Kindle Price:	$5.99
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Writing into the Dark: How to Write a Novel without an Outline (WMG Writer's Guides) by [Dean Wesley Smith]

Follow the Author

Dean Wesley Smith

Writing into the Dark: How to Write a Novel without an Outline (WMG Writer's Guides) Kindle Edition

by Dean Wesley Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 647 ratings

Part of: WMG Writer's Guides (25 books)

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$5.99

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$7.99

$3.99

Kindle
$5.99 Read with Our Free App
Paperback
$7.99

8 Used from $3.99 8 New from $7.99

With more than a hundred published novels and more than seventeen million copies of his books in print, USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith knows how to outline. And he knows how to write a novel without an outline.

In this WMG Writer’s Guide, Dean takes you step-by-step through the process of writing without an outline and explains why not having an outline boosts your creative voice and keeps you more interested in your writing.

Want to enjoy your writing more and entertain yourself? Then toss away your outline and Write into the Dark.

“Dean Wesley Smith’s blog gives both a slightly different view of the publishing world than I’d seen before and detailed hands-on “here’s how to get from A to B” instruction.”
— Erin M. Hartshorn, Vision: A Resource for Writers

Part of series

WMG Writer's Guides
Print length

70 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

May 10, 2015
File size

428 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Next 5 for you in this series See full series

Total Price: $27.95

By clicking on the above button, you agree to Amazon's Kindle Store Terms of Use

M.L. Ronn
43
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $4.99
M.L. Ronn
240
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $3.99
Dean Wesley Smith
69
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $4.99
Dean Wesley Smith
43
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $5.99
Dean Wesley Smith
28
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $4.99
Dean Wesley Smith
66
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $4.99

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith published far more than a hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds of short stories across many genres. At the moment he produces novels in four major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the Old West, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, and a superhero series starring Poker Boy. His monthly magazine, Smith’s Monthly, which consists of only his own fiction, premiered in October 2013 and offers readers more than 70,000 words per issue, including a new and original novel every month. During his career, Dean also wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds. Writing with his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch under the name Kathryn Wesley, he wrote the novel for the NBC miniseries The Tenth Kingdom and other books for Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. He wrote novels under dozens of pen names in the worlds of comic books and movies, including novelizations of almost a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown. Dean also worked as a fiction editor off and on, starting at Pulphouse Publishing, then at VB Tech Journal, then Pocket Books, and now at WMG Publishing, where he and Kristine Kathryn Rusch serve as series editors for the acclaimed Fiction River anthology series. For more information about Dean’s books and ongoing projects, please visit his website at www.deanwesleysmith.com. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00XIPANX8
Publisher ‏ : ‎ WMG Publishing, Inc. (May 10, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 10, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 428 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 70 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #297,100 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #263 in Authorship
- #266 in Two-Hour Education & Reference Short Reads
- #330 in Writing Skill Reference (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 647 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Dean Wesley Smith

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith published far more than a hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds of short stories across many genres.

At the moment he produces novels in several major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the Old West, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, a superhero series starring Poker Boy, and a mystery series featuring the retired detectives of the Cold Poker Gang.

His monthly magazine, Smith’s Monthly, which consists of only his own fiction, premiered in October 2013 and offers readers more than 70,000 words per issue, including a new and original novel every month.

During his career, Dean also wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds. Writing with his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch under the name Kathryn Wesley, he wrote the novel for the NBC miniseries The Tenth Kingdom and other books for Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.

He wrote novels under dozens of pen names in the worlds of comic books and movies, including novelizations of almost a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown.

Dean also worked as a fiction editor off and on, starting at Pulphouse Publishing, then at VB Tech Journal, then Pocket Books, and now at WMG Publishing, where he and Kristine Kathryn Rusch serve as series editors for the acclaimed Fiction River anthology series.

