Sometimes it takes an unusual source of inspiration to kick that stubborn writer’s block to the curb. Check out the first in a series of articles sharing weird ways to improve your writing craft.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been writing; every creative struggles with a mental block at some point. Some days, the inspiration flows freely—and sometimes, you wonder if you ever had it at all.
In this special multi-article series, I’m going to dive deeper into some of the strangest methods that I’ve used to generate writing motivation and refine my craft. You’ll probably laugh at some of them, and you may have even tried one or two. I’m hoping, however, that we’ll find at least a few new tools to add to your artillery. Let’s boost that writing confidence and get your stories told!
Unusual Method #1: Using Google Slides to draft your first outline.
You’re probably familiar with presentation tools like Google Slides and PowerPoint, but I can count on one hand the number of writers I know who use presentations as an outlining tool. There are lots of ways to structure a story outline, and there’s also lots of reasons to consider starting it in a presentation format. Let’s talk about this.
First and foremost, creating a basic outline of a story before you begin writing can help you start brainstorming ideas that take you deeper than just the premise.
It’s totally okay (and honestly, almost inevitable) for your story to change as you write it… but starting with a general idea of where you want your story to go will help you find increased motivation, while also potentially decreasing the amount of heavy-lifting that needs to happen after drafting. Things like mood boards, timelines, music playlists, and research rabbit holes are all key elements of preparing your story—just make sure you’re writing it!
Outlining beforehand is optional, and many great writers have produced books by sitting down and typing away without one. But did you know that out of every 1,000 people who start writing a book, only 30 of them finish (about 3%)? And out of those 30, it is expected that just 6 of those books will be published. Committing yourself to any kind of plan right out of the gate can help you break into that 3% of finishers and 0.6% of published authors as you approach your story with intentionality and strategy.
Presentations are versatile digital notecards.
They provide ample space for both jotting down a few ideas and giving each slide a title, and they make it very easy to drag, drop, duplicate, and rearrange elements of your outline as much as you want. Does your novel have 20+ characters? Major characters get their own slides, and you can group minor characters together on the same slide (such as a troop of bandits, or a particular establishment’s staff members).
Slides are great because they can work as simplified, easy-to-fill templates. Customizing them to your project and workflow? Super easy. The software itself is also super accessible (I’ve definitely added to my Slide decks from my phone) and in the case of Google Slides, free.
Here are some beginner presentation outline templates.
Like a typical presentation, I divide my outline by sections:
- Characters (Main, Supporting)
- Settings (Maps, Locations, Cities, Building Blueprints)
- Plot (Timelines, Events, Relationships, Arcs)
- Story Elements (Magic Systems, Cultures)
- Background Research
- Misc. Notes (Lecture Notes, Brainstorming, Partner Feedback, Writing Group, etc.)
I begin outlining a story by developing a slide for a character idea I had. I have one for my current work-in-progress, a clean YA fantasy novel retelling the legend of Atlantis in the world of the Vikings.
This is a very basic Character Profile. I adjust the details depending on the character’s role in the story, but almost all of them include both physical descriptions and a brief summary of their personality. As a visual learner and communicator, being able to build a small vision board beside the descriptions helps the character become more concrete in my mind. These pictures also help me to pick out a wider variety of details to share about her throughout the story, so that I’m not always reverting back to talking about those “Hamakari eyes” (the trademark hazel-brown eyes of her people). (Sidenote: Repeating the same physical traits about a character can get boring for the reader unless it plays a critical part in the plot.)
As I work on writing scenes with this character, I can record any new details that come up or have a quick reference when I forget an important detail. It’s like having a running sticky note, except my cat can’t chew it up and ruin my character progress. That was a bad day.
My Settings slides, particularly my map variations, are probably my most-referenced slides in the entire outline. The Settings section includes the names and basic details of all my major cities, starting with the ones that my characters actually visit and then adding more information as it comes up in drafting. My maps help me to remain oriented in the world (since my book is a LOTR-type long-distance adventure), keep my directions accurate (“to the west, the evening sun hovered just above the towers of Haerik Tohk”—character must be east of Haerik Tohk, then), and plot a course across the world that is realistically achievable within the timeframe I’ve given my characters.
Lastly, I made a Story Elements slide so I could write down and record a song that plays a big role in my book’s plot.
I wrote the song last year, and was able to record an audio clip right onto the slide with the tune that I had in my head. While the words might be adjusted and revised before final publication, the essence of the sounds are there. I listen to the audio clip probably once a month to remind myself what it sounds like—a slow and haunting ballad inspired by Celtic folk music. It’s helped me so much with drafting the scenes that involve this song, again keeping the details consistent.
Looking for a new approach to writing craft? Try this method of outlining your story with Google Slides and see how it goes.
The most important thing to prioritize when improving your writing is finding the tools that make your workflow easier; after all, there’s a reason most people use the expression “I could write a book about it!” to exaggerate or emphasize. It’s going to take a considerable amount of time and effort. Find and use the methods that will set you up for success.
Hannah L. Ackerman Portfolio 
Leave a comment