Writing a Novel - Plan Each Chapter Out or Go With Basic Outline?

No advice will tell you which is the right way to go because there isn't a right way. Whichever works for you and your book (and bear in mind, it may change with each new book) is the way to go.

Personally, I do a loose plan to carry me through the first 30,000 words or so. By the time I've written that much, I usually know how the rest goes. When I do the rewrite, then I structure the whole piece clearly but even then, the finished result is often not too close to the original idea. But that's half the fun.

When doing nano, I tried to just write, with no basic plan, and let the characters do whatever. It was a horrible mess, and hardly a fraction of the goal of 50k words. The next one I sat down to do I outlined, chapter by chapter, giving a basic summary of what I wanted to happen. I'm now almost done with ch. 3, and at near 7k words. So far so good. Even though I had a general summary done, the actual chapter still takes time to write, but I'm learning, having fun, and most importantly, I'm writing.

You learn more by doing, and if you hit an obstacle, try somebody else's idea until you find one that works for you.

There's no definitive answer for this. It's all about personal preference. All that matters is getting the story onto the page, and nothing else. If writing an outline helps you achieve this, then go for it. If you'd rather "wing" it, that's fine too.

I personally don't outline. I enjoy the sense of discovery this way. It makes writing into a sort of adventure, and it's especially rewarding when I don't know the outcome or the conflicts along the way. There are disadvantages, however. Not knowing where I'm going is scary sometimes, and in turn my story might get a little muddled. But when this happens, I'll usually brainstorm for a few days and find a way out of my problem. So maybe even a balance between the two wouldn't be such a bad thing to try.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

It's whatever works for you and your particular project. Which way feels best to you right now?

baki said:

My only fear is that with this approach is that after writing a substantial amount you realise that you want to change a few things. Which is quite a lot of extra work (and you feel slightly obligated to retain some of the stuff you've written!)

Click to expand...

THAT I don't ever worry about. I keep almost nothing from my first draft, so I go into it with the knowledge that the finished manuscript will be completely different. Which is pretty common.

For instance, even though I used an outline for the first part of my WIP, halfway through writing, one of supporting characters went from being a popular, Paris Hilton-style bitchy teenager named Claire to an overweight math whiz named Chloe. I didn't bother going back to change the part I'd already written; I just finished the book with the new version of the character. I can correct it in the next draft.

But again, your mileage may vary. Try a variety of different methods and see what works for you.

I have an article at my website ( http://jennifer-turner.com called: Creative Outlining: Not an Oxymoron if you're interested. It's a simple way to make as detailed or sketchy an outline as suits you're purposes. It's really very easy and flexible. Might be worth a look, if you're interested.

I agree that there is no one-size-fits-all method. I generally free write the first three chapters of a book just to explore the idea and see if I like the characters and where they're going. It's after that third chapter that I sit down and plot the highs and lows, the end of the beginning, the middle and the end, before writing the rest of the novel. I use the synopsis-like outline from my article for this and it's worked very well for me.

I like to keep a printed copy of this "list" so as I progress I can jot down notes and cross off what I've written. This gives me sort of a regular sense of accomplishment and makes me work harder to see how far down the '"list" I can get.

That works for me. May not work for anyone else. I tend to like lists though

Hope that helps!
Warmly,
Jenny

caromora said:

It's whatever works for you and your particular project. Which way feels best to you right now?



THAT I don't ever worry about. I keep almost nothing from my first draft, so I go into it with the knowledge that the finished manuscript will be completely different. For instance, even though I used an outline for the first part of my WIP, halfway through writing, one of supporting characters went from being a popular, Paris Hilton-style bitchy teenager named Claire to an overweight math whiz named Chloe. I didn't bother going back to change the part I'd already written; I just finished the book with the new version of the character. I can correct it in the next draft.

But again, your mileage may vary. Try a variety of different methods and see what works for you.

Click to expand...

I do the exact same thing!

And when I come across something I need to research, I just use all caps and an asterisk (for easy searching later) and keep writing. An example might be: *DOES A SNOWBOARD FIT IN THE TRUNK OF A SATURN? I don't bother to break my flow to find out, I just keep going.

I love that "writer's high" where you get so deeply involved that the story takes over--but I also like a world with rules and that's where my (flexible) outlining becomes handy.

Warmly,
Jenny

When I wrote my first novel, I had an index card for each chapter and I put them around my room and that way I felt I had a visual map of which way the novel was going. I wound up changing everything around after the first draft, but it was a help to feel like I was going in some direction. Now I've changed my system completely and I write out the first draft as fast as I can because I think the urgency gets transferred to the novel. But you have to find what works for you. Good luck.

