Outlining - How do YOU do it?

reenkam · Jul 15, 2007

Okay, so, I'm not a big outliner. Sometimes I'll write paragraph summaries a few chapters ahead of where I am, just to keep the story going. And once I wrote chapter titles about ten chapters ahead with one line descriptions, but other than that, I just don't do it.

But, I'm looking to finish 3 books before September. Insane dream, I'm aware. In order to even possibly do it I'll need to outline. So, I'm wondering:

How do you outline your books?

Calla Lily · Jul 15, 2007

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

Love it, love his methods. Heard him speak last year. Try it--it won't take that long. It was a lifesaver for my mystery outline.

AJ Clare · Jul 15, 2007

Post-it notes. I write brief chapter outlines on post-it notes, switching colours for different character POV, then I stick them to the wall sequentially and shuffle them about as the story changes. And pull them down when a chapter is done. It sounds silly, but it's a good motivator, and a great feeling when you yank the last post-it off the wall.

JoNightshade · Jul 15, 2007

I started my WIP by having an overall idea-- beginning, middle, and end (vague). Then I wrote scenes on 3x5 cards of the first third of the book. Then I was going so strong I didn't need any for the second third. Then I got off track and wrote a bunch extra. Now I am outlining my third-third by re-reading the first two thirds and then doing just a word document with bulleted points showing how I will end.

All kind of confusing-- but in the end basically I just work a third ahead of myself at a time. This is because I can only "see" about a third into any story at a time-- and before I get to the end of that third, it's likely that my story will have changed substantially. So it's not worth going further than that, either, or else I'll end up completely at odds with my outline.

Zoombie · Jul 15, 2007

I start my WIP's on the flimsiest excuses. Such as E.L.F. I was playing an old old old old video game called Harbinger (which, incidentally, took place on a giant planet eating spaceship called Harbinger). Then I had a thought, I realized that I had never written a book with a main character named Jimmy. But I still didn't have the full idea.

Then I was watching some...ahem...quote anime quote and realized that elf girls with pink hair are attractive.

Then, a week later, I thought, What's a better name for robots? And I was thinking about it while reading the Red Dwarf book, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Which also has a gigantic space ship in it...), and I was reading about the G.E.L.F's, Genetically Engineered Life Forms. I noticed when I dropped the G, it became E.L.F. Electronic Life Forms. Robots. I mentally added a T.V antenna to my pink haired E.L.F.

And then, the last bit of the puzzle, struck my brain when I was watching the Terminator. So we have a guy named Jimmy, a giant planet eating space ship, a E.L.F and the Terminator. Then, for NO reason, I threw in some stuff from Cowboy Bebop, and duct taped it all together with realistic teenage behavior and that's how I outline most books.

Too see the result, just click on the link under my offer to Buy War Bonds.

LeeFlower · Jul 15, 2007

my outlines end up looking kind of like bastardized research paper outlines. Here's an example from the book I'm shopping now:

Chapter 1:
-Kemi and Arik spar in the Firekeeper's tower
--Renn tells them he got a 'strange letter' he wants to speak to the Firekeepers about
-The officers of the White Ward meet the next morning (day 1 c)
--Renn's been found dead in his study
--Kemi gets into an argument with Aloni, the Captain of the Pol Ward
-Oaken has assigned an investigator, preempting the White Ward's jurisdiction
--The investigator believes a White Warden assassinated the king
---the murder weapon is a White Warden's knife
---Renn trained with the White Ward– it would take their training to best him
-Arik calls an inspection of the entire White Ward
--Kai Tsaij, a member of Kemi's squad, cannot account for his knife
---he's afraid he won't get a fair trial because of his social class
---his squad tries to protect him from arrest
-The investigator catches them at it and threatens them with charges
--Altercation between Kemi and Iden about manhandling Kai turns into fistfight (she wins)
--she sends someone to go find Arik

As you can see, it makes little sense to anyone who's not me. Those notes (like 'day 1 c') tell me things about when my MC's shift is supposed to be on duty so that I don't end up writing a book about guards who never seem to do any guarding. I've got other ones scattered throughout the outline that mean different things.

With my second novel, I'm trying to do an outline that looks a bit more life a Cliff's Notes version of the book. The cliff's notes version takes longer, but it's cleaner and makes more sense. Since it's more complete, I have fewer details to keep in my head, and it will at least ostensibly save me the trouble of writing a 'clean' outline when I'm ready to shop it (though the story tends to evolve within its outline, so I'll probably still have to do some serious editing).

I often use index cards to keep track of random information, bits of scenes I haven't written yet, etc.

Hope that helps. In the end, do what works.

Kristin Landon · Jul 15, 2007

"Do what works"—I agree.

