[ NANO ] PREP WEEK 3 - Outlining Your Story ( also , programs you may want to get and learn in advance )

So, [ here ] ( http: //i.imgur.com/2zcrp.jpg ) is my outline, looking resplendent spread out all over my coffee table. I do n't really need help with plotting, what you see in the photo is pretty much a complete novel skeleton, awaiting meat on its bones. If you're curious and want a closer look at one of these cards, [ here ] ( http: //i.imgur.com/PFrjC.jpg ) is the outline for the first chapter. 
 
 What it actually says for those who ca n't read my handwriting: 
 
 1. FUNERAL 
 
 * Rainy day in cemetery. 
 * `` That's how I'd start this...'' 
 * Hot sun, black suit. Cliff top, beach front. 
 * Two of us preparing to scatter ashes. 
 * Toss the book off the edge. 
 * `` I was n't going to do the'end at the beginning' trope, but fuck it. I'm going to do it anyway.'' 
 
 That's just a list of written prompts, so I remember what I want to include in this chapter. Some are setting, some are plot points. A couple of them are lines of dialogue for my narrator to say, which I've included so I have one line as a trigger for me to remember in which direction I want large chunks of dialogue or narration to go. 
 
 So, if I do n't really need help with plotting, why have I posted this? 
 
 Believe it or not, it's not bragging. It's not showing off my outline to everyone and saying, `` Check out my outline, look what I can do. Are n't I great?'' But this is such a welcoming and encouraging community, and to post something like this and have people actively say, `` You're writing a novel? Keep going.'' is so exciting. I do n't normally make plans and outlines like this, but I was so pleased, I just had to share it with somebody. 
 
 So, thank you to everybody here. Hopefully this collection of green index cards is just the beginning.
