I've been writing first drafts for NaNoWriMo by the seat of my pants for several years. Every once in a while I try a lightweight outline method to 'really be organized, this time' and still wound up with a mess. I quite enjoyed this author's lighthearted approach and I think the light may have finally gone on about how to formulate a meaningful story. This probably isn't the silver bullet for killing the beast of writing a novel. But I'm going to give it a quick rescan and see if I can apply it to this years' NaNo. ( )

The advice in this book is great if you're looking to break a writing block with a structured approach. I do think it should be taken with a grain of salt and other books on outlining should be read as well (I can tell this even having not yet read other outlining books myself). Hawker is very transparent throughout that this method isn't the only one out there; it's just what has worked for her. However, she does make grandiose claims using punchy marketing terms to convince the reader of her points, which I didn't appreciate.

Hawker uses examples from popular books to illustrate her points well, in addition to one of her books in depth. Unfortunately from what I read about her book, it sounds...honestly very questionable, not so much in the structure part but in the choice of historical focus (Pocahontas, Jamestown, Native American culture). I just winced through the example. To be fair I haven't actually read the novel, but I didn't like the glimpses of it. So having a good outline, as Take Off Your Pants focuses on, isn't of course the only important part about writing a book: the topic and themes need to be appealing and respectful.

Overall I'm planning to experiment with the basic outline structure Hawker uses, at least to start with because I need SOMETHING to break my block, and will likely modify it as needed. ( )

I really like to read so I'm interested in how my favorite authors put their stories together. This was an interesting read where the bare bones of the novel is revealed. The author claims that a full outline can be written in as little as 4 hours. I think I'd like to play around doing something with this, not to actually write a novel but this would be the fun part part of writing a novel. ( )

This is the first book on writing that actually made me sit down and realize not just what I was doing wrong as a writer, but what I can do to make the end result better. While it's a guideline, Hawker has put it together in such a way that you can't help but see the entire book in your head, including where the gaps are. I'm rewriting a book right now, but this book is causing me to go back through my already existing edits and rewrite entire sections again - with a much better outcome.

If you are a writer, I cannot urge you enough to read this book. I've already purchased a bunch of copies for friends, so that they can benefit as well. ( )

Extremely useful. Very easy to understand. Excellent technique for plotting. I've always been a pantser, but I want to write something longer then my usual short stories. Every time I try a novel with my pantsing method, I fizzle out in the middle. But I HATE outlining, soooo boring. This method, however, I can cope with and it ties everything together very neatly. I can already see I should be able to outline and flesh out beats for my current idea pretty much in a weekend. Then I will just need to follow it and I won't fizzle out. For those worried they won't have a chance to let their imagination run free, this method takes that into account. There is plenty of 'wiggle room' as the author puts it. Excellent book, highly recommend. ( )