As I have mentioned before, I am writing my long-time-bubbling-in-the-background novel by using an in-depth plot outline before beginning the real writing. The process has been surprising in a few ways. Below, I describe a what a detailed outline is for me and how it can benefit one's writing as well as ways in which it is not a perfect tool.
So what is a detailed outline?
When I began outlining, I wasn't sure to what degree of detail I needed to go but after working on it a while I hit on a decent analogy. Write in the same way you would describe the story to someone if you were sitting on a couch with them. Don't leave out any important details but instead of telling the story, you're interested in telling them about the story with an aim to keep their interest. This way, you've got a good gauge of how long to linger at different points in the story and when you need to step up the pace.
Detailed outlining is -- or maybe can be -- a slow process.
When I began outlining, I would say I had a decent idea of how the story was going to go; however, once I got in to the outlining, I realized there were -- or would have been -- many sections that would have stopped me in my tracks. Little logic errors here and there or places where I needed to decide which of two characters should die first or, in fact, whether one of the characters in question should die at all. Solving these problems in the outline proved to require no less time that they would have during the writing, but solving them at this early stage did not require stopping my writing momentum.
Detailed outlining helps someone like me.
I've made no secret about my easy distractibility. Whereas the seat-of-you-pantsers -- which always sounds a little too Nazi tank squadron for my liking -- seems somehow to avoid or correct plot holes as they occur, I am glaringly unable to do so. In the beginning when I first began serious writing, I tried many different ways of approaching the craft in an attempt to find the process that worked for me. I found the most successful work environment: coffee house that isn't freezing or McDonald's-ish or with sub-par coffee (are you listening Starbucks?). I found the writing tools that work best for me: MacBook Pro using Pages, noise canceling earbuds, Monroe Products' "So" Chord or other non-vocal ambient music. I found that, for whatever reason, I write better when dressed for work rather than sweats and tee. I work better in the ridiculously early morning or immediately following a nap. It turns out I MUST have an outline of the entire story (or at least for an entire major section) in order to keep everything in line or I'll chase a great idea into an unworkable corner every time.
Detailed outlining has most of the qualities of writing the actual story.
I find that, as I work through the outline, the characters come alive in nearly the same way as the do in the actual writing. That came as the biggest surprise of all. I would have guessed the outline to be cold and distant, but i caught myself thinking "my character wouldn't do/say that" many times and, in those instances, it was comforting to know the fix could not only be quick but I could just note a suggestion as to the change. I didn't need to take time to nail down the exact wording. I found this part of outlining similar to a playwrite's staging notes: "Chetan backs away, stumbling back in his terror at..." And in the event a whole section does go off track, it's way easier to redirect/correct an entire chapter than the long-form story.
Detailed outlining keeps the story moving.
Somewhat akin to guiding oneself away from tempting tangents, outlining in this way moves the story from one gripping moment to the next. When all one has are the basic events and the important items to remember, one tends not to ruminate unnecessarily in any one place for too long.
Detailed writing -- I've been assured -- makes the actual writing easier.
Chris Roberson (who can be see here doing childish cartwheels) encouraged me to consider detailed outlining when he spoke to the San Antonio Writers Guild in mid-2009. In that talk, he said the main benefit of outlining, past the reasons I've already mentioned above, was that once the actual writing begins, one cruises. He said that it is not unusual to pop out 20 pages -- good pages -- in a day because all the questions are answered. The path is cleared, so all one has to do is walk it, or in this case, run it. And to confuse things with another layer, the benefit of writing at that pace is the voice remains more consistent throughout the work, something which which a beginning writer may struggle. Too often, I have taken too long on a story. When I've finished and read it back, the writer at the beginning of the work is clearly in one state of mind or skill level and in a different place by the end. Readers enjoy experiencing change in a character through a story, but I'm pretty sure they don't look for or appreciate that same change in the writer.
Possible pitfalls of detailed outlining.
It's difficult to do more than guess at the possible pitfalls of working this way since I haven't done much actual writing based on the outline work, but I know one element that doesn't fit well into the outline is setting and sensation. Since the outline works exclusively with gripping events and the bridges between them, only the parts of setting that are key to those events being possible are included. A good idea may be to note at the top of each outline "Don't forget to paint a picture," and "Remember the five senses;" otherwise, the writing may stick too literally to the events, making the story sound cold and distant. I'll have to remember to turn the heat on when I start writing.
The verdict.
I wouldn't want to work any other way when it comes to longer works. I can certainly see a place for seat-of-my-pants at some point. Maybe detailed outlining will teach me enough about what does and doesn't work in plots so that someday I can just wing it. That just isn't possible now. I almost wrote that for shorter works, a detailed outline may be unnecessary, but I think one may be even more necessary given the less forgiving nature of short works compared to long. So let me say, for works under 1000 words one probably doesn't need an outline. For anything else, please give it a shot.
Detailed patterns in line drawings by Pedro Lucena courtesty of Gentle Pure Space: Graphic design, art, and other creative inspiration.