For more information about Dean’s books and ongoing projects, please visit his website at www.deanwesleysmith.com and sign up for his newsletter.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

647 global ratings

5 star		64%
4 star		24%
3 star		9%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Kindle Customer

Refreshing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 28, 2023

Verified Purchase

Thank you for reminding me to just be me and allow my creative self to do the storytelling and writing. And thanks for the shift in perspective regarding deconstructing a novel and the reality of writing. I've been a pantser or discovery writer my whole life. And rarely wrote revisions because they were never as good and often diluted or destroyed the story. But I allowed some writing teachers and editors to get in my head a few years back and it killed my writing. You've rekindled the hope. Simple and effective suggestions too! Eager to return to writing in this Dark.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Great advice but too absolute

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 23, 2023

Verified Purchase

I wouldn't consider this a novel approach to writing, only in the age of the ever-controlling ego is this considered ground-breaking. As a child, I wrote stories like this, and it was an incredibly enjoyable journey. Some of the ideas presented were liberating such as storytelling being a non-linear process and the reverse outline. It's a great book to build confidence in the discovery writing process, but the one draft suggestion strikes me as unbalanced. It's a great start to devising a writing process that hones our creative subconscious. It is true that our critical minds will get in the way of our writing, and at the beginning, we should probably silence the inner critic and let the story flow out of us. When it comes to the later stages we should perhaps introduce the inner critic in healthy dosages to ensure that our stories are as polished as can be without undermining the work of our unconscious. I wish the author would have touched on this later point instead of demonizing the inner critic to hell which if trained can be an asset to the discovery writer.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

A. E. Terry

Fantastic Book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 9, 2023

Verified Purchase

I bought this book on Kindle a couple years ago. I'm just mad that I let it languish on the to read pile.

If you are wanting to write, read this book asap. It will help guide you on the principles to just keep writing and various techniques so you don't get bogged down by the overly critical voice and over thinking.

I found myself highlighting multiple sections of the book to help reinforce my memory.

Read the book, be glad you did. Conquer and tame the overly critical voice and thinking.

Just write.

Helpful

Eric Beaty, Author of the SMART FOCUS series

An Invaluable, Inspiring, Revelatory, and Freeing book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 18, 2015

Verified Purchase

After reading a sample of "Writing into the Dark" and then reading the helpful reviews of others, I immediately bought this book. I've had so much frustration listening to the "professionals" on how to write a novel that I lost hope and abandoned my first novel many years ago.

I recently finished the first draft of said novel, trying to combine my own simple three-scene outlines with "pantsing" my way through until the end. This helped me get a sense of how to finish the novel while not being too restricted to outlining everything along the way. In other words, I had plenty of freedom to go on tangents—or "paths" as it's referred to in this book.

After breezing through this inspiring book, it's nice to know I'm not writing the "wrong" way or breaking any "rules." There are none, really.

In this book by Dean Wesley Smith (the first I've bought from him), he gives many helpful and motivating tips—some of which I was already using but without realizing the full potential of them—as to how to make it through to the end of a first—and ONLY—draft and on to publication.

Since that frustrating experience with my first novel, I've been dying to experiment with fleshing out other fiction ideas I've had. What's kept me from doing so is I didn't know where to start because of the books I've recently been reading by several reputable—and also inspiring in their own right— indie authors that recommend the outlining process BEFORE you begin writing (Larry Brooks and K.M. Weiland come to mind).

However, now that I've devoured this book in just a couple of days—and will definitely refer to it time and again—I know it's okay to:

• "Outline as you go"
• Use "Cycling" to continue refining my first draft
• Not feel restricted to writing in a strictly "Linear" fashion (see Ch. 7 "Unstuck in Time," an invaluable, revelatory, and freeing chapter)
• Silence my "Critical" mind (while reading about this it reminded me of Steven Pressfield's idea of "Resistance" in his book "The War of Art"), and
• "Trust the process"

My only complaint (minor but valid, I think) is that Smith doesn't really address the problems of story structure as it relates to plot points such as Three Act Structure, Pinch Points, Climax, Denouement, etc., that relate to how a story is developed. He mentions a "Sense of Novel Structure," but basically refers back to the outline he creates AFTER writing the chapters/scenes.

Structure in the former sense has a lot to do with pacing, theme, character arcs, and the like; so even if you're writing "into the dark," I would think you would need some sense of when and where to put these elements in. But that may be just my critical mind worrying about what the "professionals" recommend, so take that with a grain of salt.

Overall, the book is a rare gem, finally putting words to several aspects of writing that many of us may already do by instinct—or would do if we had permission to. Smith gives us that permission freely and encourages us to run with it...all the way to the end of your story. The book is a fast read, but it's as it should be: the length it needs to be, without all the fluff.

My own personal tip: When finishing the novel I mentioned at the beginning, I would write two or three main points at the end of each scene that I wanted to cover for the next day's scenes. This served as a reminder which helped me stay on track as well as gave me the freedom to step away from my work without worrying if I would lose my ideas.

