by Ruth Harris
Lists will make writing your book faster and easier — and bail you out when you get stuck.
Lists.
- Grocery lists.
- Laundry lists.
- To do lists.
- Playlists.
- Witness lists
- Bucket lists.
- Wait lists
- Watch lists
Lists run our lives.
Lists keep us on track.
Lists keep things simple.
Lists make things clear.
Lists create order out of chaos, clarity out of confusion.
Where would we be without them?
How are lists different from books?
Unlike books, lists are—
- Friendly, casual, flexible.
- Something we all know how to do.
- Something most of us create everyday.
- Quick to write.
- Simple to create.
- Easy to revise.
- Even pantsers can make lists!
- Lists don’t have to make sense.
- You don’t get blocked or stuck when you write a list.
- Lists don’t have deadlines.
- Or word counts.
- Or inciting incidents, or beats, much less turning points and beats.
- Lists quickly expose flaws, omissions, glitches, and oopsies.
You can make a list anywhere: on the back of an envelope, a grocery receipt, a Post-It, a Google Doc or a fancy to-do list app.
Or at any time: in line at the pharmacy, before you get out of bed in the AM, last thing at night, in the wee, small hours when that brilliant idea strikes in the middle of the night, at the pharmacy waiting to pick up your prescription, at the beach, the park, on a hiking trail. You can dictate a list, add or delete items anywhere your phone or a piece of paper is within reach.
But wait! There’s more!
Lists let you zoom out for The Big Picture.
Or zoom in to focus on the details.
When should you use a list?
When an outline is overkill.
When you’re stuck, out of ideas, and/or out of gas.
When your memory needs jogging.
Did that hot, steamy romantic rendez-vous take place in Corfu? Or Tahiti?
Where did Victor Villain get knifed to death? In a back alley in Saigon? Or the sinister docks of Rio?
Who is Samsell von Diezenfuffle and why did I put him in chapter 3? Or is Samsell a she?
What *were* you thinking? Scratches head. Searches the heavens for an answer but the heavens don’t know, either.
When your manuscript has ground to a halt or you’ve written yourself up a tree or into a corner and don’t know what to do next—
When that brilliant idea has turned into a hodge-podge mess—
When you can’t figure out how to unscramble eggs—
Rescue yourself and turn to the everyday, no-big-deal, user-friendly list.
When your plot goes MIA.
You do have a plot. Don’t you?
But now you wonder where your plot went.
Or maybe you did have a plot. Once upon a time.
But now that you’re 30K words in, you’re lost in the mess you’ve created and wonder what happened, and why that brilliant plot vamoosed. You, the author, are adrift in the mists of confusion and frustration. You no longer know who’s doing what to who — much less why.
Or.
You live and die by your outline because an outline solves all the problems ahead of time.
Except when it doesn’t.
Except when your outline has gotten longer than the book.
Except when a character does something “out of character” that’s even better than what you cooked up in advance.
Except when your outline is so detailed, you can’t hack your way out of the jungle.
Or when your outline (if you have one) is no help. By now it’s overkill and overgrown. It’s too long, too detailed.
If you’re a pantser, you blink. “Outline? What’s an outline? I hate outlines. I can’t write an outline. Wah!”
How do I bail myself out?
Make a scene-by-scene list using no more than two or three words for each one. Remember KISS? Here it’s Keep It Short, Stupid.
Resist the temptation to add additional details. Avoid complications. What you’re aiming for is short and sleek. And to the point.
When you’re finished scribbling your quick list, you will have created a condensed view of your plot and characters and can reveal when and where you went off course.
Your capsule scene list will keep you focused and remind you quickly who did what, to whom, when and why.
Your scene lists can also result in a step-by-step quick sketch that might even be the missing plot you’ve been searching for
Characters. Too many? Not enough?
Too many characters?
Turn to the ever-trusted list.
Search for dupes.
Combine.
Or search and destroy.
Too few?
