The Wondrous Outlining Powers of the Excel Spreadsheet

So, writing felt like a haggled train of half-starved PoWs drudging through three feet of snow and ice (We shall not use the W.B.-word here ;))

As an alternative to wallowing in self-depreciation and creative despair, I decided to not let a perfectly fine Monday go to waste and spent some one-on-one time with my dear old excel spreadsheet instead....

And a few hours later I'm not only basking in the fuzzy glow of instant gratification and self-validation as I marvel at my wondrous outlining skills, but also the worry-free guaranty of definitely hitting the projected 80k word count for this novel. So far I have only applied this particular outlining technique to part 2 of EMPIRE OF LIGHT, mainly because I wanted to get on with the story and no spend too much time recapping the outline of scenes already done, but part 1 and 3 are soon to be added to this.

Either way, right now my monstrous outline spreadsheet consists of about seven million columns (almost ;)) such as chapter number, PoV, plot, supporting cast, setting, time of day, worldbuilding, backstory and key lines (oh and I have enough conflict going on to warrant a special column just for all the shit that's blowing up in this novel - physically and emotionally that is). So right now, I've learned three interesting things:

1.) Most of my plot happens at night. Kind of ironic if the title is EMPIRE OF LIGHT, isn't it? Well, it fits my purposes.
2.) Why hello there, surprise supporting character! I don't believe I've met you yet. So glad you popped in to join the party.
3.) This novel is packed as far as plotlines, charactes, conflict etc. goes. I'd be fucking lost without an outline.

Oh and did I mention that the pat few hours of Spreadsheet Extravaganza have totally cured me from the curse of Writer's Block (excuse my French)?

Yeah, outlining is just that awesome :p

And my friend Writing Demons along with some other writer friends of mine who abhor outlines were probably sent into fits of acute apoplexy reading this. Sorry guys, I know this isn't for everyone, but for me it's a thing of genius!

Credits also go to fellow outline-nazi (and currently awful tease) parametric ;)