Distillation and the Book Outlining Process

I must admit I enjoy watching the TV show Moonshiners, an American docudrama television series on the Discovery Channel that dramatizes the life of people who produce (illegal) moonshine in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina. 

Although I do not drink alcohol, I’m still drawn to the characters from this American subculture; a culture which, as a born and raised Northeastern suburbanite, is foreign to me.  I love it when the show runs subtitles on some of the characters who speak with such a heavy southern dialect that you need the subtitles to understand what they are saying – even though they are speaking English.

In addition, as an educated Chemical Engineer, I have always been fascinated with the distillation process and distillation equipment (e.g., fractionating columns).  The making of the moonshine involves a simple batch distillation process, separating the fermentation produced alcohol from the other still liquids.

Distillation is a process of separating the component substances from a liquid mixture by selective evaporation and condensation.  Distillation may result in essentially complete separation (nearly pure components), or it may be a partial separation that increases the concentration of selected components of the mixture.

--- Wikipedia (Distillation).

Fractionating Column

While working on my new Creation Book project, I’m becoming keenly aware of the application of the distillation process and the writing process, at least as it relates to the scoping and outlining the structure and content of the book.  I have gone through at least three totally different book outlines and main thesis objectives for the book.  For each new book revision there is a distilling down of data and information to a more concentrated, and hopefully a more enjoyable read.

As they say in the intro to the show ... “This is how we make the moonshine.” 

For me ... “This is how I make my outline.”