Your MC is living in an uninhabited landscape. S/he needs energy and conflict — a friend to help (or hinder), another — or more intimidating — nemesis. Think about secondary characters to push the plot along, get in your MC’s way, or offer unexpected help.
For more ideas for dealing with over population problems, see Anne’s post about confusing — and unconfusing — readers.
Here’s Ruth with Stephen King’s 10% Rule and the secret power of the delete button.
A character list will quickly point you to your mistakes and almost automatically suggest needed fixes like adding nuance or subtracting confusion.
Boris Boring or Melinda Meh?
Plain vanilla. Yawn. Add some sauce or a bit of spice.
Dithering Dorothy or Indecisive Irving?
Passive. Double yawn. Wind them up, set them free, light their fire.
Coriander-pineapple-avocado-
One scoop? Or two? Really? More does not equal better.
Hotshot Harry or Six-shooter Susie?
Hostile and Aggressive. Always looking for a fight. Everone hates him/her. Including the reader. And, by now, the author. They need rescue (from themselves) and your list will point the way. Maybe they could adopt an orphan. Or walk a neighbor’s dog or water a neighbor’s plants.
Dopey Dora or Clueless Clyde?
TDTL. (Too Dumb To Live) S/he needs an immediate shot of IQ.
Impulsive and prone to idiot decisions. She’s in a haunted house / or in a neighborhood with a serial killer and decides to walk down the stairs into the spooky, creepy cellar.
When your book needs a little — or a lot— more oomph — or a better balance between too much and/or too little.
Pacing.
Too fast, too slow.
Wham! Bam! When there’s no time to let the characters —or the reader — take a breath.
Or when the action drags — the dead zone where nothing (or nothing much) happens — often found in Act 2.
A quickly scribbled list will reveal where you need to speed things up — or slow them down.
That list will make it obvious when and/or where you should move chapters.
Or delete chapters, add conflict, or insert a breather.
But before you actually do the major surgery of moving scenes around (moving chapters always means rewriting the lead-ins and the out lines), the ever-reliable list will give a quick preview. You will be able to see what does — and what does not — work before you make your final decisions.
Listmania.
Lists are every writer’s do-it-all tool.
Lists can make the difference between finishing or not finishing your book.
Lists will bail you out, set you free, turn you into a pro.
So why not use lists as your go-to problem-solver to make writing your book faster, easier and — much! — more fun to write?
by Ruth Harris @RuthHarrisBooks June 26, 2022
What about you, scriveners? Do you use lists to keep your writing on track? Have you ever lost Samsell von Diezenfuffle in Chapter 3, never to be seen again? Pantsers, would a list help you get your story moving without writing an actual outline? I’m definitely using this technique with my next book. How about you?
BOOK OF THE WEEK
A New Program for Our Blog Readers!
Readers, you can be the first one on your block to read Ruth Harris’s latest book in her Cozy in the City series. We’re starting a new program: our blog readers can have a FREE digital ARC (Advance Reader Copy, aka DRC) of our books before the official launch!! If you feel like leaving an honest review later, when the book launches, we’ll be grateful, but it’s not required. Just leave a comment for Ruth saying you’d like a free digital copy of Diamonds are For Now.
DIAMONDS ARE FOR NOW
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
When the world’s most famous author of bestselling thrillers, Hoad Powell, disappears on a billionaire’s heavily-guarded private island in the Caribbean, Blake and Ralph must find him.
Is he dead?
Or is he alive?
What happened to him?
Why hasn’t he finished his newest blockbuster? Thousands of jobs are on the line and millions of readers want to know.
Who is the glamorous arms dealer who sells tactical nukes to terrorists, dictators, and rogue militias around the world?
What about the mysterious, veiled woman who wears a diamond bracelet worth more than some countries?
And how is the daring robbery at an exclusive Oscar post-party connected?
Will Blake and Ralph succeed in their quest?
Or will they fail?
