A Chapter Outline Can Be Your Friend (Even If You’re a Pantster)

Over the years, I’ve become more of a pantster (someone who flies by the seat of my pants) instead of a plotter (someone who writes out a detailed plot outline). I’m not entirely sure why the change happened. Maybe I simply learned to trust my own writing process. Maybe I realized that most of my carefully written plot outlines ended up going out with the virtual trash when the characters began doing things their own way, which they always do. 

When I started my current WIP, I began in my usual pantser manner. I started with a vague idea of the story I wanted to tell and wrote my first draft. This time, however, when my first draft was finished, I wasn’t any closer to understanding the story. The characters weren’t speaking to me. I was pushing them around on the chessboard of my story, but I wasn’t sure of my next move. When I’m in the flow of writing, my characters tell me where they want to go. Woo woo, I know, but it’s true. 

As a writer, I love the thrill of the unknown. I love the joy of watching my characters surprise me. I love letting the narrative unfold organically. Even though I’ve come to thrive on spontaneous magic and organic discoveries, I realized that I needed a chapter outline for my WIP after I finished the first draft. Instead of thinking of the outline as a cage, I thought of it as a roadmap to a better story.

As a pantser, I’m in my element when I’m writing a first draft. The words flow (or stumble–usually they stumble), and the characters come alive. Ideas flow, plot twists emerge, and I feel as if I’m uncovering a hidden world, my hidden world, with every sentence. 

Creative Detours

When I pants-only I tend to wander off the main plot. Almost always there are pacing issues. When I began this WIP, I knew the beginning and the end, but the middle was a soggy-bottomed mess. There were loose ends since I had a lot of ideas but I wasn’t sure how to see them through. For every story I write in a new world, at some point I hit a brick wall. I sit at my computer ready to write, and I have no idea what words to put on the page because I’m not sure what’s supposed to happen. 

Writing a Post-Draft Outline

I’ve learned the benefits of writing a post-draft chapter outline. I’ve already had my fun exploring the wild landscapes of my current world and written down the raw story. Next, it’s time to see what I built.

I found that the outline helped me make sense of all of the balls (plot, theme, character, mystery, etc.) I had in the air. Some of the balls I let drop because they didn’t add anything important to the story. The balls that made sense I worked through the narrative. Through the chapter outline, I was able to trace my characters’ journeys. Are they growing? Are they changing? Are their motivations clear? Are their actions consistent?

Preparing for Revision with Precision 

Instead of tackling a massive manuscript with vague ideas of what needed fixing, my post-draft outline provided a clear roadmap for my revisions. I could see at a glance exactly which chapters needed beefing up, which needed trimming, where character development was required, and where new scenes might be necessary and others could be deleted.

Read Your Manuscript Critically 

One of the most important skills a writer can develop is the ability to see what works and what doesn’t. When I teach my writing students about reading their work critically, I don’t mean that they need to trash everything because all of it sucks eggs. I mean they need to develop the ability to recognize what works and what doesn’t. Then you need to fix what doesn’t work. Take a step back and read your first draft as if you’re a reader who has never seen that story before. Be honest with yourself.

Go through your manuscript, chapter by chapter, and write a summary of the key events, character actions, and emotional beats of each chapter. Don’t judge at this point. Just document. Ideas beget ideas beget ideas, and you need a lot of ideas to tell a good story. 

Identify the Core Plot Points

Next, I mark the major turning points in the story. Does the story progress logically? Are there pacing issues? Based on that analysis, I make notes about what needs to change in specific chapters. This might include shifting events or developing character motivations. Often, this is the point where I begin to see the themes, and then I have to add tidbits of those themes into earlier chapters. The post-draft outline became my saving grace as I muddled through my second draft. Having the outline showed me what I needed to accomplish in each chapter in order to keep the story moving. I still did my fair share of pantsing and discovering the story organically, but the outline helped me discover what I was lacking. 

I can still embrace the unpredictable magic of discovery and allow the organic ideas to flow. But when pantsing left me struggling to see my story from beginning to end, it was time to bring in some strategic planning. If you were to ask me if I were a plotter or a pantster, I’d have to say I’m both. Probably most writers are. 

Categories: Creative Writing, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: creative writing, creative writing inspiration, how to write fiction, plotter v. pantster, writing, writing a chapter outline, writing inspiration, writing tips