I’ll admit, before I started my first finished novel last October, I fancied myself a pantser. Although to be honest, at the time I might not have understood what the term referred to, or that there was even another option as a writer. I viewed my work as an artistic act that sprang forth from my imagination. My analytical brain would only get in the way of storytelling, I thought. And planning? Pfft! I didn’t need no stinkin’ plan.
Which is why, of course, I never finished anything.
Treating my story like a diary to be purged from my brain with little forethought was obviously not the right way to go for me. Since I started outlining and planning stories before I put metaphorical pen to paper, I have actually started (gasp!) finishing things. That’s not to say everyone works best this way, but it is certainly the only way that works for me.
I’ve experimented with the amount of outlining I do before I start writing, and seem to have settled on knowing at least the main scenes, and the next 5 or so scenes from where I’m currently writing. As long as I do that, I never feel like I’m writing blind, or like I’ve lost the thread of my plot. I’ve tried plotting an entire novel down to the scene level, but that gets frustrating when I need to change it (as I always inevitably do, many times before even the first draft is complete). I also try to have a good understanding of my main characters before I start, but I find no matter the amount of planning I do for them, they tend to change a bit during the course of the story.
I think for the next novel-length story I work on, I will try outlining by chapter, again with the next 5 or so scenes always ready so I don’t get lost.
So how about you guys? Do you outline? Pants it? Something in between?
Which is why, of course, I never finished anything.
Treating my story like a diary to be purged from my brain with little forethought was obviously not the right way to go for me. Since I started outlining and planning stories before I put metaphorical pen to paper, I have actually started (gasp!) finishing things. That’s not to say everyone works best this way, but it is certainly the only way that works for me.
I’ve experimented with the amount of outlining I do before I start writing, and seem to have settled on knowing at least the main scenes, and the next 5 or so scenes from where I’m currently writing. As long as I do that, I never feel like I’m writing blind, or like I’ve lost the thread of my plot. I’ve tried plotting an entire novel down to the scene level, but that gets frustrating when I need to change it (as I always inevitably do, many times before even the first draft is complete). I also try to have a good understanding of my main characters before I start, but I find no matter the amount of planning I do for them, they tend to change a bit during the course of the story.
I think for the next novel-length story I work on, I will try outlining by chapter, again with the next 5 or so scenes always ready so I don’t get lost.
So how about you guys? Do you outline? Pants it? Something in between?
I try to outline, but none of my WIP ever follow the plan. Inevitably, I find myself going back and changing it to match the completed work.
ReplyDeleteThen again, maybe that's the point: the outline simply gives you a baseline. It's a foundation upon which you build the house that is your story.
That, or I'm just a crummy outliner.
Professional outliner.
ReplyDeleteCM--not a crummy outliner. And you've hit the point on the head: the outline is your baseline, your foundation.
My recipe for outlining is to know the key points in your story. The foundation and the load bearing walls of your story's house. All details fill in everything else.
I have a future Wednesday Writing Tip about outlines coming soon. Watch for it and I will explain more.
I'm in between. I keep a good outline of base points that really never change and then I get vague ideas about the rest that come clear as I write. And I have to start with some kind of outline or I get lost very quickly.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a reformed pantser. I used to fear the outline like the plague, but then, I wrote rambling stories impossible to write query letters for. I feared that once I wrote it in an outline, it was forever carved in stone. Then I learned to use a loose outline. And now, for the first time, I have a very complete outline for NaNo. We'll see how it goes. omg. One month to go!
ReplyDelete