How much do you outline?

Personally, I can't do it at all. I've experimented with detailed outlines so as to avoid plot snags, but then I bog down and the writing is lukewarm--no excitement at all. I have to be telling the story to myself and be surprised at the twists as I go along.

Granted, I know some things that are going to happen, but mostly I just put the characters in a situation and sit back and watch what they're doing and what's happening--the most I can do outline-wise is just sketch a summary.

How do you outline, or do you outline at all?

 

The first two 'fics that I've ever wrote didn't have an outline. I came to the JCF, sat down at the computer, and started typing. In the end it had somehow worked out, but I was constantly worrying everyday about how to make ends meet.

Now, I outline all my stories. Some stories, I outline more than others (it really depends on how much I love the story). Usually, inspiration strikes, and I write around twenty pages before I actually sit down and write everything - the outline, the backstories, a brief character profile.

But I digress.

One 'fic, I outlined quite extensively, down to the scenes, but it didn't work out, because I kept working out better scenes. Another 'fic, I didn't outline at all, and that ended in a hopeless disaster.

So now, I compromised and usually write down what I want to happen (Act 1 - this happens; Act 2 - this happens; Act 3 - this happens; Beginning = ____; Ending = ____) and basically let my whim dictate the scene details.

Aun

 

Well, I use outlines for my long stories, notably DOTF and the upcoming E3, but that's because there is so much I have to put in, and lots of different plot threads, and I'm paranoid of leaving stuff out.

HOWEVER: My outline is fairly loose. I don't put in a whole lot of detail, just the main points, and this seems to allow the story to evolve and improve, while at the same time being consistent. So that's what I would reccommend...just put in the important stuff, with no more detail than necessary, and sure, you can maybe put more specific scenes in, but if you keep the main important things there, you should still be able to tweak stuff around if you get an idea that's better than what you had.

-Tim

 

I don't do much outlining. With both of my long completed stories, I had no real idea where the story would end up when I was at the start. (Well, one of the stories began as a round-robin before I became the only writer, so there was no way I would know.) As I go along, the story develops further in my mind until by the middle of the story I probably know for the most part what the end will be like. I still don't write out an outline, although on my most recent story I did make a short list of notes for ideas I had that I wanted to remember for later in the story.

 

I have to outline to know where I'm going. I don't always follow religiously, but it kind of keeps me on track, like watching a GPS while driving.

 

when i first started writing, i had everything outlined but now the only outline i really have are ideas. i'd create a notes document for a series or something, & just type ideas for a chapter or something & if I use them I just put them down as done & make sure if something important happened in a chaptr to note that as well in case i wanted to go back to those chapters revise them.

i don't do thorough outling anymore. (chapter by chapter etc.)

i find it's a lot better to write what you feel you should write or 'go with the flow'.

 

I never outline. Well, I did once but I ended up diverging away from it anyway, at least with the characters.

I don't believe outlining is necessary, though of course it varies on the person. But if you don't outline, I think that makes the end that much more interesting - since you have to take all these subplots and junk and tie it all together. Makes for interesting endings.

 

I drive my beta crazy. He'll constantly ask me- "So where're you going with this character?" I always respond, "I don't know."

Outlining is for the birds. I've done a small amount of it, but I tend to find that my mind tends to go crazy and always veers off track of what I wrote down. I always get bored w/ outlines. They're good for times when things are quite sticky and you need to remember specific details to include in your story- but otherwise, pffftt! forget it!

Usually I have the big ending dramatic scenes in my head when I start a story and then I take off and see how long it takes to get to that point. How's THAT for insane?

I'm so far amazed I haven't written myself into a dead end. Thank god for Betas. They are a lifesaver.

 

Usually when I write a story, I have a pretty good idea where I'm going, but my planning is minimal - other than hammering out the rough spots, I don't do a whole lot.

However, with Sovereign of the Shadows, that plot quickly became so complex and convoluted and twisted that I needed as much planning as possible. I have a complete, heavily detailed outline of that story and its sequel, simply because there were timing issues that needed to be solid and subplots that needed to be fully developed. It's not scene-by-scene, and a few things have popped up along the way that weren't in the original outline, but other than that, it's stayed pretty close to the original plan.

For an LotR AU I'm writing with another author here (Marawannabe), we're not only writing an outline for the story, but also outlines for each of the major characters. It's come up to something like twenty different outlines.

Sometimes you need it, sometimes you don't.

Mel

 

the only recent outlining i did was for mended. there were a total of 38 chapters in that series, and i had all of them listed in a wordpad doc & of course, little notes about chapters i wanted to go back to. but other than that, i think that was th only real thorough outlining process i've done to date.

 

Well, I've run the gamut in regards to outlines. On my first two fics I had a general idea of what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go, and just worked with that.

The next few vary. They are stil WIP's so I haven't gotten to an end yet. I had an outline for one that was 'deatailed' for the first half anf then said, "They were rescued" for the end. But I didn't know how they were going to be rescued or anything else. And to be honest, I still don't know. *hangs head down in shame*

For a story I did under another name I had an outline sketched out, but if you look at the outline and the actual story, they diverged after the prologue. Not that it was a bad thing. The only thing I managed to keep were the titles to the various chapters. But it ended up being this great fic. So I was happy with it.

