Ian Dawson's Blog - Posts Tagged "outlines"

Writing a story outline is a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing since you know where the story is going and don't have to worry or panic that you don't see how it will end. On the other hand, an outline can feel like it's stifling your creativity. You want to deviate, change course, or even cut a whole section that worked in your head and in the outline but fleshed out is lifeless and dull.

What to do, what to do.

For NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) last year, I drafted an outline to use as a roadmap to keep me focused and on track while I was working on my story. It wasn't perfect, but it gave me enough information and story points to keep me writing each day and staying focused on the story I was writing.

But, as I said in the opening, there were places where I could feel the air getting sucked out of the story. There were moments when the conflict or even story-based information vanished during the drafting process. I could even see while writing weaknesses in the story that I hadn't initially seen in just the outline.

So, let's look at ways to work through these problems to avoid bigger headaches in the later stages of your writing project.

OPTION #1: Lock in Your Outline BEFORE You Start

Make things easy on yourself, and outline exactly how you want the story to go. Revise, refine, read and re-read. Make sure the outline is bulletproof and everything you want to say and do with your story and characters is embedded in the outline.

By starting off on solid footing, you now have the confidence to jump in and get that draft done faster than you would if you were making things up as you go along.

OPTION #2: Stick to the Outline You Have Even if It's Not Working

This is the easiest solution. Maybe in subsequent drafts, you can cut or refine any rough patches that appear, but you have the story planned out from start to finish and want to get it done.

Living with the outline you have already completed will ensure you get to the story's end. It also will help you feel a sense of accomplishment for tackling that cumbersome first draft.

OPTION #3: The Page One Re-Write

Scrap the whole outline and start over. There may have been a few things you liked and plan to keep, but the rest is out, and you're starting fresh.

This is an effective solution if it's clear your story has more problems than rewrites and edits can fix. This will be a time-consuming process, so take your time with this outline and ensure the story works before you enter the drafting phase.

OPTION #4: Change as You Go

Another idea is to make changes to the story as you write your draft, using the outline as more of a reference than a hard-and-fast rulebook.

However, if you do this, make sure you're checking for consistency. If you start making significant changes later in the outline, go back and see if what you previously wrote fits in with what you're writing now. This could be anything from changing a character's appearance, location descriptions, or story points. Yes, these can be fixed later, but making sure they are fixed while still top-of-mind is less stressful later.

Final Thoughts

These are only a few suggestions for working off a story outline. If you notice yourself deviating way too much from the outline, take the time to figure out where the story is headed and how you want to end it.

Ideally, Option #1 is the best course of action. It may take longer to complete, but that will make the actual drafting process go smoother and faster in the long run.

While it is fun to let the Muse take over and decide the fate of your story and your characters, you may also want to get the story done in a timely manner. An outline can help you achieve your goal and move on to the next project.


Happy Writing, and I'll see you next time!

It’s easy to read a novel, see a movie, or watch a TV show, and get overwhelmed by how much work goes into crafting an idea into a completed project.

While the finished manuscript, screenplay, or teleplay is the primary goal of the writer, it isn’t easy to get to a completed, coherent version without one piece of the creative puzzle: The Story Outline.

Story outlines come in a variety of styles and methodologies, but no matter what type of outline you choose, the goal of each of them is to assist you in getting your story constructed from start to finish.

The outline is where a lot of the heavy lifting is done, where it’s easier to brainstorm and change ideas and plot points before they’re embedded in thousands of words of manuscript.

Whether you prefer to write a simple or detailed outline, it’s an essential tool that will aid you once you sit down to write your novel or screenplay. It’s hard to get writer’s block or get stuck on a story point if it’s all laid out before you in chronological order, allowing you to write a draft with ease instead of dread.

I get it. We all want to dive right into the fun of writing the story. The excitement of delving into description, dialogue, character arcs, and plot twists is what all writers live to do.

However, it’s hard to get to any of that if you’re stuck after a few thousand words without a clear path forward for your story and its characters to take.

I encourage everyone who reads this to research the various outlining methods used for their particular project, then experiment and find the outlining strategy that works best for you. While it may take time to get used to this pre-writing process, in the end, you and your story will benefit many times over.

So, the next time you have a great idea that you want to develop and craft into a compelling narrative, take the time to outline it from beginning to end. The final product will be even better than you imagined.

Happy Outlining, and I’ll see you next time!