FEATURE: How to Write an Outline

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

Outlining a Story/Novel

With examples from The X-Files


Outlines are like plans or blueprints for a story. They create a visual abstract of the plots, dialogues and scenes, and are guidelines as to what happens at each step of the process. They are a necessary item for some, but not always a good thing for others.

Some people can sit down with an idea and start writing, the plot and scenes falling into place as they go. Others have to sit down and plan out every last detail beforehand, right down to writing down what each character looks like and what scene should go where. And then there are those who fall in between - they sketch out a vague idea of where the plot will head and dive right in.

The good news is that every one of those methods are the correct way to write your story. These different ways to approach writing a novel or a story are all worthy in their own right. The deciding factor on which method to use depends solely on the author and what works best for them.

So what exactly are the various methods of outlining?

There are several ways to outline a fic. Each story consists of a beginning, middle and an end. Depending on the length of the story, there could be a whole lot in the middle, but for the purpose of this feature, we'll stick to novels with the understanding that all of these methods work very well for a simple short story.

Before we get into the meat of this feature, I also want to stress that no matter what method you use to outline your story, always remember that outlines are not set in stone. Your story will deviate from your outline and you should embrace those changes.

Summary Method

A summary outline is just that - a paragraph or two that gives a summary of the plot. There's no definite structure to the outline, just a bare-bones look at the story or idea. This sometimes doubles as a synopsis.

Example: A man finds an old abandoned mine, complete with strange noises and lights. He goes deeper into the mine and sees something strange and when he goes to investigate, there are remnants of alien machines and human skeletons. Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate. Once they get to the scene, they find that there's more to the machines than they bargained for, and they race against time to find the groups behind it all.

Short, sweet and to the point. The above example would probably have more details than what I put in there, but you get the idea. Using a summary to outline a story is the simplest way to do it.

Formal Outline

This is usually what most people think of when faced with the daunting task of outlining a story. This type of outline comes complete with Roman numerals and bullet points to help steer the author toward a complete story. It's very structured and usually has an ending already plotted out. Many people will sometimes include phrases and/or highlights they want to include in the story.

Example:

1. Beginning - A wizened old man stumbles across an old abandoned mine, complete with strange noises and lights.
   
   
   
   1. The man is old, gray hair, blue eyes and a worried expression as he investigates.
      
   2. He finds some strange looking mechanical devices, but it's the human skeletons piled up alongside one wall that scares him the most.
      
   
   
2. Mulder is in his office reading a report, when Scully interrupts him.
   
   
   
   1. They talk about the case they were just given.
      
   2. Scully practices her "keep things sensible" mode as she listens to Mulder start in on his alien theories.
      

Some people take this method even further by having a detailed character profile drawn up for each character. This is fairly easy in fanfiction, but the profile helps when you have an original character that will play a major role in your fic.

Plot Cards

This method involves index cards that are set up for each chapter, or in the case of a short story, each progression of the plot. Plotlines, bullet points, dialogue and anything else you can think of are written on the cards, then laid out on a table or the floor in the order you think they would logically fit in the story. The cards can be rearranged, taken out, or new ones added in as you plan out the narrative. Once you are happy with it, pile the cards up in their proper order and write the story as you work your way through the stack.

Storyboarding

Storyboarding is similar to the Plot Cards method, except it's mostly done on paper or a dry erase board. The story is broken out into the various story points, usually written within boxes, then connected by lines and/or arrows drawn in flowchart style. As the plot progresses, the lines and arrows can be redirected to other areas until the story flows in the right direction and writing commences.

Outlining as You Go

This method is very useful for those who don't like to outline, but find that they need something to help keep track of little details. Basically, it involves writing down specific plot lines, character details and other important points as you write to make it easier to tie up all the loose ends when you get to the end of the story. This method works better for longer works, such as novels, but may be beneficial to those who write short stories, especially when noting original character details, such as eye color, etc.

Snowflake Method

This method is based on the mathematical theory of taking a small idea and continually building upon it until you have a full-fledged novel. It focuses on managing creativity to organize thoughts and ideas into a "well-structured" story by using a 10-step program designed to help in completing a novel. There is a lot of work involved in the process, requiring many months of preparation before you start writing. A spreadsheet program is also used at the end of the process to help organize everything one final time.

Basically, the first step involves writing a one-sentence summary of the novel. In the next step, the sentence is expanded on by adding in a little more detail. After that, detailed character profiles are written, along with their relevance to the story. Step four takes each sentence in the paragraph written in step 2 and expanded on again. Then the character profiles are built up further, going back and forth between the summary and the character profiles until you have an extremely structured outline, at which point the first draft can finally be written. Very time consuming and may be bit of an overkill for a short story, but it's worth mentioning for those of you who may find it useful. For more information, check out the website.

To outline or not to outline...

