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Rave Reviews Book Club’s “SPOTLIGHT” Author, Rochelle Carter!!

As the very first Spotlight author of the Rave Reviews Book Club, it always gives me great pleasure to host a new Spotlight author. The current Spotlight author Rochelle Carter shares her thoughts about the benefits of outlining, a technique I once taught and promoted as a teacher of English and still recommend to writers today. After you’ve absorbed the wisdom of Rochelle’s advice, show her a little love by supporting her on the social media she lists below. And don’t forget to check out her book on Amazon. Better yet, join the group that promotes established, new, or aspiring writers. Stop by the website of Rave Reviews Book Club and say that Rochelle sent you.

Spotlight Author Rochelle Carter

How I juggle writing with a screaming toddler

We’ve all got conflicting priorities to juggle; here’s why outlining your book should make you more efficient

Even as I type this blog, my 18 month old is screaming in my face from my lap. She’s tired and teething, and overall not happy with life right now. I’m still typing however, because I have a plan for my writing, and estimated word count I will hit and then I will be all hers again- if she’s not asleep. That’s because I live for outlining my work. Having an outline provides three major benefits:

Helps you stay focused- even while multi-tasking, having an outline and a general premise for what you are trying to convey will allow you to drop off and pick up as needed.
Allows you to develop your writing strategy– if you know the end goal for each section in your outline, you are less likely to go off on a tangent and wonder how you got there.
Makes it easier to get help if necessary– for nonfiction books especially, outlining will allow you to work more effectively with editors. They will be able to see the overall arc of your book and provide directed input, rather than just going with the flow of your writing.

I know as authors we get told repeatedly to write an outline, and yet so many of us forego this simple tool for the sake of the long, treacherous, and blind journey to manuscript completion. After years of starting various books, I finally went back to basics and completed my first book- The Seven Step Guide to Authorpreneurship. I may not be selling millions, but I’ve certainly made the Amazon bestseller lists and won a couple of awards this year. I am a good student, so for my next book I have already started working on my outline… even while the kids run and scream!