"When you begin to plan your project, start small! Then let it snowball. I admit, my longest outline..."

“When you begin to plan your project, start small! Then let it snowball. I admit, my longest outline was a hefty 40-plus pages. But you don’t have to go that far to get yourself on the road to a happy, fulfilling Camp NaNo experience. Even a skeleton outline will do as long as it keeps the story going. Here’s what I do to get moving:

 

1. Start with your elevator pitch (a one-sentence run down of the who, what, where, when, and especially why of your story).

 

2. Expand that one sentence into three: beginning, middle, end.

 

3. Expand those three sentences into three paragraphs for beginning, middle, and end, adding details to each section.

 

4. Break those three paragraphs into multiple paragraphs for each section, adding even more details—and turning those details into potential scenes.

 

5. Group the scenes (and use flash cards if you want to, for easy movement) into paragraphs of action, which then magically become chapters!

 

6. Voila, you should now have a skeleton outline featuring three sections of multiple paragraphs outlining your chapters by beginning, middle and end.”

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Sona Charaipotra first worked as a celebrity reporter at People and (the dearly departed) TeenPeople magazines, and has been a contributor to publications from the New York Times to TeenVogue. She’s the co-founder of CAKE Literary, a boutique book packaging company with a decidedly diverse bent, and the co-author of the YA dance dramas Tiny Pretty Things and Shiny Broken Pieces. She’s also proud to serve as the head of content for the non-profit We Need Diverse Books.

Your Camp Care Package is brought to you in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Sign up to receive more Camp Care Packages at campnanowrimo.org.