And what will happen when oh-so-macho Ralph finds out that Blake is making more money than he does?
Good morning, Anne & Ruth. Lists rule. I’ve always used priority lists and learned a great system called the Eisenhower Matrix. Here’s a link if anyone wants to prioritize their stuff: https://asana.com/resources/eisenhower-matrix
Garry—Great minds….etc etc! 🙂 Thanks, too, for the superhelpful link.
I’m a firm supporter of lists. They have more than one of my manuscript. For example, what-do-I-do-next lists keep me on track and moving forward.
My writing life would implode if not for my trusty Evernote lists!
I like that idea! Lots of ways a list can help you through a tough area.
I love lists! I keep a weekly to-do list that I check every morning to pick out the things I need to concentrate on. I never accomplish everything on the list, so I just move the leftovers to the next week. I like the idea of creating a list to handle some of the issues with my WIP.
I use Scrivener, and one of the nice features is the outliner capability so you can print out the title of each chapter (and synopsis, if you wish) along with the word count. I can slide that information into an excel worksheet to get an idea of percentage of the way through the story when certain milestones are reached.
(I would love an ARC of “Diamonds Are For Now.”)
Kay—Thanks! Color me hopeless but I tend to make my Scriv outliner cards *too” detailed. Aaargh! Instead I use their project notes and/or doc notes. Here’s a helpful Gwen Hernandez post about 4 ways to make notes in Scriv.
https://writerunboxed.com/2017/10/29/4-ways-to-make-notes-in-scrivener/
Check your Twitter DMs for a DL link to Diamonds Are For Now. Hope you enjoy!
I’m a newbie to writing. I’ve been making lists for my memoir for over ten years. I guess I’m on the right path. Thank you for boosting my thoughts to get writing.
Leanne—You, too? lol Lists keep us focused and are a great way to clear out the clutter that tends to creep in no matter how hard we try. Glad I’m not the only one!
Liz—Glad you’ve found your trusty lists a reliable way to keep your writing life from imploding! We have *so much* to keep track of and lists are a great way to corral the balky, disorganized herd. 🙂
Alex—Thanks! Hope your lists steer you through your next glitch. They are SO helpful for keeping the messy reality of writing a book under control (at least a little)!
DJ—Definitely the right path! Good luck with the writing. You will refer to those lists again and again as you proceed. They are gold!
Ahhh…lists. Lists have been frenemy since I was a tween attempting to read all the 15+ books I had checked out the library.
My most recent list usage was the six different pages of notes that helped me properly figure out what I needed to do to properly write the several characters to my current hot mess (rewrite actually).
I love lists, but they will be the death and resurrection of me. Because, whether we like it or not, we need lists for what we write.
GB—Six pages???? Aaaargh. But they did do their job, didn’t they? They helped you figure out what you needed to do next. Lists do so much of the heavy lifting!
When death seems imminent, always helps to focus on the resurrection part! 😉
Brava to lists, says he who lists to the left.
CS— Ha ha! 😉
An aging memory is a great incentive for list keeping…as long as I remember where I put the list!
My lists have mostly been deadlines for articles, upcoming classes to teach, and grocery shopping–dammit, I forgot the sour cream again. As a pantser, I should work on a scene list for novels. Thanks for another useful, practical suggestion, Ruth!
I’d love an ARC. Diamonds sounds like a fun read.
Debbie—Geez, if it isn’t one thing, it’s another. 🙁 So now we golden girls have to remember where we put the damn list! Anyway, IME scene lists help untangle manuscript glitches and other writing oopsies.
Check your Twitter DMs for a DL link to Diamonds. Hope you enjoy!
