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Norman Mailer’s character timeline for Harlot’s Ghost
Just as we are fascinated by what goes on behind-the-scenes of good movies, we are equally intrigued by how great works of literature become what they are.
Flavorwire has unearthed a collection of handwritten outlines of famous books—and one iconic magazine article—that shows the thought processes of their authors before they were written.
From J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, each of these charts is a rare peek into a legendary writer’s working mind.
While some authors uses a detailed grid chart to gather their ideas, others are more “free-spirited” with their organization—for instance, William Faulkner wrote his outline on his office wall.
Scroll down for more handwritten outlines of famous writings.
Click image to enlarge
James Salter’s outline for Light Years
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J.K. Rowling’s spreadsheet plan for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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Gay Talese’s outline for his classic profile “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” (a magazine article)
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Joseph Heller’s chart outline for Catch-22
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Part of Jennifer Egan’s plan for her short story “Black Box
Henry Miller’s manuscript plan for Tropic of Capricorn
Sylvia Plath’s outline for The Bell Jar
William Faulkner’s outline for A Fable — written on his office walls
[via Flavorwire]
Norman Mailer’s character timeline for Harlot’s Ghost
Just as we are fascinated by what goes on behind-the-scenes of good movies, we are equally intrigued by how great works of literature become what they are.
Flavorwire has unearthed a collection of handwritten outlines of famous books—and one iconic magazine article—that shows the thought processes of their authors before they were written.
From J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, each of these charts is a rare peek into a legendary writer’s working mind.
While some authors uses a detailed grid chart to gather their ideas, others are more “free-spirited” with their organization—for instance, William Faulkner wrote his outline on his office wall.
Scroll down for more handwritten outlines of famous writings.
Click image to enlarge
James Salter’s outline for Light Years
Click image to enlarge
J.K. Rowling’s spreadsheet plan for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Click image to enlarge
Gay Talese’s outline for his classic profile “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” (a magazine article)
Click image to enlarge
Joseph Heller’s chart outline for Catch-22
Click image to enlarge
Part of Jennifer Egan’s plan for her short story “Black Box
Henry Miller’s manuscript plan for Tropic of Capricorn
Sylvia Plath’s outline for The Bell Jar
William Faulkner’s outline for A Fable — written on his office walls
[via Flavorwire]