It really depends on what works for you. If you decide that you do want to do an outline, it may be trial and error figuring out what type of outline works for you. I have problems with plotting longer works, so I've always known I needed an outline, but I had to try a lot of them to find one that worked for me. Ones like the index card variations, snowflake, Marshall Plan, Event List, etc. never worked for me. I finally created my own, which just consists of a list of what needs to happen in the chapter--it might be event, foreshadowing, or even backstory. No detail. It's more like "Monster Attacks" or "Backstory on house." I even include the word count goal of the chapter because I tend to run short.

What that did was give me enough structure that I could see where the story was going and where the surprises needed to happen. I've also found it very helpful in seeing oncoming troublespots and working them out in the outline rather than writing chapters and revising them. But I also don't treat the outline as inflexible; if I come up with something that works better, then I alter the outline and work through what I need to do.

I know with winging it you get the excitement of discovering what happens next while writing it, but can't the same be said about planning out each chapter first!

Click to expand...

For me, knowing what's next is a great thing. I don't sit down at the computer and wonder "What am I going to write next?" I just look at the outline and know that these things need to happen. But at the same time, they're also sufficiently vague that there is also an element of winging it that's in there.

And my answer is...go with what works for you, what helps you to write. Me--so far I haven't ever outlined. Only twice did I do a synopsis before the story was written because the agent asked for it. Otherwise I wing it. The only thing I do--and many don't--is a character sheet so I can keep certain things about each character, straight. For instance, blue eyes, bites fingernails, etc.

Outline : Only if you want one. It helps me with novels, since there are times when I won't work on it for a period of time. Then, I can come back and start writing without having to read the whole story again just to get an idea of where I was.

Winging it usually only works (again, for me) when I write short stories or flash fiction. However, it's been said on AW many times, they are two different beasts.

I never haven't made outline. I have it on my mind.

Go figure.

sadron said:

I never haven't made outline. I have it on my mind.
.

Click to expand...

Me too but I do have character sketches for the main characters. So when I'm into the action I can tell right away if one of them is out of character. So the story can't go too far off the tracks.

I usually just wing it. I will have maybe a climax planned in my head and the end of the book along with a few important details and then I just write. I write to the parts I really want to get to. So when I'm writing, the middle pieces are important steps that lead up to what I want to write.

It might not work for you, but it did for me. At the moment, I'm about ten thousand words away from the part I'm looking forward to writing. So I'll probably get to it later this week.

Outlines are good too. I tried it once and my book flopped. I redid it without the outline and it was so smooth. It depend on you and your writing personality

I do a basic outline. But when I write, a lot more comes out, so I just like to see what happens as I go.

I notice there's a lot of support for outlines. Allow me to take the road less traveled by and simply state that I, personally hate outlines. With a passion.

Ok ok. Honestly. You, as a writer should do what you feel. If you write better with outlines, then you better use em, dang it, cuz there's a lot of competition out there and you need every edge. For me personally, I hate, loathe and despise outlines.

Here's what happen when I outline. I get just past the first scene, trying to shoe horn in things that just don't wanna happen. Example. Ok, these two characters meet up with some guy at school. They're supposed to like him and follow him to the next plot point, in which case a spilled glass of soda will ignite tensions.

No, I get as far as "these two characters meet up with some guy at school." Turns out he has a crush on one of my characters and instead of going to the movies, they go get some ice cream. Then a romantic sub plot forms. Now, instead of tension, I have romance. Um...what'll happen to the next few scenes then?

I can't stick to an outline. I feel they are restrictive and hamper me personally. However, the main thing to remember is, I did give them a fair chance. And anyone considering using one should do that as well. You never know. It might be your thing, and as I've said before, there's a lot of competition out there and you'll want to use every advantage.

My outlines are in my head. I usually think of two parts. How a story starts and an extremely vague ending. The fun part is finding the journey to the two points and how awesome it can really get! It gets really interesting when the ending changes =)

Just know that I hate outlines and I am but a tiny minority of people. And I will never, ever, ever use outlines again.

Now who wants cake? =)

baki said:

Thank you a lot Linda, I feel as though I can really sympathis with your viewpoint!

Thanks to everyone else as well.

I currently have an outline for the most significant events in my story. With also a knowledge of the less significant events. But I think I'll take lindas approach as I feel that is a style that will suit me most.

@Jennifer: I can't seem to find the outline.

Click to expand...

Glad I could help and sorry I didn't give a specific link!

Here's the direct link:

http://www.jennifer-turner.com/articles/outlining.html

Hope that helps and I wish you ALL the very best

Warmly,
Jenny

I wing it with my serials because it doesn't matter how long they go on, but with novels I think I'd be more prone to planning them out a little, at least a general outline, so they would get done at some point and at a decent length.