Wonderful post Ruth. I don’t how I’d function with both, my writing and real life without lists! And congrats on the new book. Omg, my bad. I have both other books in this series, which have seemed to drown below sea level in my never ending Kindle. I do look forward to this series. And I’m wondering if they are written as sequels, or does it matter in which order they are read? If not, I’d be happy to read and review. 🙂
DG—I’m with you. Writing lists and IRL lists make staying above sea level possible! Other than that, see you in Davy Jones locker. lol
The books can be read separately. Each one is a different case for Ralph & Blake to solve. Each one also goes into a different aspect of their marriage and how they manage to keep it together. (Not always easy for sure!)
Check your DMs. I sent you a DL link for DIAMONDS ARE FOR NOW.
Hi Ruth. Thanks for letting me know. I look forward to reading the newest first. 🙂 Arg, Davy Jones locker, lol. Okay, also, what am I missing? Which platform did you send the link to? I checked and haven’t seen it? My bad? 🙂
Ruth – love the idea of scene lists! I can use that immediately for my own writing, as well as my editing. As a postit addict, my work space is awash in the colors of the rainbow postits, each meaning something — for a while anyway. I like this idea for editing because it will make it easier to analyze the story movement from a developmental perspective.
Thanks for sharing this!
Maria
Maria—Thanks! So glad the post hit you at an opportune moment. I feel you about postits…They have white now so at least I’ve rid myself of the confusing rainbow. Good news is wielding lists can break the postit addiction & make everything *much* clearer and simpler. Helps cut through the fog of war. Ooops. I mean editing/revision. 🙂
Hi DG, I sent a link to Amazon to your DM at Twitter. PLMK if you’d like me to send it to you elsewhere.
Hit me up on Twitter @RuthHarrisBooks. Or here at the blog. We’ll figure something out.
I am a believer and user of lists
Marta—Yay! Smart! 🙂
What a great post. I’m just starting a new book and I’ve bookmarked this post as something to refer to and often while on the new journey. Thank you for such good tips. (As always.)
Elizabeth—Thanks for the kind words. Glad the post resonated and hope your quick and easy-to-make lists help you track your plot and characters as you go along. Good luck with your new book!
I’m not sure if I’d use the technique for the 1st draft, but it looks like something I would definitely benefit from in all drafts after that.
GJ—Thanks for taking the time to comment. I hope using lists will help make working on your drafts much smoother and easier!
Hi, Ruth. Loved this post on lists. Very helpful. And I’d love a free arc of Diamonds Are For Now. Thanks.
Hi Dean—Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad to hear the post on lists was relevant to you& hope the ideas will help you in the future.
Please let me know where you want me to send the DL link to Diamonds Are For Now. 🙂
Being a total pantser, I am not into the detailed outline process. However, I take a class by Laurie Schnebly “From Plot to Finish” and we end the class by writing up a quick and short-worded list, scene by scene, that helps me immensely go from beginning to end without being overwhelmingly rigid. It literally mini-outlines the book from start to finish in an easy non-mind-blowing way that, for a pantser, is just what I need.
Patricia—You’re exactly right! A list is an easy-to-do, pain-free mini-outline that will spotlight the glitches & oopsies. I didn’t know of Laurie Schnebly’s class but couldn’t agree more! Lists rule!
To my email would do just fine. dlarsen77@hotmail.com Thanks.
I love all these great ideas for lists, and I suddenly realized that I *have* used lists while drafting a new book. When I’ve gotten bogged down in the middle and am trying to get through it, I have gone back to my outline/synopsis/notes and written a bullet point list of each plot point I need to get through to finish the draft. I write the list directly inside the manuscript – below where I’m currently drafting. After I write that bullet point, I delete it and go on to the next one. It’s a super helpful way to just keep going when I get tired and overwhelmed in the middle. I’d love to read your ARC, too! I adore mysteries. Thanks! kglittle@msn.com 🙂
Kimberley—OMG the alert system must have glitched. I didn’t see your comment until just now. Thanks for the great example of how lists can keep writers on track even when they feel bogged down. Writing the list right into the ms is brilliant!
I’ve sent you the DL link for DIAMONDS ARE FOR NOW. Check your email! 🙂