I just finished a novel in less than a year for the first time in my life (well, it's finished until my editorgets back to me with revision suggestions). I had to outline, too, of course, but outlines and I don't get along. So I used a method I read about once on, I think, rec.arts.sf.composition—I can't remember who it was. I just started writing and told myself it was the outline. I laid out the book in terms of main events in each chapter, then backed up and went through adding details whenever they occurred to me, and breaking the chapters into scenes. I repeated this until I found myself actually writing some of the scenes.

But if I didn't feel ready to write the next scene, I'd put down some notes to enrich what was there and move on.

It sounds chaotic, but it kept the whole structure of the novel in front of me. It helped me sort out all the threads of the story and shifts in my characters' purposes and emotions. In other words, everything a real official outline does, but in a way that an outline-phobe like me could handle it.

The "outline" of course eventually expanded enough that it was the first draft of the novel.

I will probably use this method again. It helped enormously that I didn't have two separate documents (outline and draft) that I had to check against each other—and that the book grew organically out of the outline.

IrishScribbler · Jul 15, 2007

I outline in different ways depending on what I'm working on. For Deirdre of Sorrow, I started with a rough outline with phrases/sentences to remind me of what I wanted to happen in the scenes. As I got more research and pre-writing, I developed the outline more, going into more detail about the scenes, and making notes to myself of what I wanted each scene to accomplish for the overall story.

By the end of my pre-writing, my outline read almost like a synopsis rather than a traditional outline.

EriRae · Jul 15, 2007

I have the book First Draft in 30 Days. It's an outline model. I have yet to finish a more fleshed-out outline that would suffice as a first draft, and I started last year...big failure on my part, but I do have an idea where it's going. I got to the end of a prelim outline and the characters were screaming at me to be on paper, so I started writing instead. I don't know if that will help you get three done before September, but I wish you luck in your quest!

Azure Skye · Jul 15, 2007

I write a loose synopsis then I look for potential plot holes and try to fix them. Once I get research done and holes fixed I try to expand on it a little more. Then, after I start writing, I try to write a paragraph for the upcoming chapter, usually as I'm finishing the current chapter. It took me a while to figure out a method that works for me.

althrasher · Jul 15, 2007

I usually end up having notes that look a whole lot more like freewrites. So my "outlines" usually read something like, "Where do they go next? Hm...maybe they could go to Kella's place? Would that be lame? Oh! Then Alexia and Zeroun could go up to Sintrina, have their discussion with Hygelac? That could work. So what happens at Sintrina? I'm hungry. I think I'm going to get breakfast. Mmm, bacon...Ok we're trying to focus here. So they have some battle at Sintrina? Batte--too much?"

And so on. (Actual notes excerpt.)

Once I have about 27 pages of these, I complie them into one long stream-of-thought. It works for me, but I have a VERY chaotic mind.

Enraptured · Jul 15, 2007

I write a bunch of brainstorming notes, just throwing out any possible scene ideas I have, until I've got something that looks like it has a beginning, middle, and end. From there, I do a phase outline. It's more detailed than most writers like, but for me, it works great. It keeps me from getting to points where I start drifting aimlessly (which is good, because when I start drifting aimlessly I start wanting to throw the whole thing in the trash).

reenkam · Jul 15, 2007

wow...lots and lots and lots of outlining methods. I think I'll have to read through them all again to see if any would specifically work for me in this instance...

luckily I know the general topic of each book (well, 2 of the 3) and where everything's going, so I don't have to worry about that as much. but I do have the middles to worry about which is where I'll get uselessly wordy if not careful...

keep the ideas coming! this is really useful

Chasing the Horizon · Jul 15, 2007

I'm a very detailed outliner. I have to be, because the outline is the one and only time I work from beginning to end without jumping around until my final revision. I'd be rather lost without it.

I format my outlines like this:
A header with the working book title and page numbers, in case the papers get separated while I'm writing.

Chapter One: Cold Hearts -- 4,000 words est.
Scene 1: -- 1,500 words
1-5 sentence description of the scene.
Scene 2: -- 1,000 words
1-5 sentence description of the scene.
Scene 3: -- 1,500 words
1-5 sentence description of the scene.

Chapter Two: Through The Haze -- 6,100 words est.

And so on all the way through the book.

The word count estimates for each scene and chapter are mainly there because I'm obsessive with word count, but also because I check my word count against the estimate after I write scenes and often find that if it's very different, there's a problem with the scene. This also helps ensure that the book ends up close to my target length. This outlining method really helped with the first draft of the novel I'm revising, because it showed that my initial plot ideas were going to yield about 180k words, which is way too much. Changing the plot before I started writing saved me a LOT of work.