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

T. Pietz

Ok book.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 14, 2023

Verified Purchase

Nothing mind-blowing and the back portion of the book is a sample of another book. I read this for perspective, and I got that out of it though. I read the book in a single sitting. Read it if you're stuck or want to break out of your comfort zone. If you have writer's block, this isn't the solution. If you're drowning in writing concepts and others' structural advice, this might knock you loose and get you writing again. Just so you know what you're getting. 3/5 stars. Average, quick read.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 23, 2023

Verified Purchase

This book contradicts almost all of the other writing books I've read. It is about trusting your creative voice, not your critical voice. This is how I would naturally write, before I read dozens of structure and outlining books. Then I switched to outlining, and had to battle my way through drafts, because that was what I was "supposed" to do. If you find writing a story after you outline it a chore, this book may be the book for you. It helped me realize that the only right way is the one that works for you.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

BW

Period equalled End of!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 22, 2019

Verified Purchase

I like the idea of writing without an outline. I disagree about not rewriting. Some of us will have to rewrite - a little bit, maybe a lot. I gave the book two stars because of the number of times he said "Period." That statement, not the word per se, and "End of" really get on my nerves. I didn't finish the book. I tried, but I came across yet another "Period" and couldn't go any further. If I manage to pick it up again I'll update this review.

7 people found this helpful

DavidJones

Being more creative is the best way to write.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

As a writer, I thought my method of writing, what's normally referred to as being a "panster", was not the normal way to write as everyone else is always going on about needing to write from an outline. After reading Dean's book, I'm pleased and relieved to learn that my method of writing, the same as Dean's, is the best way to write stories. Trust in your creative side, is the message that Dean gives, and goes on to explain why in this eyeopening book. Read it and you'll be asking yourself why you've been constrained to outlining for so long. Using your creative side of your brain to write is not only a liberating way to write but also makes you a more enthusiastic writer as you'll want to find out what happens next in your stories as you write them.

2 people found this helpful

P Dawson

an interesting viewpoint

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

I was sceptical about Dean’s method when I heard him in a recent podcast. Not sceptical that it worked for him but that it could work for me. I am currently editing my first novel and finding it hard to follow the rules. I think by default I have started to adopt some of these measures myself. I am certainly willing to experiment with it, even though I usually like the security of rules - or at least that’s what I’ve always told myself. So I would recommend this book if you are prepared to be open-minded about how to approach writing.

One person found this helpful

Paul J. Fleming

Enjoyable, casual and refreshing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

I've been scribbling out small tales for over ten years while mentally gorging on various texts from noted authorities in the art of writing. I have tried to apply various methods to my craft but found myself wanting when that cursor blinks out from the screen and my mind goes a curious shade of blank. In contrast and at other moments, I have sat and scribbled (or typed) out whole scenes from one nugget of an idea with little planning or forethought. I've just gone with the flow and with no real intent of it going anywhere or to fulfil.any criteria.

This is, I believe, what Mr Smith is speaking of here. In those latter moments I let my creative brain have control. It seemed to work and flow better than when I allowed the critical side to try and forge a path.

Enjoyed this book and will probably invest in more of his work ;-)

Mark Treacher

A great no-nonsense approach to get you writing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 10, 2015

Verified Purchase

I have to say that this is probably one of the most practical how-to writing books I have read to date. It's a seat-of-the-pants approach to simply sitting down and writing. If you're someone who needs to have a very clear plan and structure before you get started then this is not the book for you. However, many successful writers have simply sat and written with only a vague idea of where the story is going. This has produced some very fine work indeed.

I have agonised for years about how best to write and with the practical advice offered here I have come to see that the most creative way forward for me is to start with that basic idea and run with it. See where the characters and take me and it eventually becomes they who determine how the story will go.

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Books, art & collectibles	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Sell on Amazon Start a Selling Account

Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	Amazon Fresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door	AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Experienced Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Ignite Sell your original Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Listen to Books & Original Audio Performances	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Box Office Mojo Find Movie Box Office Data	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	DPReview Digital Photography	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting

Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Prime Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy

Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Great Deals on Quality Used Products	Whole Foods Market America’s Healthiest Grocery Store	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Zappos Shoes & Clothing	Ring Smart Home Security Systems

eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room	Blink Smart Security for Every Home	Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts	Amazon Subscription Boxes Top subscription boxes – right to your door	PillPack Pharmacy Simplified	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the Author

Writing into the Dark: How to Write a Novel without an Outline (WMG Writer's Guides) Kindle Edition

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Dean Wesley Smith

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries