I had written a outline for my novel but I am having trouble it doesn't see muite right to me. I wonder if I should do it as it comes to me or really try to get the outline right? What do you all think?
Trouble with outline
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Whether to even outline or not is an endless source of debate.
It kind of sounds like maybe now you should just started writing, or (just a thought), take what you've got and instead of trying to expand it or get it perfect, simplify it and just use it as a sort of memory aid of what story you're trying to tell.
No matter what you decide, you will probably change things as you go along. Be open to it. Good ideas can come that way.
It kind of sounds like maybe now you should just started writing, or (just a thought), take what you've got and instead of trying to expand it or get it perfect, simplify it and just use it as a sort of memory aid of what story you're trying to tell.
No matter what you decide, you will probably change things as you go along. Be open to it. Good ideas can come that way.
When I do an outline I consider it more of a guideline than anything set in concrete. Kind of a I'd like this here and that there.
More often than not once I start writing I find that this goes better there and that works better over here.
My advice ( which should be taken with a grain of salt and a really large shot of tequila) would be to take what you have and start writing. Once you hit a major plot point or natural stopping point then you can go over the draft and the outline and see if or where you might want to change things.
More often than not once I start writing I find that this goes better there and that works better over here.
My advice ( which should be taken with a grain of salt and a really large shot of tequila) would be to take what you have and start writing. Once you hit a major plot point or natural stopping point then you can go over the draft and the outline and see if or where you might want to change things.
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I am ok with the begining, but I am not sure what I wrote down for the conflict, raising action, climax, falling and resolution is really good. Oh wait I take that partially back I know how I want to end just everything else. Help me please I am about ot loose my mind.
I started using outlines last year and whilst I find them really useful, there's always a risk that you spend so long trying to get your outline perfect that you don't sit down to right the actual novel.
My advice is to forget about the textbook structure (which I think is a useful analytical tool after you start writing and want to keep a grip on things but can really tie you up in knots before hand) and think about whether have a chain of causality - i.e. does Point A logically lead to Point B which logically leads to Point C and so on until you get to the ending you've got in mind.
Personally, I find this useful in flagging up any obvious plot holes/character holes and I can either fix it in the outline or (if I'm not able to think of an immediate solution), I've got a red flag for when I come to write that actual scene.
Whatever you do though, don't get stressed about it. No outline is worth getting stressed about and the really critical thing is that you sit down and actually start putting fingers to keyboard/pen to paper. You'd be surprised at how many solutions can come to you as you're working through a scene.
MM
My advice is to forget about the textbook structure (which I think is a useful analytical tool after you start writing and want to keep a grip on things but can really tie you up in knots before hand) and think about whether have a chain of causality - i.e. does Point A logically lead to Point B which logically leads to Point C and so on until you get to the ending you've got in mind.
Personally, I find this useful in flagging up any obvious plot holes/character holes and I can either fix it in the outline or (if I'm not able to think of an immediate solution), I've got a red flag for when I come to write that actual scene.
Whatever you do though, don't get stressed about it. No outline is worth getting stressed about and the really critical thing is that you sit down and actually start putting fingers to keyboard/pen to paper. You'd be surprised at how many solutions can come to you as you're working through a scene.
MM
If the outline bugs you, try it without one.
They work for some people. They've never worked for me.
They work for some people. They've never worked for me.
All I can tell you is what works for me. And it's not an outline. 
I've tried, but it simply doesn't work for me. If I write one, I betray it by the second page (or rather my characters do) and if I try to force it, I get crap for my trouble. My answer was to just quit outlining. That worked for me. I organize as I go. I list important plot points and various things to remember as they come up. I use 3x5 cards posted on a huge cork board, laid out in the order of events. That makes it easy for me to move events around in a way that I can visualize them. But I don't write in a straight line, either.
