by Mallory York
Ah, the age-old writer's debate--to outline or not to
outline?
Outlines have proven quite effective for a lot of writers,
and many of the famous stories we know and love--such as
Star Wars--were outlined before they were fleshed out into a
living, breathing story. (Well, metaphorically living and
breathing, anyway.)
But many of the stories that touched us most--like real-life
experiences--simply happened, no outlining was needed. Some
stories just come to you, while others need some refining
before they're ready to be written. The question is, which
one works best for you?
I have always been a 'seat-of-the-pants' writer--that is,
I've just sat down and written most of what I want to write,
without any outlining or prior planning.
However, on several occasions I have actually written
detailed outlines and come up with very rewarding and
satisfying pieces of writing for my efforts.
Some people swear that they can't write a single sentence
until they know what the end is going to be. Other
people--like me--are the opposite. They can't write the
ending until they've written the beginning. They have no
idea how the story will end when they type in that first
sentence. Some people even write an outline for each scene,
number them, put them in order and then write them in that
order, without considering which to write first--ending,
middle, or climax.
For me, outlining in too much detail takes all of the
spontaneity out of writing. It makes me feel like I've
already written the whole story before when I sit down at
the keyboard to start typing. I know from experience that if
I outline scene by scene, going through every hand motion
and every eye motion and every tilt of the head that my
characters are making--it won't be as new and exciting when
I'm doing the actual writing. And I will get bored.
Not being one to outline by trade, I sort of made up my own
outlining style, and it is actually more of a summary than
an outline.
For example, I have a 36-page 'outline' for a novel I want
to write. Every time I sat down to write on it--excited
about finishing this story and getting it published--I would
read the first few lines of the outline, try to start where
I left off last time, and fail miserably.
The outline was just too detailed--I felt that it took away
all of the freedom I have as a writer. So I thought it over,
and decided that an outline was just a tool, and we all use
tools differently. Now, if I have an outline at all, I
consider it a "rough draft" of the story, and so I can
change things around if I decide it's better that way.
But you're asking, "Do you mean that the answer to 'to
outline or not to outline' is not to?"
Not at all!
Outlining works for some people and it doesn't for others. I
believe that everyone should write in whatever style works
best for them. If you find yourself at a dead-end in your
creativity (sometimes known better as 'writer's block') you
might want to examine what an outline means to you.
If you usually outline and now find yourself at a dead end,
try spontaneously writing something--without an outline.
Anything will do. Write random scenes and keep them all in a
folder or journal to read later--who knows, one might even
inspire a new story for you.
For those who usually write spontaneously and are at a dead
end, perhaps you should experiment with outlining. I used to
swear I would never outline. But when I gave in and tried
it, I did get some good results. If the outline seems too
rigid, you might try what works for me--which is to put less
detail into the outline.
I have a very detailed writing style, so it's natural for me
to want to note every little thing in the outline. But that
was a mistake. I've learned to write the outline with just
enough detail so that I will know what will happen, when and
how, and then move on to the actual story-writing.
So the answer to 'to outline or not to outline?', at least
as far as I'm concerned, is 'to outline--loosely, and only
if it works well for you.?
In closing, here are some tips for writing a more flexible
outline:
1) Keep it simple. You don't need to write the outline with
perfect grammar and punctuation, or from your point of view
character's perspective. Remember, this is just a
generalized guide.
2) Try not to get too detailed about what happens in any one
particular scene. Just figure out where they are in the
beginning ('They're slogging along the roadside in the
rain.') and where they are at the end ('They finally decide
to stop and rest, so they make a tent out of the umbrella
and blankets and go to sleep') and fill in the blanks when
you actually write the scene.
3) Write it in present tense. That seems to make it easier
to feel more in the immediate "now" of the story, and seems
more natural to me. Even though I always write in past tense
in my stories (present tense actually annoys me in stories,
but that's just my preference I guess) I always write my
outlines in present tense.
The outline seems more immediate and real when written in
present tense, and helps me stick with it and develop the
outline all the way to the end of the story. I suppose you
could write your outlines in whatever tense you like, but
this is just another way to distinguish the real writing of
the story from the outline-writing.
4) Enjoy yourself. A writer's mood translates through in
their word choice, so if you're writing humor but are
actually feeling angry, the funny story may seem a little
forced.
While not always true--I frequently write angst and sad
stories even though I'm generally happy--the truth is that
if you don't enjoy writing your stories, what was the point?
And if your answer was 'money', perhaps you should try a
different profession and just pursue fiction writing as a
hobby.
Happy scribblin'!
Mallory York
Mallory York has been has been creating anime art and writing
for four years. Among her favorite anime series are Fushigi
Yuugi, Gundam Wing,and The Slayers. Her first drawing guide,
The Art of SD-Animals 01, is now available at www.L7S.NET,
where a free tutorial from the guide is posted. You can read
some of her fanfic at Fanfiction.net and view her art gallery
at http://www.L7S.NET and also at http://www.ELFWOOD.COM.