Using Outlines

One valuable lesson I learned is how to actually use an outline. Once I moved on from writing the synopsis, I then got a grip on writing an outline. But knowing how to use it was a different matter, so I sat here, scratching my head.

It's not obvious.

Outlines are never written in stone. Things change, stories evolve, become something different, something unexpected. That's half the fun right there, the “making up fiction” part. I learned that there needs to be a balance between making it up and keeping things organized. In other words, outline and crafting fiction.

For my latest book, I wrote a total of three outlines. Why? Because I was still learning as I went along. The second is a revised version of the first, once the story began changing, so I wrote it all down, including the possible outcomes based on these new events. In retrospect, I could have given the first outline more thought and put most of this stuff in, but again, stories can change in unexpected ways. I can't predict the future, but I can make pretty good guesses about possibilities from my story idea.

The third outline was something different and just for the sake of keeping everything organized as best as I could. It's not easy juggling a mystery. I wrote the third in point form (the other two are in paragraph form), and color coded all the clues. This clue goes with that clue, etc. It was something I decided to do when I was about 10 chapters into the story. I suddenly realized there was a lot more to juggle than expected (the story had changed, again).

I have no idea if I'll do this again. Like I said, I was still learning and probably won't have to write more than one outline for the next book. At least I hope not. It was a bit anal of me...

Then I kept writing, kept checking my outlines, kept making little tweaks, and overall, went back and forth a lot between the outlines and the manuscript. It worked out well, even better than I'd hoped. Having those outlines on hand helped a great deal to drive me to finish the manuscript.

It wasn't always smooth sailing. There were moments of panic where I had to take a long break, take a step back or just go for a walk. Sometimes I needed to let certain ideas brew and simmer in my mind before I could tackle the next scene/chapter.

The outlines I wrote were my navigator, and my ability to write chose the direction. The combination of both, let me arrive at my intended destination. And what was that? My synopsis.

Synopsis and Outline: don't leave home without them.

Since my personal work has slowed down quite a bit, website is redesigned, new blog layout, etc, I'd like to share a few writing lessons I learned while working on my latest book. To see current and planned projects, visit the Brain.

The first lesson, the meaning of a synopsis and an outline. Like a lot of writers, I also believed I didn't need a synopsis or an outline. I can just sit down and write a whole book, outlines are for sissies! And then I learned...

I began thinking of it this way, a synopsis and outlines are like filing cabinets. The point of both is to create tools that allow me to organize ideas and write a completed book.

The idea for a potential story comes first, then a 1 paragraph synopsis, then a 1 -2 page outline. It's more than the creative process. It's the process of making ideas into something tangible, something real, and more than just a thought jostling around in my head.

Lesson learned: Outlines are not ideas. They're just a way to organize ideas.

To be brutally honest, I know that there's no way in living hell I would have completed a whole thriller novel without writing an outline first. I strongly suspect this is where aspiring writers fail to finish their project and give the wrong impression of themselves. I know I did that, I'm writing a book! Well, no, it's not finished... I can't tell you what it's about and... um... yeah.

Seriously, write an outline. It will save you so much grief.

Here's another winning point. Having an outline first, allowed me to have much more fun writing the book. It may seem like a contradiction, but it's true. Being organized meant having more fun than just making up BS and hoping (foolishly) that it all makes sense in the end.

I'll put it another way. I've tried to write a total of 4 novels. The one that worked and completed, is the only one where I wrote a full outline first. That's proof enough for me.

Now, about the synopsis. That did take me a bit longer to learn than outline writing. A synopsis should be about 3 sentences, 5 max, and summarizes the whole story. You say, impossible! Yeah, I thought that, too. A whole book, before it's written, in 3 measly sentences?!

Here's why the synopsis should be written first. Once a manuscript is complete, even as only the first draft, it's very difficult for any author to be objective because they see all the connections and can't separate. Every author who truly cares about their work will lovingly craft every single word. And that's the part agents/publishers DON'T want to know, and frankly, neither do the readers. All anyone wants to know is, is it a good story? Does it make sense? Why should I read?

See? The answers are a total of three sentences.

I've read and studied a lot of articles about synopsis writing, and a lot of them were both useless and confusing. It's actually very simple.

Sentence 1 - Introduce main character, setting and purpose.

Sentence 2 - Present the conflict in the story. No conflict? No story.

Sentence 3 - How the conflict is resolved.

Sentence 3 took me the longest to understand. It's not the ending of a story, it's not the resolution, it's how the conflict is resolved. I didn't have to give anything away, just present a choice the character makes, if they choose one or the other, there will be resolution. That's all.

Freaking Out

For the past few days, I've been slowly but surely freaking out. This is a higher level than a mere self-doubt. A complete and full freak out.

It's about chapter 10, you see. Yet another chapter, as I was trying to work it out, seemed to be more than one chapter. I actually started thinking maybe it should be three chapters. Three!

And then I thought, if this keeps happening, maybe I should write in the third person rather than first person. Which would mean a complete rewrite. Rewriting everything!

But splitting it up into three chapters, or switching perspectives, would not only defeat the purpose of just writing until the story is finished, but also push everything ahead. If I wrote three chapters, or rewrote everything, for the purpose of finishing one chapter, I'd never finish this. At least, that's how it felt to me.

Too many ideas!

But then I realized it just wasn't needed. Sure, I could write tons more, and maybe I will, but AFTER I've at least completed the skeleton of the story. Fleshing it out can always happen later.

I'm still panicking a bit, but I'm calming down. It's only chapter 10 after all, and I've outlined roughly 25-30 chapters. In a lot of ways, I'm still at the beginning. Maybe when I'm at the halfway point, I can make decisions like splitting up chapters, though it would be best to wait until the story is complete, as in has a beginning, middle and end, before making such decisions.

One step at a time. *nods*

This is why I feel outlines are important. In essence, I do already have a finished book with a beginning, middle and end. It's just in the form of an outline. So really, no need to panic or freak out (though I do it anyway). I just have to remind myself I already have a book and it's just a matter of writing it out, putting one word after another. That's all.

No more freaking out.

Really.

I'm okay.