As I stated earlier, outlining a story is not for everyone. In fact, I fall in with the "take an idea and start writing" category (or "pantser" if you go by the NaNoWriMo definition) when working on stories and novels. For me, it's hard to outline a story when I don't know what's going to happen next or what the ending will be until I get to it. Not to mention the fun of reading the story as I write. Hee! I love the surprises! But I can appreciate the value of outlining a story and realize it's a wonderful tool that should be included in everyone's "writer's toolkit" no matter what method they use the most. And besides, for those of you who are like me, you never know when an outline may be needed.

Comments

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

Whoo hoo! XF FTW!

I can't seem to settle on any one method of writing a story, mostly because it largely depends on the genre (porn, action/adventure/romance/terror/suspense/thriller/fluff, etc.) and the target length.

I tend to write a series of "keystone" scenes or sentences first to convey the emotional arc (character development), and use a dry outline for the action so that I can keep track of logistics (who's where doing what when) and then wind up deviating from it completely. :-p

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

Well that's an interesting concept! It sounds a little like the Snowflake method, except without all the steps and extra work involved. I'm willing to bet the deviating part is the best part of the whole process for you. :)

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I wonder why so little writing advice about story plotting NEGLECTS character development in favor of just listing how events unfold.

I'm of the camp that says "This character should go from emotional Point A to Point B by the end of the chapter/short story. Imma manipulate events so that it happens."

After all, the reason *I* read fiction is because I'm engaged in the characters, not necessarily how exactly Protagonist defeats Antagonist.

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

In other words, you prefer literary fiction. :D All talk and no play. Hee! But yeah, I see what you mean about story plotting vs. character development. I always contend that a good story needs both, otherwise it would be just too boring (the all talk and no play from above), or confusing (because there's no character to relate to), or both.

I'm curious though. When you say a character should "go from emotional Point A to Point B by the end of the chapter," wouldn't that be a bit too much? Dealing with an emotional setback in every chapter can be trying... or am I way off here and you're only going for a setback here and there?

Either way, we read stories the same way we write them. Whatever works best!

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

Nah, I don't necessarily prefer "literary" fiction, where the narrator drones on introspectively and navel-gazes ad nauseum. Good writing should be a balance of action, emotion, and suspense. My favorite genres are science fiction and terror (or "weird" fiction).

Emotional progress -- whether it's the tiniest step from ignorance to discovery, surprise to acceptance, dogmatism to doubt -- shouldn't whump the reader with unrelenting angst. So if a military commando kills an army of zombies in one chapter, but fails to realize by the end of the chapter that the supply of ammo she just depleted jeopardizes the future survival of her loved ones, then there should be consequences to that lack of character development: namely, an event that forces her to use her braaaaaaaaains instead of brawn. ;-D

[rebecca2525.livejournal.com]

Not that I've written that many long stories yet, but I seem to be the "background info" writer. My actual outline is rather brief, with the key events layed out but not broken down into individual scenes. Then I collect a lot of background information. So for the X-File example, I would write down what the mine had been used for, how the machines worked, how the skeletons ended up there, who the aliens were who built the mine, why they deserted it etc. Also profiles for original characters. And since it's probably going to be a mystery: how Mulder and Scully could misinterpret what they see before they finally learn the truth, or how they could misread intentions of OCs. The most important thing for me is to know the solution, the ending, so that I can focus on getting there.

I can imagine that the procedure for writing plot-driven stories vs character-driven stories varies; I think I'm just not the person to write longer character driven pieces.

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

Finding the ending before even starting a fic is the hardest part for me. I envy you in this respect. :) I have to work my way through the entire story before finally getting to the ending, and by that time I have the whole story ready to be typed out.

I can imagine that the procedure for writing plot-driven stories vs character-driven stories varies;

Longer stories/novels, rely on both. You can't have one without the other, otherwise the story wouldn't hold up after a few pages. But then again, adding both components into a story is what it's all about!!

[caeseria.livejournal.com]

This is very interesting, because I'm a 'pantser' too! ;) In fact, I find if I try to outline a story in any written form, my brain considers the story as 'written' and immediately loses interest. So I tend to percolate it in my head over and over, perhaps through the course of a couple of days or weeks until it's all plotted, and then bang it out ;)

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

I know what you mean about losing interest. I have quite a few stories that I've played out in my head until it's complete (like watching a movie), only to have trouble writing it down because I already know how it's going to end. It's time to move on to the next one. lol But then again, I try to convince myself that the story will change as I type it up which will make it interesting and fun again.

Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. :)

[haldoor.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's me too! I have so many things started but then I lose interest along the way. I try to outline a little, but too much and it's just not going to work. Although, to be honest, the ones that have worked (in terms of longer) have been ones where I just knew the location of the end. Not what was going to happen, but just WHERE. Otherwise, I'm all, lets see where this goes. I'm so haphazard though - some plotting and research happens on occasion.... it's a wonder I do anything, really! Thanks for this though; most useful.

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

I know! This just goes to show that outlining is not a "one-size-fits-all" method of writing longer pieces. :) We all have to go with what works best for us.

Thanks!!

[clocketpatch]

You know, the only time I actually finished a bit of long origi!fic was using something rather like the snowflake method. Takes forever to plot everything out but so worth it in the end. I should use it more. Might actuallyg et some stuff finished then...