Young Writers Society

Tell me...

Does it really help writers or is it just a time consuming obstacle that dampens a writers motivation to reach a dream they have harvested for however long?

A slightly redundant question, nevertheless....

Outlining is perhaps one of the most imortant tool an author can utilze. The romantic picture of a 19th century author opening up a blank book and scratching away starting at page one is more than slightly unrealistic.

However, outlining should not be imbued inextricably with the term "plotting." While plotting can be intense, extensive, and detailed, outlining should be considered a broader term.

An outline can be as "heavy" or light as you want it to be--- and what your story calls for.

Generally speaking though, if you want to drive somewhere you should have a roadmap. And if you want to write somewhere, than you should have some form of plan. Even if it's just scribbles or index cards, set yourself some points to work towards.

Personally, I find outlining most helpful when keeping track of basic, three act structure. Although I have some stories that call for more acts, I've adjusted accordingly. The biggest catch-word I use in my outling is "flexibility," I allow the story to take me where it will without rigidty, while at the same time keeping it under control. It's a symbiotic relationship.

Personally, I always use an outline. I try to plot out a few scenes at a time before I sit down to write. I don't outline the entire novel, because I want the story to evolve naturally, but I definitely try to plan a few steps ahead. If I didn't have at least a general idea of where the story was supposed to go, I would just end up rambling on and leaving giant plot holes in my wake.

The great thing about writing is that nothing is permanent. If you have to add or delete scenes that don't work, great. If you start writing and realize that the plot is a lot different from the outline, great. An outline isn't set in stone, but it definitely keeps me on track.

Of course, there are also the people who just completely wing it and still manage to write something amazing. I could never pull it off myself, but if you can, go for it. It's all about what works for you.

The most basic question any writer has for an older more experienced writer (And by older, I don't mean grey hair, I mean they are more knowledgeable about the writing world.) Is what you just asked. "Is an outline necessary?" Dear Heavens, no, it's not. In fact, let's go to someone famous (Alas, I cannot say I am famous, but I've been a writer for many years. Ever since my freshman year of high school... which was? in 2006.)

Stephen King, the master of mystery, suspense, horror, and drama, brings to the table two things. Outlining and winging it. Most of his works are only STARTED on an outline, but end on his winging it. Yes, you can do this, and yes, it will piss you off.

The next step is your personal flair. You are a writer, you are an artist of words. Look at the movie "Moulin Rouge." He did not go to the Moulin Rouge to write a story that he himself experienced. He went to write, but he wasn't sure what he would write. At the very end, he knew exactly what to write. He wrote about what he had experienced, what love was, what he knew was the biggest odds to overcome, and yet, he worked hard to overcome them.

So, outline and wing it, add your personal flair, add your personal experience. Your book is your imagination and the limit? Well, that's nowhere. Look at Harry Potter. It was SO well written to so many people that people believe magic with a wand is real, that there is Hogwarts. That is the beauty of a writer. To make your audience believe what they read is as real as they are.

babymagic18 wrote:a time consuming obstacle that dampens a writers motivation to reach a dream they have harvested for however long?

Eh?

But, yes, outlining is very very good. Imagine trying to solve a maze without being able to turn around and try different routes once you come to a dead end. It's possible, and you could try to trace the path mentally before you continued with your pencil, but it would be much harder and lead to almost never successfully completing the maze.

In the same sense, outlining will make it much easier to actually finish something. Outlines are much easier to revise, and you can identify problems much easier than if you are in the middle of writing and inventing it as you go along. If you run into a problem improvising, you may have to backtrack and change vast amounts of your work, which can be very discouraging. If you already know that what you're doing will work, you can simply write without a fear.

The joy of writing is certainly not diminished, unless you are writing something rather bland there is plenty of writing left to be done even when you are following an outline that you've already decided on. Even if some of the joy is dampened since you are no longer simply inventing freely, I promise you it will be better in the end, since you will actually be able to finish your work instead of running into insurmountable tangles and obstacles, which feels good enough to be worth any outlining.

An exception would be short stories of 1000-2500 words in length, for obvious reasons. These stories may very well be as short, or shorter, than a typical outline would be anyway.

Of the 7 or so projects that I've at least finished a first draft for, I used outlining for 6 of them, as I recall. There are many, many projects that I have not finished the first draft of, and I have used outlining for few of them.

Get the idea? Outlining's important.

I do outlining in the A to B sense. "Story starts here, ends here, and the steps to get there are what?" All I do is focusing on connecting points instead of trying to plan out every single little event in the story.

You're not likely to stick to any sort of outline as you actually write out the steps, which means you revise the outline as you go. But that can be even more creative as you figure out where the story's going now that you've discovered something new.

Do I suggest doing a whole outline of the story? No.

Do I suggest having some idea of where you're going to end? Yes.

Is knowing where you're going to end absolutely required to be writer? Absolutely not.

Find out what works for you, in the end. That's all that matters.

Every story has a beginning and an end. Between those 2 points you simply draw a line which resembles your story.

The way this line is drawn is up to you. It can be straight, it can be curvy, it can bend in 100 different directions and perhaps even intersect. Point is you're working towards a goal and it's anything but a waste of time thinking about what this goal is and how you will achieve it.

Fantasying and thinking about your story is already half the work. Words will come automatically when you can visualize your story.