To Outline or Not to Outline

Jovip · Post by **Jovip** » 24 Jan 2015, 20:24

I think it depends on your personal style. With me, i end up doing alot of outlining so i have very solid connecting points in my narratives. Which i personally find gives me more creative freedom to fill in between these points without losing the overarching purpose of my writing.

khudecek · Post by **khudecek** » 24 Jan 2015, 21:16

I don't outline anything. I've tried it but I find it too restrictive.

However, I did use the bubble method when I wrote the short story for the contest they're having here. I found it to be pretty useful but it took some time and a bunch of paper to get it together. After the first draft of the story was written, I took it off the file cabinet (I had it taped to the lateral file next to my desk) and put it away.

Maybe if I were to try to outline again or do the bubble method more often, I might actually have something worthy of print.

dramaquill · Post by **dramaquill** » 13 Feb 2015, 14:30

This varies with me, depending on my project. Sometimes, the outline comes from a simple idea that's been playing around in my head. I have the basics but need to flesh it out more. Other times, the story comes like scenes from a movie and I just jump right in and start writing. I have even written half of a new story before stopping and going back to outline because at that point, I needed to make some decisions and figure out some details. I don't believe there is a right or a wrong way. Whatever works for you.

CataclysmicKnight · Post by **CataclysmicKnight** » 13 Feb 2015, 20:34

Outlining always feels like a restriction to me - when I write, I like to let the characters wander wherever they'll end up going. Unfortunately, this typically ends up creating a pretty boring story in the long run... For me, it seems to work best when I come up with a pretty loose outline (think a few points per chapter) and then flowing from there.

aabortner · Post by **aabortner** » 15 Feb 2015, 15:02

I didn't used to be an outliner, but the writing group I was part of in college did this activity that kind of turned me on to it. We made our outlines like a time line on poster boards. You filled the time line with key events you wanted to happen in the story, roughly in the order you wanted them to happen. It made it much easier, for me at least, to conceptualize what I needed to have happen in each chapter, but it also gave me the flexibility to rearrange things if needed, without having to rewrite my entire outline up to that point.

THWilliams82 · Post by **THWilliams82** » 15 Feb 2015, 17:10

I find it too hard to write an outline. I have the idea of where the book is heading and find that inspiration takes me and I just write it out. (and edit later).

ariesdollface · Post by **ariesdollface** » 08 Mar 2015, 09:25

wow, it's pretty encouraging to see just how many writers hate outlines. i hate them too. somehow they feel counterproductive to the "creative flow." nevertheless, i will sometimes create what i consider a conceptual outline which, for me, is nothing more than an explanation of what i want each chapter to accomplish (what is it about? what ideas/themes are introduced and/or developed? etc.) it's a way of giving a free-flowing idea some degree of structure. i don't always abide by it but it feels more controlled than just going with the flow.

TrishaAnn92 · Post by **TrishaAnn92** » 16 Mar 2015, 20:55

I personally don't outline, I just let it all flow because that has always been what worked best for me, even in school when we were supposed to outline, I would but I would never follow it.

Ilove2read_ · Post by **Ilove2read_** » 17 Mar 2015, 01:28

The only time that I outline is if i'm writing a research paper or an essay. When I write for fun I like to write whatever creative ideas come to mind I love free writing it's the best!

Jesska6029 · Post by **Jesska6029** » 18 Mar 2015, 20:47

I use outlines for everything I write. I don't have too many details in it, but I just write enough, so I never get lost in my own writing. It really helps me when I get stuck because it's there to refer back to.

theredhairedcrow · Post by **theredhairedcrow** » 22 Mar 2015, 09:04

When I am writing fiction, I only make a brief sketch of the ideas/story I have developed, especially when I first began. I don't want to be confined or "pre-led" (as it were) to force a storyline in a certain direction. I learned this only years after outlining in great detail then beginning a story; and too often I found myself having written my characters into a proverbial corner.

Also, I think it limits where the characters want or need to go to fully tell their story, things they need to express to the reader. In some ways, as the writer, I feel I just need to add descriptions or "flesh out" what they've already felt so readers can understand them better.

Nowadays, I usually spend many days, months or even years meditating upon a character and story so that it is fully formed in my mind, unforgettable, fully to fruition, so that whenever I have the time I can write it down. That way I don't need an outline. If anything, I do make notes of ideas, dialogues or important scenes I want to include.

khudecek · Post by **khudecek** » 22 Mar 2015, 12:13

I do Intelligence Dossiers for my characters. It makes them much more real.

sjauhar · Post by **sjauhar** » 23 Mar 2015, 16:01

ModernTimes,

Thanks so much for talking about how you write. I have had a few ides for books and have jotted notes down, but always thought I needed a more formal approach that was similar to writing a Thesis. I do think that sometimes having a general outline could be useful for something like Historical Fiction (so you can make notations on historical events or facts) but has anyone here done a period book? And does having an outline help with that or not?

khudecek · Post by **khudecek** » 24 Mar 2015, 06:01

sjauhar wrote:ModernTimes,

Thanks so much for talking about how you write. I have had a few ides for books and have jotted notes down, but always thought I needed a more formal approach that was similar to writing a Thesis. I do think that sometimes having a general outline could be useful for something like Historical Fiction (so you can make notations on historical events or facts) but has anyone here done a period book? And does having an outline help with that or not?

I have and it hasn't been so long ago. It's helpful to keep notes but I can't emphasize enough to do your research and not from just one source. The book I ghostwrote was redone by the recipient and he copied and pasted segments from Wiki into it. Don't do that. It's insulting to your reader because they can go read the same thing you just put in there and they know when they're reading reference material. At least, I did. But, I'm sure you're much more creative than that.

Braktooth · Post by **Braktooth** » 24 Mar 2015, 18:05

It really depends on how your mind works. Some people do really well writing on the fly. Personally, I need an outline. That way if I vary from it, I know where I'm varying, and I can figure out if I like what that does to the entire structure of my story. Also, I can keep track of what is going on for longer pieces.

I've read some works where I was convinced the author didn't have an outline, and needed one. So long as you can avoid that, you're doing all right.