Tuesday, April 17, 2012

O is for Outlining

I cringe when I hear this word. It's not my favorite part of writing.

It's a necessary part of my contract work. Every work-for-hire assignment requires an outline, just to make sure your vision and your editor's vision are in the same stratosphere.

I've recently done a bit more outlining for fiction. I just completed my most comprehensive outline for a novel ever. Literally, at least one (more often two) paragraphs about each chapter. It's almost 10 pages long. This is a feat for me, even though for some of you plotters it may not sound like a big deal.

I'm hoping this will make for an easy road map for my rewrite. Yes, I'm rewriting my novel. Hopefully it won't take five years. I'm aiming for mid-summer. And I hope my outline will help.

Do you outline?

6 comments:

Charmaine Clancy said...

Good luck with the rewrite - I love outlines and do find it makes writing each scene easier, hopefully it will work for you too :)

Wagging Tales

Laura Pauling said...

That is a feat. And a ten page outline is a lot! That's more than I do. But with a rewrite that's a little bit different. I might do one that long if I knew I was rewriting something. Good luck!

Jennifer Hoffine said...

I'm a pantster doing a have-to outline right now too...luckily not ten pages long:)

Katy Upperman said...

I like to work from an outline. I've experimented with flying by the seat of my pants and ended up with a 133,000 word manuscript that wasn't heavy on actual plot. Eek. My outlines aren't terribly detailed (first I do the major story beats, then a brief scene outline), but they're working for me at this point. Sometimes, though, I envy writers who are able to dive right in!

Elizabeth Twist said...

I like a sketchy outline that hits the key plot turns.

Wow...rewrite. From scratch, or more like a heavy second draft? Either way, good luck to you!

A-Z @ Elizabeth Twist

Jocelyn Rish said...

Yeah, I'm a pantser, so I also cringe when I hear outline. I've tried it a few times, but my stories always read stilted and forced. Good luck with the rewrite!

Wishing you continued success with the A to Z challenge,
Jocelyn