For my most current few that I'm working on, I've done things differently. I now allow my muse to dictate what I will work on, so having outlines tends to keep things in perspective as I bounce from fic to fic. But it depends on what I have written down. On one I have only a basic plot written in a paragraph. One I have as a vauge outline of what I want to do. But the story that I'm into the most has an outline for virtually everychapter. I know what I want and where I want to progress to, so having my guide has really helped keep me on course. Of course, there are still some twists and turns that pop up when I write, but I just work them into what I have.

But as I always say,
"When in doubt, let your Muse be your guide."

 

Well i tried an outline once but the story just didn't fit with the outline as well as i wrote it. basicly i just ignore making an outline and just let my ideas flow as i right. At times outlines are irritating so i just go with the flow. one of the storys i'm working on now i didn't write and outline for and i'm glad i didn't. I think i may need to fix the title a bit but it will do for now. the link to it is in my sig.

 

Outline? Not a heck of a lot... USUALLY I have a "What if" and work backwards from there... (Falls the Shadow was a "what if... Ani suffers from PTSS and 'survivor's guilt'... common among 'soldiers'....)
I occasionally type up little frags (Again, Falls had a few) that I want to work into a story but I have never really put an outline to paper...

 

So far, I've outlined everything, but I'd like to think that I won't always do so. I tend to adjust the outline as I go along, but it's a path to follow so I know how many posts/chapters I'm going to use to get from beginning to end.

My process tends to go Plot Bunny > Plot Summary > Chapter/Post Outline > actual writing, though they tend to blend themselve, where I'll right out a scene and work it in, etc.

Overall, I find outlines to be immensly helpful.


-~Aanix~-

 

I always try outlining, but I can remember everythign much more easily


Sometimes the best writing experiences are just sitting down and letting your mind guide those typing fingers. If I tried to outline Caught in the Middle with Lemelemie we'd both have given up after a week

 

Out-line? What is this outline of which you speak?

Even if I try to make an outline, I never follow it. The characters just don't listen to me.

 

I used to disdain outlines--how very uncreative!--but I've come to like them over the years, as it seems to fit the way I write. I like to be running toward something as I go, so I like to know what landmarks are ahead. I took a screenwriting course in college, and the approach I learned there is the one I tend to use: Write the one-sentence high-concept, like "Fourteen-year-old Shmi Skywalker is taken into slavery when pirates attack her father's cruiser and kill her family." Then, write out a treatment, giving a general idea what the story is going to be about (this is usually just scrawled on something and I don't end up paying it much attention, but it's the step that takes it from concept to actual story--the yes, but what's going to happen to her? step). Then I'll write something resembling an outline if the story seems like it's too long to hold in my head for the length of time it will take to write it.

Outlines of fiction of course are loose (I fully outlined "Family Portrait," then liked the school setting so well that I added two days and tossed in teacher interactions taht weren't there before, as well as giving Anakin an after-school job that I hadn't planned on). I use a general Joseph Campbell hero's journey most of the time, but that's too loose a format to even be called an outline. What I generally do is imagine the landmark scenes in the story--not necessarily the flashy ones, but the ones that are in my head so strongly that they are why I want to write the story in the first place. Then I figure out how to get to the first one, then how to get from the first to the second, and the second to the third, and so on.

If what I have is a concept and I know what I want it to say and how I want it to end, I'll often just do sentence long summaries of the scenes at the start and then fill them in as I go. If it's a novel length, I might start a week by writing the first and last lines of each chapter I plan to do that week on my list, with the original summary in the middle of them. For instance:

---------
Shmi had learned some Basic before her father decided on a nomadic life aboard the cruiser, but she had lost most of it by the time the pirates came.
*
*
Shmi's first day as a slave. She has language barriers and can't understand what she has to do, which gets her in trouble with her new master.
*
*
She curled up in the shadows, listening to the incomprehensible whispers from the kitchen, and thought, I want to go home.
--------------

If it's something really long and rambling, like "The Penitent," I often only plan a few scenes in advance, though all the writers knew the ending of that one for about a year.

 

I did outline one of my fics but I forgot to reference it and when I did reference it, the story had taken a completely different turn.

I go one post at a time or maybe upto three posts. I keep playing it in my head, even then it can keep changing, especially if I don't have time to write and post it. It becomes final when I post it.

 

I admire people who can outline with any precision. I have a very vague idea of where I'm going, but that's it. Characters surprise me all the time. Every now and then, I write myself into a corner, and it can take me days or weeks to know how to get the characters out of the mess they're--I'm--in.

For instance, I've just found out how Thrawn will use the Dug (the old Sebulba, really) in Hitchhiker. Had been looking since Christmas. I know I want Vader to finally arrive on the scene, and I know I want a reunion of sorts between him and Sebulba, mostly because I like the idea of Vader saying something in Huttese and every officer on the bridge being flabbergasted; but I had no idea how I was going to get there. (Or why Sebulba, as a member of the pirate boarding party, should be on the Empire's Revenge bridge and not in the brig with the rest of the prisoners.) It finally came to me, but even though it's pretty complex, and involves some typical Thrawn deviousness, I haven't even written it down: it'll come to me as I write it, in characters reactions and dialogue more than in explanatory passages. A written outline, I feel, always makes me go into explanations when I should be showing things.