I haven't written a novel in a long time though, so I can't be sure until I get back into it. When I have outlined, it was mostly on my novels, and then only because I knew mostly how I wanted them to go. It would be too stifling to outline my serials ahead of time because I really don't know a lot of what's going to happen until I write it...that's what makes the writing exciting for me.

baki said:

I have a question.

When writing a novel.

Would you plan out what happens in each chapter (not too detailed, but the major events)

For example:

Chapter 1:

- MC goes school.
- Confornts blah, blah...
- blah..Blah...


Or would you just have the main plot planned out and then "wing" it from there.

My only fear is that with this approach is that after writing a substantial amount you realise that you want to change a few things. Which is quite a lot of extra work (and you feel slightly obligated to retain some of the stuff you've written!)

I know with winging it you get the excitement of discovering what happens next while writing it, but can't the same be said about planning out each chapter first!

Or does writing prose make you feel more creative (due to a greater degree of immersion!) and invent situations that you may not have come up with while arbitarily planning it out!

So yeah! I would really like some advice on this.

Click to expand...

I start with a plan of the main plot.

Then before I start each chapter, I get a basic idea of what's going to happen in it.

As I write, sometimes things change--I personally have a tendency to split one chapter into two or three as I write, because in the middle of one scene I'll find the perfect ending line, so that's one chapter, then I continue the scene in another chapter, but between those two chapters I put a third for spacing...

So I never try to do a chapter-by-chapter outline for the entire novel. Well, that's a lie. I try, but it always fails. In the best cases it is somewhat useful for an entire-plot outline, in the way a 17th century map is somewhat useful for navigating the globe. The continents haven't changed THAT much. Individual boarders...a little bit.

> Would you plan out what happens in each chapter (not too
> detailed, but the major events)

I'm into techno-thrillers / Mysteries and it's hard for me to imagine 'winging it' as good methodology for those genres. Maybe Fantasy / SF would be easier; there is always a way to introduce magic, or some yet unknown technology to fix things that don't work afterwards.

I have an engineering background and tend to go with a plan and flush out all the unknowns beforehand. And so I follow a method similar to this one:

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

So I'd start with a one-sentence:

A homeless man is caught in a ploy to flush out industrial spies.

Click to expand...

Then I'd do the synopsis right away:

Recent homeless and divorcee Jeff Bailey has found a nifty way to earn easy money: as a professional guinea pig to pharmaceutical companies in the Montreal area. One day he hits the Mother Lode: a full month-long, all expenses paid, clinical trial and a big pile of cash when it’s all over. It’s enough to try getting his sweetheart back and then some. But this is no Club Med. Jeff must be injected with a concoction of diseases before any real pharmaceutical test can begin.

And then the impossible happens. Jeff isn’t getting sick. Is this caused by his daily rice alcohol intake or some side-effect from previous clinical trials? Nobody knows for sure. In a world where industrial spying is ‘de rigueur’, Jeff quickly finds himself at the center of attention of a lot of people.

When everybody wants a piece of you, literally, who can you really trust? The FBI who thinks Jeff killed the chaperon accompanying him to the CDC in Atlanta? The mysterious French diplomat who is offering him safe passage to France and the CNRS? Or should it be the German-accented Leeds-Malcom Phama Inc CEO? And when Jeff finds out the concoction was a dud meant to flush out industrial spies, he sets out to untangle the deception web and uncover the culprits who have put his life on the line.

Click to expand...

Then I go on writing a short on it, and leave it for a week. I then return and flush away all the problems, add more details, take notes for research, etc. The whole process takes 1 - 2 weeks, but I can generate a pretty good draft afterwards and I don't have to rewrite complete chapters.

Put me in the 'outline' bin.

Hope this helps.


-cb

I agree with the consensus -- you have to find out what works for you, and that may alter from project to project. I always outline, but my outlines have varying degrees of complexity: Sometimes I know every scene, every setting, every POV, and other times, I only know the major beats and story arcs. I'd say trust your instincts.

2 unfinished WIPs without an outline
outlined 1/2 story for 2008 NaNo , wrote 50K in 17 days
for the current WIP I wrote 5 different drafts of an outline, the final reads more like a synopsis, the chapters were "obvious" at that point.
The outline is working well for me, 42K in three weeks! But I'm also finding that the further the story progresses, the more it's deviating from the "final" outline, but I think without that outline I wouldn't be as far along in such a short amount of time.

I just come up with an idea for a novel and then I start to imagine it. Then I reasearch it. Plan out my characters and location. Then I wing it. It's like the story just comes to me afterwards.

Best of luck and happy writing!

I write down a quick list of events I'd like to see unfold and then wing it.

I dislike using outlines for fiction because they feel too stifling. I want to have some room for risk taking if the risk feels right.