TO OUTLINE YOUR NOVEL, OR NOT
Every writer eventually settles on the way of writing that works best for him or her, whether working from stream of consciousness or an outline. For new writers of novels, working from an outline might be a less frustrating than writing as a stream of consciousness. Now this seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? But think about the problems of going the distance, of actually finishing the book when you start the writing process with just a character or a setting or a critical situation, using creative imagining alone to push the story forward. If you don’t know where the story is going or how it ends, you might write a whole lot of material that won’t hang together as a compelling story.
Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end and there must be some sort of conflict and rising tension. Also, there must be story questions that get answered and new story questions that will be raised. It is easy to get off track when you do this work as a stream of consciousness. The storyline gets muddled. When the writer loses focus and direction, the reader gets confused.
One way to outline a novel is create at least three scenes for each chapter. Once you have done this preliminary work, you can add more scenes if they are needed. The outline becomes the skeleton on which you will flesh out your story. It means you do a lot of the hard thinking that goes into a compelling work of fiction ahead of the actual narrative writing. The outline enables you to keep your story on track. A quick glance at the outline and you can see the types of scenes, where the dramatic action is in the story, how the roller coaster of fiction that you are writing is rising and falling, how and when your protagonist’s character arcs, and when the story climax occurs. Looking at the outline, you can decide which scenes to plant clues (especially important in writing mysteries), add details of foreshadowing, or decide whether or not you need one or more subplots.
The stream-of-consciousness method of writing is a great way to push through a block, to lift a sagging middle of the book, or to flesh out a character. Most stories are driven by characters. If you don’t know what a character is going to do in a particular situation, try a little gestalt therapy. Ask him about himself and type in the first thing that pops into your head. Keep asking questions and typing answers until you know everything there is to know about this character. But go beyond the eye color and the reason for the muscular build or lack of it. Make your character talk to you about his inner world–motivation, fears, hopes, dreams, and feelings of abundance and lack. Are his wants and needs in conflict or are they the same? What drives him to do what he does?
If you are new to writing, experiment with both methods of writing and see which works best for you.
Copyright November 10, 2011 by Meera Lester
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k. What does he need. What does he want. Are they the same or Most stories are driven by the characters.
