Or do you kind of just go with it? I generally come up with some general premise and then see what happens, but I'm wondering whether I should spend more time outlining these, though the thought makes me cringe a little.
Do you outline your short stories?
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I outline in my head, but not on paper. I find that, if I don't know what's going to happen in the next sentence, the next sentence doesn't get written (how could it? what would I even write?). But your methods are no doubt quite different.
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I don't outline short stories. They're my spontaneous flings in the middle of the night. My novel is my significant other, though, so it gets all the little honey-do things.
You know, that's a good question, and I'd never really thought about it. But no, I don't outline short stories.
I do outline novels.
I do outline novels.
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Not usually. And my stories are quite long and complex. (They still fall under short fiction.)
But I am writing one that I did outline in my head. Like all my stories, it began with a title that I woke up with and I was like omg GET OUT OF MY HEAD.
Sometime after breakfast the whole story just came to me, which is odd, as that's not usually how things go. So I am sitting down, writing it now, and should be done (I hope) by supper time.
But I am writing one that I did outline in my head. Like all my stories, it began with a title that I woke up with and I was like omg GET OUT OF MY HEAD.
Sometime after breakfast the whole story just came to me, which is odd, as that's not usually how things go. So I am sitting down, writing it now, and should be done (I hope) by supper time.
I always outline. If the story comes out so fast i don't outline, then I outline it to prepare for the revision phase. It helps me to knonw where I started and how I got to the end.
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I don't outline, but I try to always have a later scene in my head that I'm writing towards. When we had to turn in outlines with our essays in high school I always did my outline after I'd written the essay.
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I don't outline short stories. Sometimes they're over before I even realized I started writing them lol
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I'm going to go ahead and buck the curve here. I've gotten better responses to stories I outline than the ones I don't. Let me explain why:
An outline gives you a form. You can figure out what you want to say, how the plot is going to tie up, and so forth. Without an outline, my stories tend to meander.
An outline does not stifle you as you might expect. The story can still go in unique places, unexpected details crop up. But I get a better feel for the piece as a whole.
Now keep in mind, my thoughts on fiction were heavily influenced by the comic book, the Watchmen. In the Watchmen, Alan Moore is so detailed with his plotting and individual panels that the part reflects the whole, the whole is reflected in the parts.
An outline gives you a form. You can figure out what you want to say, how the plot is going to tie up, and so forth. Without an outline, my stories tend to meander.
An outline does not stifle you as you might expect. The story can still go in unique places, unexpected details crop up. But I get a better feel for the piece as a whole.
Now keep in mind, my thoughts on fiction were heavily influenced by the comic book, the Watchmen. In the Watchmen, Alan Moore is so detailed with his plotting and individual panels that the part reflects the whole, the whole is reflected in the parts.
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I tend to do some sort of outline on paper, but for my short stories, it's usually very brief. Sometimes just the premise, and maybe the planned climax. Every now and then though, a story will come together so fast that I have to outline the whole thing, just to make sure I don't forget it when I start to write it. But if I'm not really sure where it's going to go, the notes are pretty scarce.
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The down side to an outline is you're writing (to me) what feels like an assignment. Okay, now I got to write this. Okay, now I got to write that. (Bad grammar but meh, that's how I feel, bad-grammarish.) Okay, now here is the scene before the exciting-climactic-ending.
I can't be held to such restrictions, even if they are my own restrictions. Usually I have a very vague idea for a story and my characters start chatting it up in my head. I also have the title and I have no clue why. (Who else starts with a title? Prob. less than .01% of writers.)
Then I write and the characters/story take me wherever. I am as surprised as they are by a new clue, a twist in the story or figuring out whodunnit and why.
But that's just me.
I can't be held to such restrictions, even if they are my own restrictions. Usually I have a very vague idea for a story and my characters start chatting it up in my head. I also have the title and I have no clue why. (Who else starts with a title? Prob. less than .01% of writers.)
Then I write and the characters/story take me wherever. I am as surprised as they are by a new clue, a twist in the story or figuring out whodunnit and why.
But that's just me.
Generally, no. Sometimes, yes.
I know, I'm very helpful. But I don't have a rule or even a preferred way to work. Some days I feel like outlining; I have a big complex idea or a series of plot twists or I've already imagined all the scenes. Some days I have a concept or an image or a super nifty bit of dialogue and I just want to see what happens.
