously. The researchers believe that these ‘daydream induced’ neuronal recurrences are necessary to consolidate short-term memories to long-term memory.” Forget where you left your keys or the name of that new restaurant? Just let your mind wander more often, or in the context of our topic day, lose yourself in the depths of an engaging story, and see if your memory improves.
A fascinating fact is that it is typically fiction, and preferably a novel, that provides the connectivity benefit of embodied cognition. But for those of you who enjoy biographies, newspapers, or other readable material, there is evidence that anything that is a ‘good read’ can be beneficial. Citing a cognitive neuropsychologist, Dr. David Lewis, the website www.telgraph.co.uk., reported that compared to other familiar relaxation methods such as listening to music, walking, or having a cup of tea, “reading worked best, reducing stress levels by 68 per cent.” All, these advantages, and for those of who like to read, it’s the pure enjoyment of a riveting storyline, too.
At the Sedona Community Center, we are committed to whole-person health. Next time you are visiting for lunch or participation in a class, feel free to check out our take one/leave one book nook in the Tudor Room. We are grateful to the friends of the Center who keep it well-stocked with interesting topics. You can learn more about your Community Center at www.sccsedona.org or visit us at 2615 Melody Lane.
Brenda Redel,
Executive Director
Speaking directly to planners out there, if you haven’t checked out the program Outlining Your Novel, you’re missing out. I spent hours with this software and have never felt a more powerful urge to create.
Now, speaking directly to pants-ers, if you haven’t checked out the program Outlining Your Novel, you’ve most likely missed something essential in your current work-in-progress. This software gets down to the minute details and asks the urgent questions every WIP should focus on, like what’s something unexpected that could happen?
Whether you start with a character in mind and brainstorm a story arc or suddenly a story premise crashes your brain, Outlining Your Novel helps you get organized while offering ultimate creativity. If you’ve ever wanted a comprehensive, in-depth process to help you understand your characters down to the cellular level, Outlining Your Novel is it. Beyond character development is a thorough, question-lead deep dive into your premise, scenes, how everything ties together, world building, and so much more.
Outlining Your Novel is a complex program that requires more than a single post to explain its brilliance. This post is a high-level overview of what makes it fantastic.
Where to begin
You’ll get this screen when you first open Outlining Your Novel. It automatically uploads the demo project to help give you context for using the program.
You can jump in like I did and start looking around, but it makes more sense to view the introduction video on KM Weiland’s website first to get a feel for the program. You can see it here, or you can always click on the control button in the upper left-hand corner (the icon with a pen and a book) and click on 'About Us.'
Premise
The software is structured to start with your premise, assuming you get an idea for a fantastic story that you want to flesh out. The first section helps you dive deep into your premise by asking a lot of fantastic questions like 'What if?' and 'What’s expected?' or 'What’s unexpected?' You can see in the screenshot above the two tabs at the top, 'What If?' and 'What’s Un/Expected?' Make sure you click on both tabs to see all of the questions.
How To Think Of A Novel Idea
As you can see from the following screenshot, there are several sections under 'Premise' to help you really get to the meat of your story.
When you’re done working on a section, click the arrows in the upper right-hand corner to move to the next section or go back to the previous section.
One important point to note: each menu section on the top menu bar (Premise, General, Characters, Settings, Outline, Extras) has several options in a drop-down menu. And each of these drop-down sections can have various windows in it. In the above screenshot, you can see three of the four windows: 'Situation,' Conflict,' and 'Focus.' And each of these windows can have several screens you should move through. See in the bottom of the screenshot below, there are two dots; one is black, meaning that’s the active screen. To move between screens, use the arrows at either side of the dots. The following picture shows Premise->Pre-Outline Questions->Character ?s->(second screen):
It’s only confusing at first. You’ll get the hang of it quick enough.
General
The General section covers scenes, character arc and theme, conflict, and more. Here is where you begin to flesh out your story idea more fully. When you first come up with your story premise, you may be bombarded with scene ideas. Here is where you capture all of them. No idea is too crazy. They may or may not make it in your manuscript, but this is an easy way to brainstorm possible scenes. You can even color-code your scene based on its status:
A Novel Idea Application
You can work on your incomplete scenes in 'Connecting the Dots' or start working on your character arc and theme. Finally, the Conflict sub-menu has several screens to fill out. Each asks pertinent questions to help you develop the most intriguing and gripping conflict possible.
Characters
Hundreds of questions about your main character make sure you understand her or him deeply. You start by filling in her Backstory through several screens of questions. Then you move on to Interviews where the fun begins.
The screenshot below shows you the tabs to be filled out (Background, Outlook, Appearance, Characteristics, Interests, Attitudes), and most tabs or window have several screens to flip through when answering the interview questions.
'Characters' is a pretty intensive sub-menu. Not only can you fill out their Backstory and complete an extensive Interview, but you can also conduct a Freehand Interview where you just let your character speak to you. You can run through several Personality plotters like the Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, and more.
Then when you’ve plumbed the depths of your main characters, it’s time to move on to Minor Characters. You can even bring up a Character List to see the highlights of each character and a few of their traits.
Settings
Your story’s setting can be just as important as characters in some instances. You can work on your main setting thanks to several screens of relevant and pertinent questions to help you understand your setting’s purpose better.
Three screens worth of questions covers just your main setting (see the dots at the bottom?). If you’re writing Sci-Fi, dystopian, or speculative fiction, there’s a World Building sub-menu with 24 detailed questions to help you flesh out your world. You’ll cover everything from the climate and language spoken to how advanced their medicine and science are and whether there are different races and natural laws.
Outline
Outline is where things start to take shape. You’ll focus on big-picture questions like what story elements you want to present, the tone of voice and POV you’re going to write in, who your main audience is, and how you plan to structure the three separate acts.
You can see in the screenshot above there are two separate screens on the 'First Act' window, which is the same for the 'Second Act,' but the 'Third Act' has three separate screens because your ending needs a little extra attention, right?
Extras
Do you like to mind map your characters or scenes? You can drag and drop your mind map directly into Outlining Your Novel. You can also include a picture of your world’s map if you’re writing about alien worlds or ancient times. But the best features are:
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- Calendar. Keep everything chronologically in order by plotting it out on the calendar so your readers aren’t confused.
- Playlist. Do you like to create playlists while you work to inspire you to greater heights? You can add your favorite tunes to characters, scenes, plot points, acts, climax, and resolution. Then simply click to play.
A Novel Idea Vending
- Cast of characters. Do you like to envision which actors will play the parts in your stories? You can record all of those thoughts in this section. Plan out who will play your main character, the love interest, the antagonist, all the way down to the other minor characters.
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Final thoughts
You don’t need to follow the order in which sections are laid out. If you have your premise first, start there. If a fully-formed character pops into your head first, go to the Character sub-menu. There is no right or wrong way to outline your novel. The best way is the way that works for you.
The only drawback I found was in exporting your outline for use outside the program. Actually, exporting is easy and is a great way to make a backup copy of your files. But it saves the files in FileMaker format, which can only be used with Outlining Your Novel. You can always print out your outline for use. Or you can export your Scene List separately from the Scene List screen into a text file that you can then drag and drop in Scrivener or Word.
Spend some time going through the program, reading all sections to get a feel for how it works. By the time you get to the Extras, you’ll be ready to dive into a new project. Or even bring a work-in-progress on board and flesh it out with this amazing tool.
Pants-er or planner, you’ll love Outlining Your Novel for the sheer creativity and imagination it takes to answer all these questions.