McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Outline Help

<< < (2/3) > >>

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
From my perspective, the only way to get an outline that accurately reflects a story is to write the story and then do the outline.

Franzeska:
I like the "snowflake method", personally.  (You can google it.)  A lot of people find that just sitting down and writing works best for them, but I like to know exactly what my plot is going to be ahead of time.  I often brainstorm great general ideas but find, when doing my detailed outline, that I don't have enough plot for a story of the length I intend to write.  I'd rather find that out during the outline than half way through a novel when I suddenly need to add five subplots-worth of padding.

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: Franzeska on May 01, 2008, 01:21:21 AM --- I often brainstorm great general ideas but find, when doing my detailed outline, that I don't have enough plot for a story of the length I intend to write.  I'd rather find that out during the outline than half way through a novel when I suddenly need to add five subplots-worth of padding.

--- End quote ---

I can't think of a circumstance in which I would choose to write to a length other than the length the story wants to be, that notion is very weird to me.  [ I can see how work-for-hire might need this, but nobody's going to be hiring me for that any time soon. ]

Franzeska:

--- Quote from: neurovore on May 01, 2008, 02:47:42 AM ---I can't think of a circumstance in which I would choose to write to a length other than the length the story wants to be, that notion is very weird to me.  [ I can see how work-for-hire might need this, but nobody's going to be hiring me for that any time soon. ]

--- End quote ---

Very true.  A lot depends on if you'd like to get published or not.  But even beyond that, I find that I personally don't have a very good sense for how many pages a particular amount of plot would naturally cover.  Outlining first lets me decide if I really have an idea for a novel or if I should think about turning it into a short story instead (which would usually involve truncating some of the backstory type material).  The length I intend the whole work to be can have quite an influence on my style, so I like to know ahead of time.

TgirlValentine:

--- Quote from: neurovore on May 01, 2008, 02:47:42 AM ---I can't think of a circumstance in which I would choose to write to a length other than the length the story wants to be, that notion is very weird to me.  [ I can see how work-for-hire might need this, but nobody's going to be hiring me for that any time soon. ]

--- End quote ---

Well free writing is generally how i brainstorm, but i've found through writing of essays (yeah i know, not the same thing as a novel or even short story) that the true writing comes in the editing. It's gotta be how a sculptor feels when they get the statue roughed out and watch as their creation comes alive.

I've also come to understand in my journey, that i am easily overwhelmed, and the sheer amount of info needed to write a novel/series or even short story is somewhat overwhelming. My hope in the outline was not that it would "tie me down" to any specific length, but just give me a guideline. We all know that things change. That we'll get a "dramatic" idea that is amazing...but completely changes the outlook of the story/idea.

Anyway, i ramble. i'm off to bed (have i mentioned that i LOVE spell check LOL)

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page