If you’ve seen my logo and knew it was a logarithmic spiral (The Golden Section as the Greeks called it, The Divine Proportion as the Renaissance artists called it) then you may have surmised I’m interested in the mysteries of mathematics...the other night I was reading about fractals and they made me think about the structure of a novel.

I love Fractals because they combine art and math. Up close all you see are lines. From a distance you can enjoy a complex, complete image.

Such is the nature of a novel. Constructed with characters and problems and more characters and more complex problems, all connected and all together they form a complex complete story. Having trouble starting your novel, or having trouble finishing one? I become overwhelmed looking at the "big picture" of the novel when I should be just looking at the lines. Creating an outline for a story helps focus on the details and not the big picture. With an outline you create the beginning, middle and end. When you create all the lines in-between - - the "big picture" will take care of itself.

For your outline, on one page, jot down a line or two for each question:

1. What is your title?
Come up with a title for your book, it can change later, but this helps define your book, brings it into reality.

2. What is your Synopsis?
If you were to have your book already printed and bound - what would it say on the back of the book?

3. What is your Beginning?
Introduce the main character and their issue/problem.

5. What is your Ending?
Conclude characters and problems.

Beside each of those answers, jot down a line or two for the in-between fill-ins describing characters, locations, more problems etc. From there you can start really filling in the blanks and turning it into a story.

Describe their "world", the characters physical location or state of mind, time period etc. Enhance characters with character development, personality. Remember to use a lot of dialog. It becomes tedious to read, "he did this, she did that." Enhance the problem/plot with sub-plots and further obstacles to overcome.

Lost your direction?
Brainstorm - talk to yourself and ask "what if this happens, what if that happens." Resolve the problems with an outcome that is better or worse than the original state. Filling in the blanks between the beginning, middle and end is like the fractal. With conversation, description, sub-plots and character development all connected, it creates an overall complex, complete image. Take care of the details and the big picture will take care of itself.

© Julie Howell

Recommend reading:
"How to Write & Sell your First Novel" Oscar Collier
Fun and easy to read, inspiring with lots of ideas