To Outline Or Not To Outline?
Published January 21, 2012Today someone asked me for help with her book. She knows what she want to write about and has been working on it for some time, but is stuck and doesn’t know how to get her thoughts organized properly. What was my answer? Easy, she needs to outline her story!
Some writers feel that outlining takes all the joy out of the process. One friend once told me, “If I were to outline the entire book, what would be the point in writing it? I know exactly what will happen!” Although I understood what he meant, I couldn’t disagree more. As a writer I enjoy creating the mile markers first and then filling in the details. I prefer knowing where I am starting and where I am going. I like to be in control! I want to know what will happen before I commit to writing pages and pages. I must say that if I were to write thousands of words, which went in a wrong direction, I would be frustrated.
It is a matter of preference, but if you find yourself stuck and unable to write, please consider a detailed outline.
If you’re writing a fiction book you’ll want to tackle each incident and delineate who is in the scene, where it takes place, when it happened, what happened (briefly) and (here is the most important aspect) what is the purpose of the scene. If the scene has no purpose, don’t waste your time writing it. You will find it on the editing room floor at the end of the project.
Your outline should be purpose driven. Ever scene must forward the story and have a reason for being there, something that fits in with the flow of the book.
If your book is a nonfiction work, your outline will be very different. A basic table of contents, with bullet points for subheads will help you.
I’d love to hear from fellow writers. What do you think? Do you use an outline?
9 Responses to To Outline Or Not To Outline?
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Absolutely! Outlines, regardless of project or project size, definitely help me. Even if it’s the equivalent to a grocery list for a short story. I recommend them to other writers. Having outlines allows the writer to spot story weaknesses (or over-development of some areas), or in the case of non-fiction, where more information needs to be added. Outlines are a way of life –why do you think ToDo lists are so popular!
YES! I completely agree. If you can’t answer the question, “What is the purpose of that scene?” it needs to go. You’re also correct that if you spend too much time in a certain area, it will become clear. Thanks for writing in! What writing project are you working on right now?
These comments make so much sense! Outline….a way of life! Like a “map” of where the book or story will be going. thanks!
Yes, it is very much like a map. I think of the scenes of my outline as mile markers. I work best when organized!
I didn’t used but now I do, except i’m struggling with my current WIP and I can’t move on because I don’t have it outlined. I feel like if i could just write it would come together but … catch 22. I may have to abandon it because I’m not inspired to move it forward. Though I fear perfectionism is the real culprit.
That was a lot of babble.
It is really hard for me to scrap major portions of a work. I can understand what you’re going through. It might be a good idea to step away from it, work on something else and then outline it all fresh. Then you can review what you’ve written with the new outline in mind and see what to keep and what to throw out.
Good luck and thanks for writing!
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After many years away from fiction, I’m once again attempting to write a novel. This time, as I’m older (for sure) and wiser (maybe), I have constructed an outline. So far, I’ve found the outline keeps me on track, but it isn’t detailed enough to take into account every turn or bump I find along the way, and that helps keep the project fresh. In fact, I don’t know that I’m capable of making an outline so detailed that it would cover every facet of the story before I wrote it. The outline is my map; the actual writing is me hitting the trail and dealing with what’s actually on the ground there.
By the way, I’m using SuperNoteCard for outlining–it’s an inexpensive bit of software that provides–you guessed it–virtual notecards.
Thanks and happy writing!
Wow, congratulations on starting your new novel! I love toggling back and forth between fiction and nonfiction!
I appreciate your viewpoint on outlines and think you hit the nail on the head for me. It is always fresh for this reason. I feel like I know the beginning and end of each scene, but how I get there is a mystery until I write it. I love your analogy too!
I don’t know SuperNoteCard. I’ll check it out!