To Outline or Not to Outline

Discuss writing, including writing tips & tricks, writing philosophy, writer's block, etc. If you have grammar questions, marketing questions, or if you want feedback on a poem or short story you wrote, please use the corresponding forum below.
Featured Topic: How to Get Your Book Published
Forum rules
If you have spelling or grammar questions, please post them in the International Grammar section.

If you want feedback for poetry or short stories you have written, please post the poem or short story in either the Creative Original Works: Short Stories section or the Creative Original Works: Poetry section.

If you have a book that you want reviewed, click here to submit your book for review.
User avatar
ALynnPowers
Posts: 8536
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 07:14
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 417
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alynnpowers.html
Latest Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird
Reading Device: B0051QVF7A
Publishing Contest Votes: 13

Re: To Outline or Not to Outline

Post by ALynnPowers »

I always thought of myself as a plotter, but I guess my distaste for outlining would contradict that belief.
I am a secret pantser! Who knew!?!
User avatar
Hadiqa
Posts: 227
Joined: 02 Nov 2014, 03:53
Favorite Author: Infinite
Favorite Book: Hundreds
Currently Reading: How The Wolf Lost Her Heart by Sarah
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-hadiqa.html

Post by Hadiqa »

ALynnPowers wrote:I always thought of myself as a plotter, but I guess my distaste for outlining would contradict that belief.
I am a secret pantser! Who knew!?!
LOL
“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

Reading Now:
Nothing -_- Because of School
User avatar
ALynnPowers
Posts: 8536
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 07:14
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 417
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alynnpowers.html
Latest Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird
Reading Device: B0051QVF7A
Publishing Contest Votes: 13

Post by ALynnPowers »

Hadiqa wrote: I only make outlines for novels I plan to write in future, dont know when. Other wise I hate writing a whole tree plan or outline for an easy or story. . . waste of time.
Exactly! About the waste of time thing! I feel like the story itself is the outline. Hahah.
hareid03
Posts: 120
Joined: 10 Oct 2014, 11:56
Bookshelf Size: 7
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-hareid03.html

Post by hareid03 »

I love outlining because it makes me feel focused and if I forget anything while I'm writing I can look back at my notes. I also find it easier to keep my story straight in my head when I outline it first. But I also like to take a break and just free write a bit and see where that leads me. Though after I do that I usually end up having to change my outline around it, or change aspects of what I wrote to fit into my outline better. Mixing the two is the best for my productivity level because its the perfect mix of creative spontaneity and organization.
User avatar
Anacoana
Posts: 117
Joined: 30 Oct 2014, 13:30
Favorite Author: Too many to count
Favorite Book: More plentiful than cloud wisps
Currently Reading: Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-anacoana.html

Post by Anacoana »

I have vague outlines; the one for my romance novel went like this:

Characters meet
A is scared B is contemptuous
They become friends
Fall in love
etc. etc.

It's a very vague, anything can happen sort of outline, which I like because that way I have a plan and know that there's enough I've got figured out to actually make a story out of it, but I can still pants virtually all of it, which is what I love to do.
User avatar
Avid SciFi Fan
Posts: 26
Joined: 07 Dec 2014, 09:37
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Avid SciFi Fan »

I outline. I find it helps me plan out where I need the story to go and adds some structure. Do I deviate from the outline? Yes. As momentum builds with the writing it may drift away from the outline, but then I just update the outline as needed.
Sarah10
Posts: 45
Joined: 17 Dec 2014, 22:42
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Sarah10 »

Be open to change but OUTLINE!
Amheiser
Posts: 364
Joined: 24 Sep 2013, 19:41
Currently Reading: Freedom
Bookshelf Size: 24
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amheiser.html
Latest Review: "Beginners only dance book" by Allen g darnel

Post by Amheiser »

I like to outline just because it helps me feel like I have structure and order to my ideas, and helps me remember where I am going, but I also like to remain flexible and open to new ideas as I write so my outlines always have side notes and arrows. I feel like if I just tried to write without a somewhat clear idea of where I am going then I might get lost and off on a tangent and might end up making no sense at all and have to start all over. For me, it feels good to have a base to write from.
Latest Review: "Beginners only dance book" by Allen g darnel
Noeld
Posts: 82
Joined: 27 Dec 2014, 20:10
Bookshelf Size: 16
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-noeld.html

