I am in the process of writing a book. Not my first book but each book is different and the requirements and orientations are different.
Once upon a time, back in the dark ages when I was in public school, one of the regular assignments by English teachers (probably true for teachers all over the world in whatever language they write in) was to read a book and do a "book report". (I believe they still make this assignment.) This book report was to be two parts -- one part a summary of the book and the second part a reaction and interpretation of the book. Book reports were not usually assigned until a person had progressed to "books without pictures" (sometimes teachers would get very stringent about this and not allow a book that just had occasional illustrations). As the reports were often expected to be 1000 words (longer as one got older), this would mean reducing a book which might be (once again, usually longer as one got older) 40,000 words for a middle-grade book to 70,000 to 200,000 words down to 1,000 words.
How do you summarize a 200,000 (or more) word novel into 1,000 words? First, you have to recognize the climax. What was that end result that all the early parts were leading you towards? (Non-fiction books are not easily summarized because the details are, hopefully, the parts that you want to remember -- getting rid of them defeats the purpose.) Next, note the most important characters -- just the characters that are important in moving to that climax. Finally, what are the important events that lead toward the climax. There will be subplots and side events and environment and all kinds of things that don't directly lead to the climax. It takes a lot of discernment and work to cut it down to 1,000 words. And learning that ability to discern and reduce is why the lesson is assigned.
A "condensed book" (or severely abridged book) must contain the summary but also keeps scenes (perhaps modified) associated with the relevant important events that convey character development and environment. Some new authors (longer published authors have more control -- sometimes not to their benefit) end up with condensed books after their editors have finished with them. The advantages of a condensed book is that it conveys the general ideas of the book but can be read in a much shorter period of time.
The third category of reduction is an analysis -- such as provided by Cliffs Notes® -- which provides a summary enhanced by analysis of what is going on within sections of the book and why. The existence of these is sometimes a bane for English teachers who are trying to get students to learn the skills of discernment, reduction, and analysis (the analysis portion is that other part of the "book report" beyond the summary). But they are available to teachers also and direct plagiarism is relatively easy to spot (so don't do it for assignments).
But what about the "other direction"? The author-to-be has latched onto an idea from the magic idea cabinet and wants to create a 200,000 word work of art that will be cherished for the ages. Different authors approach this in different ways. I treat it as a reversal of a reduction. I determine the climax and then decide on what events could reasonably lead to that climax and the characters involved. Then (difficult for me -- some authors have other difficult areas) I need to take that summary and put all of the personality development, environmental interactions, humor, personal interactions and details needed to make it an interesting, page turning, newly written classic.
Of course, it isn't that simple (although, with some authors' output, it appears to the reader that it must just flow out of their fingers without any conscious effort). I'm far from that point (I hope to be there someday) but the art of writing is somewhat analogous to other arts -- music, painting, sculpture. As you practice the skills, the brain establishes them as additional extensions of the mind and body. What used to be a conscious process becomes a subconscious flow. An immersion of the mind into the world being described allows a conduit from that world to the transcription of print, music, sculpture, video and so forth.
A business plan has many parallel tasks to that of creating a book. The plan has a climax (a marketable product). In order to reach that climax (product), a series of events must take place (design, creation, marketing, sales,...). And it will require a set of characters (or personnel) with different attributes (skills/functional departments). Alas, unlike a book, you cannot write in all of the surrounding details -- those surrounding details are the obstacles to your achieving that climax. Murphy has a lot of input into those surrounding details but, within that business plan, the more details and possibilities that are considered will make the plan better. And how to deal with potential problems may be more important than the unhindered steps to the product.
