brynwrites:
I am a True Believer in outlining before you write.(At least, so long as an outline...
I am a True Believer in outlining before you write.
(At least, so long as an outline doesn’t debilitate your writing.)But I think some people don’t understand what that means to me.
To me, an outline means that I know:
Where the story is going.
What beats it’ll take getting there.
The major content I know I want to write.
How that content can be reasonably connected.
Where character development decisions should take place.
What the climax will entail.
What choices the characters will be forced to make during the climax to fulfill or deny their developmental arc.It also means that along the way I might…
Randomly move multiple scenes to a completely new settings.
Rearrange scenes to make for better pacing.
Throw in conversations I never imagined the characters would have.
Completely change one of my main character’s voices in the third chapter.
Have a random side character mysteriously foreshadow grudges certain characters are holding.
Realize certain characters have legitimately been holding said grudges.
Add in new character arcs for said characters to get them to work through their grudges.
Watch as the main ship progresses way faster than intended.
(Cry over the main ship.)
Let the protagonist chose to go by an alias because he’s more insecure than I thought.
Watch as his brother ruins his alias attempts four chapters later.
Create an entire new arc that revolves primarily around the protagonist wanting to sleep in a proper bed after camping for three weeks. (And do a lot of last minute plot adjusting to make the pacing still work for this bed-related arc.)
Forget one of my main characters exists for five chapters.
Suddenly add her into an arc she wasn’t supposed to be in, to make up for it.
Be bamboozled as the love interest refuses to sit still long enough to let their leg heal and ends up with a permanent injury.
Flat out re-outline entire chapters because the new idea worked better with the character development or pacing.
Realize that the symbolism I had for a certain thing has actually meant something different all along.
Add in a motto I didn’t realize was a huge part of two of the main character’s lives in the previous book.
Take about ten thousand notes on what needs to be adjusted in the next draft.
Cry because I think the novel will be too long.
Cry because I think the novel will be too short.
Cry because I love it too much.
Cry because it’s definitely the worst thing ever written.So, when I say I’m a True Believer in outlining, I don’t mean that I’m a believer in never letting your story’s surprise you, or never making last minutes adjustments, or never throwing out huge parts of your outline for something better.
I mean that I’m a true believer in letting your story have a foundation before you write it, because any large or complex story built on a weak foundation, like a castle built in the sand, will need to be re-built later.
But the stronger a foundation you build for it, the easier it is to make changes without your entire structure falling apart.#This is not saying that some writers don’t do better just rebuilding the castle later or that all stories are complex enough to warrant outlines. #Please do not take my post about what outlining means to me and attempt to writer’splain to me how some writers can’t use outlines. #I literally put that disclaimer right below the title. #Read and think before you reply.
