More things I like about First Draft in 30 Days
#1: The Creative Coffeepot
Karen talks about this in Chapter One and puts into words something I discovered years ago while taking piano lessons - that the subconscious mind is a powerful thing, working on something when you don't even realize it. This all falls under the first step of an outline - brainstorming. I LOVE to brainstorm, so, needless to say, was thrilled to see it given so much prominence in this book *g*.

#2: The variety of books she uses to illustrate her points. From Tracy Chevalier to Colleen McCullough, William Goldman to Michael Crichton, Emily Brontë to Sharon Sala and Agatha Christie to Scott Turow - she finds ways to draw on a multitude of sources so as to maximize her point that this method can be useful for writers of any genre as well as ensure that those new to writing will instantly recognize and relate to at least some of the books. Does that make sense? I hope so *g*.

#3: She provides lists of helpful questions and/or tips to ask/consider throughout the writing process - for example, on page 87 you'll find things to consider when incorporating character sketch info into your outline.

#4: The worksheets provided are both detailed enough to be truly useful, yet also adaptable to any genre AND easy to reproduce on your own computer, using either your wordprocessor or even a spreadsheet programme.

Still not sure? Don't forget to check out the website - the FAQ is a great place to start :-)

Teresa