Post by Noeld »

I totally agree with you that I just can't outline. Once I start to plan ahead more than a few paragraphs (in my head or on a page) the story instantly becomes boring and tedious for me to write until I catch up with my thought/outline, which I never do.
Chris Dutton
Posts: 102
Joined: 02 Jan 2015, 11:24
Bookshelf Size: 10
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-chris-dutton.html
Latest Review: "NovoPulp 2013-2014 Anthology" by Niamh Brown, Ted Ewen, H. David Blalock, Lacerant Plainer, Micha Fire, Michael David Matula, Rich La

Post by Chris Dutton »

milliethom wrote:I have a basic outline for all three books of my trilogy. I know the basic plots of each, and where my characters should be heading. But having now almost finished Book 2, I know there is far more in those stories than I had imagined before I set out. For me, plots and characters don't keep to the strict plans I made beforehand. The basic skeleton is still there, but the flesh only develops as I write.
Exactly the same for me.

I found it useful to keep the story discreet rather than meandering through Europe aimlessly. It has worked well, but I do only very occasionally check it.
Latest Review: "NovoPulp 2013-2014 Anthology" by Niamh Brown, Ted Ewen, H. David Blalock, Lacerant Plainer, Micha Fire, Michael David Matula, Rich La
User avatar
nina7210
Posts: 11
Joined: 11 Jan 2015, 00:10
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nina7210.html

Post by nina7210 »

I do it both ways sometimes I use an outline and sometimes I make an outline and don't use it and same times I just drive right in.
User avatar
A P Bullard
Posts: 56
Joined: 14 Jan 2015, 20:47
Favorite Author: H. P. Lovecraft
Favorite Book: The Marriage Plot
Currently Reading: Anna and the French Kiss
Bookshelf Size: 47
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-a-p-bullard.html
Latest Review: "Reckless Illusions" by Claude Dancourt

Post by A P Bullard »

I have been writing since I was five years old, and never outlined a single work of fiction - until recently. I'm currently writing an LGBTQ YA romance. I added more plot twists and characters than I had originally intended and, once I reached the 20,000 word mark, I realized it wasn't heading in the direction it needed to. Well, not as fast as it should be anyway.

So, I outlined where I wanted the rest of the book to go. It's helped immensely in visualizing the plot paths and the intertwining lives of the characters. It also adds a feeling of organization that helps keep the feeling of being overwhelmed at bay. It's also easier to figure out the chapters, so they're tight and focused.

It doesn't come across as stifling my creativity, or any such issue, because I am the one doing the planning, outlining, and writing. I recommend it, at least for a few key chapters.
A. P. Bullard
Latest Review: "Reckless Illusions" by Claude Dancourt
zeldas_lullaby
Posts: 5980
Joined: 27 Mar 2013, 20:01
Favorite Author: ---------
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =3452">The Thorn Birds</a>
Currently Reading: The Last Stonestepper
Bookshelf Size: 79
Signature Addition: View official OnlineBookClub.org review of Forever Twelve

Post by zeldas_lullaby »

I outline at the start of each installment in my series. That gets me going, and then I toss the outline and run with what's happening. Then I intuit how things will come together. That way (and this might sound crazy), the characters are telling me their story rather than me dictating their lives.
User avatar
E_Hunter
Posts: 8
Joined: 23 Jan 2015, 21:25
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by E_Hunter »

Whatever works for you as a writer! I see these really detailed outlines with every spec placed and timed. I can't do it. I write out what will happen and any specific ideas or time frames involved but I don't do a major paper board outline.
User avatar
Gustavsson
Posts: 88
Joined: 22 Jan 2015, 22:23
Currently Reading: A Darker Shade of Magic
Bookshelf Size: 25
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gustavsson.html

Post by Gustavsson »

I can't outline extensively. When I have a thorough outline, I find myself frozen and unable to write the actual story. The spontaneity is gone, I guess.
But I do like to have a rough idea of most of the things that will happen in the story. I like to know:
1. Where I'm beginning
2. Where I'm ending
3. Where the climax will take place and what will occur there
4. At least three events that will happen in the middle.
Other than that, I don't care that much, and the chronology of the middle events can be fuzzy. It leaves room for change. But I do like to know those things, and to know the characters fairly well, before I start writing.
Post Reply

Return to “Writing Discussion”