I mark the scenes off as I write them, which is a nice way to easily see your progress.

The outlines range from 7-12 single-spaced pages when they're finished, and usually only take me a day or two to write. I revise them as I write the novel so that any scenes which either popped out of nowhere or didn't go as planned are reflected in the outline.

Claudia Gray · Jul 15, 2007

My process goes something like this:

*Get idea, scribble down a few thoughts about idea and characters

*Do a wee bit of research, think more, see what comes to mind

*Get plot concept

*Write out very rudimentary version of story (maybe three paragraphs)

*Research and consider and add bits of information/ideas to my document, usually titled "Rough Concept" (by far the longest part of the process, can last months or even years)

* Attempt lengthier outline, see if this idea still sets me on fire

* Write more about character backgrounds, do yet more research

* Attempt very detailed outline with more depth and perspective (this step known as the Moment Of Truth)

* Start writing!

* Modify outline as needed while working and/or revising

Sometimes the modifications are very dramatic, sometimes not, but I always know my characters, my beginning, my end, my big story beats and fundamentally what I'm tryint to accomplish. It works for me, not least because I've already tested myself to be sure that I am very, very committed to seeing something through. (Tons of these concepts never make it to the later stages.)

Scrawler · Jul 15, 2007

I do what LeeFlower does. Then the outlines morph into chapters as I flesh out the notes. I usually make a time line so I know how to pace it.

Danger Jane · Jul 15, 2007

Do a crapload of research, think a lot about the plot while researching, start writing.

Manderley · Jul 16, 2007

- For the first book, I used a very basic outline with a sentence or two on each chapter I had planned.
- For book number two, I used the Snowflake method. It was OK, but not quite there for me.
- So for book number three (current WIP), I'm using the Phase method, and I really like this one. As Enraptured said: it's definitely not for everyone, but it works for me.

billyf027 · Jul 16, 2007

What's the Phase method?

Does it use a outline?

Manderley · Jul 16, 2007

The Phase-method IS an outline. Check Enraptureds link a few posts higher up. It explains it all.

scarletpeaches · Jul 16, 2007

I don't.

I just get on with writing the book.

JohnDavidPaxton · Jul 16, 2007

My strategy is extraordinarily anal. It's probably the only thing about the writing process I become a Nazi over.

I sit down and right a bullet point for every 1,000 projected words in a novel. And if I could not come up with 100 bullet points, I could not start the project.

It is my opinion that if you do not what MAJOR action is going to occur at least every 1,000 words you are stumbling around blindly. Remember, that's about one bullet point per four pages in print. If you can't be bothered to know that much about your plot ahead of time, don't be surprised if your work turns out be Styrofoam peanuts.

Serenity · Jul 16, 2007

I was at a convention this weekend and sat in on a panel discussion with three published writers. One outlined from start to finish with the key ideas for every chapter jotted down in order. One outlined only in the most general of terms (mostly the three or four main points that had to happen in the order they needed to happen) and then sort of went with the flow. The third tried outlining and never ended up where he said he was going to anyhow, so doesn't outline for his original fiction any more. The only time all three did outline was for the tie-in novels they all write, because it's a requirement.

That having been said, did outlining make the one writer better than all the others? Nope. Because all three were of the same opinion: do what works best for you.

scarletpeaches · Jul 16, 2007

JohnDavidPaxton said:
It is my opinion that if you do not what MAJOR action is going to occur at least every 1,000 words you are stumbling around blindly. Remember, that's about one bullet point per four pages in print. If you can't be bothered to know that much about your plot ahead of time, don't be surprised if your work turns out be Styrofoam peanuts.

Well in that case your opinion is wrong. Plenty of writers don't outline. I don't tell you to fly by the seat of your pants, don't tell me my method is wrong. I'd rather get on with writing the book than planning every 1,000 words - something I could write faster than I could plan anyway. Why think about it when you can get on with writing it?

And it's not a case of not being bothered about my plot* in advance. It's a case of not needing to know.

*I hate that word anyway. Character is plot. You know your characters, you know all you need to know.

Enraptured · Jul 16, 2007

scarletpeaches said:
Why think about it when you can get on with writing it?

Because if I try to do that, I find I can't get on with writing it, because I have no clue where to go. I end up staring at the screen in frustration. Whereas with a detailed outline, I zoom through.

I agree with you, though - no one way is right or wrong. It really depends on the individual writer.

Outlining - How do YOU do it?

aka cupcake

On hiatus

Don't get me started

has finally arrived

Dragon of the Multiverse

Lurker Extraordinaire

:P

Huh?

Prodigal Muser

Narrator

aka cupcake

Blowing in the Wind

Bored fanatic

Slowly does it.

Slowly does it.

NCIS...

Narrator