I know, I'm very helpful. But I don't have a rule or even a preferred way to work. Some days I feel like outlining; I have a big complex idea or a series of plot twists or I've already imagined all the scenes. Some days I have a concept or an image or a super nifty bit of dialogue and I just want to see what happens.
Sometimes i outline, sometimes i don't (it's trending more towards the latter these days, especially for short stuff).
Typically i have an idea of where the story's going, at least for the next few scenes, and often i'll have a beginning and an ending, but no middle. Though, interestingly, in those cases usually the beginning and ending change during edits, but the middle stays the same.
Of course, everybody works differently. Some find they need to outline, others find they don't, others find somewhere in the middle works.
The_Red_Wing, my advice would be to try outlining to see if it works for you. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. One of the biggest keys, imo, to improving as a writer is the willingness to try different ways of doing things. Those ways might not work better than what you already do, but different perspectives on the process are good, and you can always go back to tried and true ways if the new ways don't work
Typically i have an idea of where the story's going, at least for the next few scenes, and often i'll have a beginning and an ending, but no middle. Though, interestingly, in those cases usually the beginning and ending change during edits, but the middle stays the same.
Of course, everybody works differently. Some find they need to outline, others find they don't, others find somewhere in the middle works.
The_Red_Wing, my advice would be to try outlining to see if it works for you. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. One of the biggest keys, imo, to improving as a writer is the willingness to try different ways of doing things. Those ways might not work better than what you already do, but different perspectives on the process are good, and you can always go back to tried and true ways if the new ways don't work
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I always have a title in mind before I start writing. For me, the title helps me focus on what the work is ultimately about. That doesn't mean it won't change as I move along. Also, even though I do often outline, I don't see it as strict guidelines that I have to follow. It's more of a way for me to write down my ideas so I don't forget them, in case I have a few days where I can't sit down and write. I used to NEVER outline anything, and I ended up losing some ideas, and going astray on other works I had started (i.e. they were poorly thought out and arranged, which an outline could have helped).
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God, no. I don't even outline novels, and short stories are, well, short. Shorter than many outlines I've seen.
I believe good short stories are written quickly, with passion, and without aforethought. My experience is that the more time you spend on a short story, the less likely that story is to sell.
I believe good short stories are written quickly, with passion, and without aforethought. My experience is that the more time you spend on a short story, the less likely that story is to sell.
I've never outlined a story in advance before. In fact, often I will sit down to work on a story and find that it took me in a different direction from what I envisioned originally.
Upon reading this thread, I actually wrote a very outline for my next story, just to see what happens. Basically sorting out roughly what happens in each of the seven scenes. We'll see if I manage to stick to this outline - somehow I doubt it
Upon reading this thread, I actually wrote a very outline for my next story, just to see what happens. Basically sorting out roughly what happens in each of the seven scenes. We'll see if I manage to stick to this outline - somehow I doubt it
We'll see if I manage to stick to this outline - somehow I doubt it
Writing an outline and sticking to it are very different things.
To me, an outline is a map. A guide. Along the way, if I realize I don't want to be on THIS road, I can hop over onto another road, and still get to the ending I envisioned.
An outline is never set in stone. It's a tool to help you stay on track, but not to the point you let it stifle the story.
My best stories have had the outlines redmarked/redlined as much as the story revisions did.
I do outline, most of the time. More likely to do so if it's a longer story. If it's very short there are only a couple of scenes, so you don't really need a reminder to show you how they go. Longer stories I usually have a general idea of what's going to happen, and make a rough list of the order the happenings should come in. Like Izz said, I often have a good beginning or good ending or both, but I don't like to actually start writing the story until I've figured out what's going to connect them, so I don't get stuck in the middle.
I don't outline short stories. In my opinion, I don't need to, because when I start writing, it's a sign the whole thing is figured out in my head already.
For short stories, I usually write up with a very basic outline before I start and then fill in the rest as I go on. Sometimes I come up with a point-by-point plan, but I usually deviate from it once I actually begin to flesh out the story.
I've never sold an outlined story, or, for that matter, one that took a heck of a long time to write. I don't remember selling a short story that took more than twelve hours to write from initial thought to final draft.
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