I've tried, but it simply doesn't work for me. If I write one, I betray it by the second page (or rather my characters do) and if I try to force it, I get crap for my trouble. My answer was to just quit outlining. That worked for me. I organize as I go. I list important plot points and various things to remember as they come up. I use 3x5 cards posted on a huge cork board, laid out in the order of events. That makes it easy for me to move events around in a way that I can visualize them. But I don't write in a straight line, either.
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How detailed of an outline are you writing? If you're going into too much detail, that could be your problem.
Personally, I like the old-fashioned index card method. I just jot down a couple of sentences about the scene. This way I'm never struggling to figure out where to go next, and I'm discovering the finer details of the scene while I write. I find it to be a good middle-ground between winging it and having a full outline.
Personally, I like the old-fashioned index card method. I just jot down a couple of sentences about the scene. This way I'm never struggling to figure out where to go next, and I'm discovering the finer details of the scene while I write. I find it to be a good middle-ground between winging it and having a full outline.
I do hundreds of pages of notes and outline for novels, but even so, I end up changing a lot of things. That's cool, just part of the process.
It sounds like you're having trouble with the middle, which is often the hardest part of a novel to write. I'd suggest trying two things.
First, free-write about your story, dashing down every idea that comes to you without allowing yourself a moment's agonizing. Follow every tangent, every branch and sub-branch and sub-sub-branch of plot. As new ideas appear, question them not like an interrogator, but like a little kid who's just fascinated by every possibility and hasn't yet acquired enough prejudices and insecurities to crush the odd ideas as soon as they raise their heads. Odd ideas are what will make the story exciting! Have fun with the ideas -- play with them!
Second, either apply the new ideas free-writing has given you to your outline, or, fueled by the new possibilities, get right down to your first draft. Whichever works for you.
And whenever you get stuck, during outline or draft, free-write again, fast, fast, fast. Your Inner Editors and demons of self-doubt won't be able to keep up with you when you do this.
It sounds like you're having trouble with the middle, which is often the hardest part of a novel to write. I'd suggest trying two things.
First, free-write about your story, dashing down every idea that comes to you without allowing yourself a moment's agonizing. Follow every tangent, every branch and sub-branch and sub-sub-branch of plot. As new ideas appear, question them not like an interrogator, but like a little kid who's just fascinated by every possibility and hasn't yet acquired enough prejudices and insecurities to crush the odd ideas as soon as they raise their heads. Odd ideas are what will make the story exciting! Have fun with the ideas -- play with them!
Second, either apply the new ideas free-writing has given you to your outline, or, fueled by the new possibilities, get right down to your first draft. Whichever works for you.
And whenever you get stuck, during outline or draft, free-write again, fast, fast, fast. Your Inner Editors and demons of self-doubt won't be able to keep up with you when you do this.
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I know the beginning, the end, and a few plot points. I write all of this down... so its kind of like an outline, but not really.
Anyway, I write towards the plot points. I don't know what happens in between or how my character is supposed to get to X. That's the fun (sometimes nerve wrecking) part of writing. It's like trying to solve a puzzle.
ETA: Like Phael said.
Free-writing is the best tool I have.
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I rarely use outlines, but when I do, I just keep them around as a suggested path rather than a map set in stone.
Yes. (See bolded above.) Follow the story as it unfolds in your mind. Nothing says you have to be bound by your initial outline; it could only serve to stunt the growth and potential of your manuscript.
Good luck!
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I always create an outline. But if things change as I write I update the outline.
You're going to have to do an outline eventually..might as well do one first I say. It can change as you write.
I use the outlining method in the mis-named First Draft in 30 Days...it works for me. I know others use the snowflake method or Book in 30 days as well.
These are just outlining methods there is no way to do it concrete.
You're going to have to do an outline eventually..might as well do one first I say. It can change as you write.
I use the outlining method in the mis-named First Draft in 30 Days...it works for me. I know others use the snowflake method or Book in 30 days as well.
These are just outlining methods there is no way to do it concrete.
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