To Outline Or Not To Outline? That is the question.
This is probably the subject that inexperienced writers think about most before they start work on a novel. If you ask successful authors for their advice they’ll probably say that there’s no wrong or right way. It’s all about what works for you. I haven’t got a stream of successful novels under my belt (yet) but I have attempted five novels over the years and have only managed to complete two.
There are three, maybe four, approaches you can take before starting that exciting but ‘a little bit scary’ first draft. I’m going to walk you through the different ways that I’ve tried myself, and describe what was good or not so good about the different methods.
Before we start, I’m assuming you have a story in your head wanting to come out. This may be a complete story or just parts of it. You may know where you want to start but don’t have a clear idea of how it ends, or you have the middle and end, or only the middle. But whatever part of the story you’re sure about, what you must have is characters because without characters you have no story.
The first novel I wrote, when I was 31, was science-fiction (sci-fi) of approx. 90,000 words. I had the story in my head fairly well established, but there were areas that were hazy and not thoroughly thought out. I didn’t write a plot or outline at all. I just typed it up on an electric typewriter (no home computers then) and kept going until I reached the end. When I had an idea, a direction, that was interesting, I just went for it. I remember a real feeling of excitement as I diverted off in another direction. It was fun. But when I got to the end and started to edit, I found holes and dead-ends all over the place.
Having only a hard copy to work with, the editing was slow and extremely time consuming. I read it and corrected it by hand and ended up crossing out whole pages. Then it had to be typed up again. I did the whole process twice, and the results were less than perfect. I sent if off to only two publishers and despite getting positive feedback the rejections hit me hard. One of the publishers said it would have probably been accepted ten years ago, but now the standards for publication were higher. Thinking back on the story, which I have read parts of since, it has a strong plot with good characters but it’s overcomplicated and goes off at too many tangents. What I should have done, was restructure the plot and edit it at least twice more before sending it out again. The novel is now on my ‘to do’ list.
My second novel was a historical/supernatural cross-over story. I had read several books on writing by this stage and my writing had definitely improved. I wrote a loose outline. I had the beginning and end but nothing concrete for the middle. And I was fortunate to have a computer to work on. I managed to write about 30,000 words but then got stuck. While I tried to work out the plot, which was starting to look like a spaghetti junction, my conviction in my own ability started to waver and my writing came to a shuddering halt. At the time, I thought I had writer’s block but now I think the rejections of my first book made me doubt that I would ever write something good enough to be published. Again, this story is on my ‘to do’ list.
My third novel, about ten years later, was another sci-fi. It had a strong medical theme and with my medical background I found it a lot easier to write. I had completed a writing course since my last attempt and read many brilliant books which helped enormously. Some of my favourites are, Sol Stein’s ‘Solutions for Novelists’, Nancy Smith’s ‘501 Writers’ Questions Answered’, Johnny Payne’s ‘Voice & Style’, and Michael Legat’s ‘Writer’s Guides’. I was feeling a lot more confident about my writing now but like my first novel, I didn’t write an outline and decided to ‘wing it’. It was a mistake and I stopped at around 50,000 words. This story is, yes, you’ve guessed it, now on my ‘to do’ list.
About six years later, I attempted yet another novel (my fourth), a thriller set in London in the 1960s. It had been in my head for decades, ever since I worked as a nurse in London. I wrote a detailed outline and followed a structure from Christopher Vogler’s ‘The Writer’s Journey’ (a revised version of Joseph Campbell’s ‘Hero’s Journey), which is a mythic structure for screenwriting and fiction. I planned it so carefully and rigidly that I had no room for flexibility. I ground to a halt at around 15,000 words.
Over the next ten years I completed a second writing course, wrote short stories, a screen play, and a comedy series for TV, which amused family and friends but I was totally convinced that, no matter how long I worked at it, I would not get a work published.
Three years ago, at the age of 63, I was planning my retirement. I had just started a third writing course and was surprised when my tutor said there really wasn’t anything else he could teach me. He said that my writing skills were very good and all I lacked was confidence. With his encouragement, I began writing again and my mind was back on that thriller. I looked at the outline, that rigid structure, and realised it was too inflexible for my own writing style. But the mythic structure, from Campbell’s ‘Hero’s Journey’, was good. About the same time, I heard about ‘Indie publishing’, particularly Amazon Kindle. I had been given a Kindle for a Christmas present and found it brilliant for keeping up with my insatiable appetite for books. For the first time, I could see that I could publish a book myself. I was able to retire at 64, and I made myself a promise that I would write that thriller and get it published.
I started from scratch with the outline, and again used Campbell’s mythic structure which has twelve stages i.e. ordinary world, call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting with the mentor, crossing the threshold, tests/allies/enemies, approach to the inmost cave, the ordeal, the reward (seizing the sword), the road back, the resurrection and return with the elixir. I had all the stages of the mythic structure marked out on an arc, with their corresponding plot points, and the quite artistic drawing was up on a pinboard by my desk. So I had enough ‘mapping’ worked out on the story but not the ‘nitty gritty’ details of how the characters moved the story forward from one stage to the next. I decided to let the characters tell the story for me and they didn’t let me down.
When the headstrong lead character (the protagonist) decided to deviate from the plan, all I had to do was get him back to the arc structure and make sure the stages continued to build up the tension. The results were staggering. There were no periods of writer’s block, no feelings of self-doubt. I just wrote that first draft straight through to the end in two months. When the first draft was finished, I patted myself on the back, had a glass of champagne, and then started the first rewrite. I was excited about finishing the first draft, but I was also convinced I had found a method of planning that gave me the best of both worlds; a strong outline and structure and the flexibility to follow my creative whims.
‘Hartmann – Malicious Rules’, Book 1. of the ‘Hartmann Thriller Series’, will be published on 04 December 2015 on Amazon Kindle, and other popular platforms such as; Sony Nook, Barnes and Noble and Apple iTunes.
