Here’s a sample of how the color coding worked for BREAKOUT: That made it easier for me to see how the pacing of the story was going, and how the different storytelling elements were balanced. In this case, each color represents a different kind of document.

That’s because you can color code them to represent different voices or settings or whatever you want, as you write. When you write that chapter, the full text is attached to the card, so you can move scenes around and try them out in new places simply by dragging the cards from place to place on your screen.īREAKOUT is different from a regular novel in that it’s written entirely in documents, so in my later drafts of this book, instead of having 20 or 30 index cards representing chapters, I have 175 cards – each one representing a different document that does some of the storytelling.Īnd maybe you noticed that the cards are different colors on the screen. This is basically how I outline, creating a little on-screen index card for each scene or chapter in the story. Scrivener originated as a tool for screenwriters but is incredibly useful for novelists, too, because it allows you to plan and write by scene. This is a program called Scrivener that I use when I’m drafting a new book, and I usually stick with it for my first six or seven revisions before switching over to Microsoft Word. Here’s a look at what this book looked like during my revision process. That includes complete rewrites as well as revisions based on comments and suggestions from critique partners and my editor. Typically, I do anywhere from 12 to 20 drafts of a book before it’s good enough to be published. I let them know that the books of mine in their school library are never first or second drafts. One of the things that always surprises kids at my school visits is just how much revision real authors do before a book is published. Why a 23-day series? Because this book was inspired by the 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility prison break that led to a 23-day manhunt in June of 2015.

It’s about a small-town prison break and manhunt that change the way three kids see their neighbors and the place they call home. Countdown to Breakout is a 23-day blog series about the three-year writing process for BREAKOUT, which earned starred reviews from both School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

Breakout book kate messner