Start Writing or Write an Outline..!

I really want to write a book and I have started and stopped the process of writing one many many many times over. I've tried so many ways of starting the process. I like incorporating twists in my stories as well. My first few stories I have written with no outline, and it has only ended up bad. Here are the downsides:

1.) You don't know where the story is going to go which can lead to an interesting story and one that doesn't make sense.

2.) It's hard to make plot twists when you don't have the events in the story written down.

3.) Things get confusing; you end up not remembering important parts of the story.

BUT, the thing is, this way of writing always holds my interest and I don't lose sight of my finished project.

On the contrary, my last book I tried to outline. I outlined important plot pieces, twists, characters, deaths, timelines...it didn't go well.

I would end up psyching myself into writing because I didn't want to do it. Outlining was boring and it dragged on far...far too long.

So I need to find that perfect medium...and I wondered if anyone here could help

I'm afraid I wouldn't be a good example;
I never know where my stories will lead, I write and see if it leads to anywhere worth exploring. If not, I start another one, I'm hopeless in that sense

I did both. My first draft I just wrote and wrote and wrote - vomiting words without any idea what was going on. Once the first draft was almost finished and thoroughly confusing, I started over, using the same characters that had developed in the first draft and some of the same plot twists. I didn't really outline for draft two, I just kind of asked myself questions about the plot and wrote down the many possible answers, then chose one. In that way the storyline kind of slowly unraveled.

Make sense? No, probably not, but that's the only way I can outline. *shrug*

Not sure if this exactly helps, its more of a writers block thing I guess, but I always try to follow the "Edit Later Rule". Write whatever spews forth from your fingers and don't worry to much about it. Keep the relative narrative on track but quite frankly you should spend more time editing than on the initial draft anyways. There will be plenty of time to ad in plot twists and keep your story from discrepancies later.

I prefer writing an outline, as that helps me to remember stuff that I need to put in. However, I don't stick to it, especially when doing class assignments. I prefer using the Snowflake method, as it's very organized. Anyway, writer's block usually dissipates quickly when I take a look at my plans.

I've been writing a novel since march, and you may think that it's near to being finished but it is not. I'm not a patient person, for the most part and I want to be able to write good parts in my story but then I know that I have to keep my readers waiting or else all the conflict we'll be consumed quickly and then there'll be nothing left but words. For weeks, my novel's been in a glitch until I had a revelation. I finally decided to outline and though I have some type of Writer's Block, the outline will be there to help me when I need it.

Here's how I organized it:

First I mapped out all my characters.

*What they look like?
*What's there role in the story? (Main character, Main character's sister, protagonist, antagonist etc.)
*What there personality was like ( you want to keep that consistent throughout the story)

Then I wrote the Summary which is made up of two things:

The external conflict and the internal conflict. External meaning the conflict outside the home and the ones inside the home (that only pertains to my story but you can do it however you want)

Afterwards, I read my notes over and added little side notes.

Well, I hope my method was of some help and good luck with your endeavors,

~Angel

Write a short outline, just ong enough to include the events in your story but also short enough to not get overly boring and time consuming to do.

I had the same problem -- I started trying to write novels when I was 11 but didn't complete anything until November of last year.

The thing that worked for me on my first completed novel (also the first I outlined) was doing a chapter-by-chapter outline. It was relatively vague -- it just mentioned the major events or some small motif I wanted to include -- but it laid my story arc bare and helped me keep track of how the story was developing.

I typed that up, printed it, bought a special notebook, and taped the outline to the inside of the front cover. Then I hand wrote the novel, writing one chapter, typing it, writing another, typing it, and so on.

It worked like a charm. You get some preliminary developments out of the way in the outlining stage, plus it gives you guidance and can be changed at a moment's notice. Yes, sometimes it's a drag, but if you're not willing to suck it up and suffer through the bad then you should not be writing a novel.

The handwriting is an added bonus -- it gives you a tangible "reward," gives you an extra storage medium (heaven forbid your computer crashes), makes you more mobile, and you can make small edits and notes for later when transferring it to the computer.

Teague
x

I rarely and I mean rarely plan my stories start to finish. Generally I like to have an idea but in most cases the endings are a bit of a mystery, even to me. I find the story and the plot twists present themselves as I go. But one thing I do to help keep the creative juices flowing, to keep myself on track and to help me tie areas of the story together are chapter outlines. SOmetimes I plan three chapters ahead of ten or even just a solitary one.

I'll break it down like this:

Chater 16
*

*

*

*

*

and then I try to expand on the five points and give myself an idea of what I want to cover in that chapter. Sometimes, the ideas expand to the point where one chapter outline breaks into two chapters and once I have basic ideas plotted out - three more jump into my mind. It's not the most organized approach but it's proven the most effective for me. I've been writing since I was twelve and I've managed to complete (from start to finish) all my stories. My word count then was about 46,000. I am now averaging about 120-140,000. The key is to keep writing and to keep what you've written in mind so when introducing new ideas to the story you know the elements that you've already laid out. And, if in doubt, keep it simple. If the story gets too complex - even for you to follow, that's when you'll get frustrated and give up. And also remember, not everything you write will be 'great' or 'brilliant'. But the important thing is to keep writing - even if it's not in sequence. If a scene pops into your head, write it down and then worry about how to incorporate it later.

Hope that this helps.

Brandon1107 wrote:I really want to write a book and I have started and stopped the process of writing one many many many times over. I've tried so many ways of starting the process. I like incorporating twists in my stories as well. My first few stories I have written with no outline, and it has only ended up bad. Here are the downsides:

1.) You don't know where the story is going to go which can lead to an interesting story and one that doesn't make sense.

2.) It's hard to make plot twists when you don't have the events in the story written down.

3.) Things get confusing; you end up not remembering important parts of the story.

BUT, the thing is, this way of writing always holds my interest and I don't lose sight of my finished project.

On the contrary, my last book I tried to outline. I outlined important plot pieces, twists, characters, deaths, timelines...it didn't go well.

I would end up psyching myself into writing because I didn't want to do it. Outlining was boring and it dragged on far...far too long.

So I need to find that perfect medium...and I wondered if anyone here could help