Outlining With Simone and Nicolette
The eternal debate: Pantsing vs. Plotting if you're not familiar there is generally two schools of thought on how to write a novel, either you make it up as you go AKA Pantsing or your make detailed plans prior to writing AKA Plotting. Katrina_Crane and Lana_sky talked about their preferred method of non-planning and today NicoletteAndrews and AuRivoirSimone talk about their love of planning.
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Nicolette: Hey there! Today AuRivoirSimone and I are going to talk about our mutual obsession with planning and outlining a novel! First off we'll both say a bit about why we love outlining. Go ahead, Simone.
Simone: Hai! *waves* I am an outlining fiend. I actually thinking outlining and planning might be more fun than writing itself. It's like a quick fix: I get to see everything unravel and come together in a few minutes or hours (or weeks, depending on the novel), rather than having to to the arduous task of actually writing it (even though I love that part, too). How about you, Nicole?
Nicolette: SAME. Ok here's the thing I cannot start writing without knowing exactly what's going to happen. I obsessed with foreshadowing and leaving little hints and for me the best way to do that is to outline. Plus what Simone said, you get to see everything ahead of time. You know can see all the threads that link together your evil plants for your characters. And just Ah! It's so satisfying. AND it can save you from writing something you would have hated a third of the way through because you didn't realize how awful this idea was until you started.
Simone: Oooh that's a good point about foreshadowing! I'm the same - I need need NEED to outline, especially with my paranormal or fantasy stories, because I tend to have so many plot lines going all at once with different 'reveals' and information dropped at certain times, so to keep on top of my brain, outlining is a must or I'll end up making a bigger mess than usual lol!
Nicolette: Yes. Ok outlining makes writing so much smoother, for the first draft and it really helps destroy writer's block. A lot of people sit down, go to write and then... When you know what's going to happen, you can build up the story. You know what needs to happen to get the character from point a to b to c. It's great for productivity and when you go to revise, since you had a solid outline to start, you don't have to spend ages on rewriting huge segments.
Simone: Yes! It's also great for staving off writer's block because you're short on ideas or inspiration. I still get my share of blocks, but outlining can help cut the majority of those and keep everything going. So do you have any particular outlining processes or how do you go about yours?
Nicolette: My outlining process is ever changing. But this is the basics of it. I start writing out a bunch of ideas in one of my many, many notebooks. Things I want to happen in the book, concepts I like (Say hemophiliac vampire) and from there I write a synposis, in my notebook and do a really rough 'sketch' of the story and give the high points of what will happen. From there I break it down into scenes and start thinking about what happens in the scene whose in the scene. Some people refer to these at beats. At this point, I have almost entirely been in notebooks. Once I have a rough sketch and some beats. I go to my computer. I use a program called scrivener which has built in notecards where I can divide everything up by scenes or chapters and write out detailed descriptions of my book. I do this for each scene and chapter. And then I go through and read the ouline, like it's a draft look for plot holes and fill them in. And add scenes where needed.
Nicolette: What about you?
Simone: Whooa, your outlines are intense!! For me, I usually get ideas *right* before I fall asleep (or when I'm falling asleep on public transport), and since I never have paper handy I've started e-mailing myself notes. And for almost every story I've ever written, I've had at least *two* different outlines. For stories like Strays or Nightfire, I tend to write down scenes in bullet-point form in word documents. I try to start with the climax, then jump to the beginning so i can see where each plot line starts and where it ends, and then figure out how I got there, which - as you can imagine - gets really messy, especially with more and more plot lines developing as I go which is when I switch to outline method number two: what I like to call the 'paint' method. Basically, I start a new 'paint' document, divide it into four or five columns (or more) and then depending on the story I title each column by section of the book OR by plot line OR character. Then I try to divide each scene into each column so I know which bits need to happen before I can proceed onto the next part. It gives me some creative leeway in the grey areas to decide how I get to each point, which saves me from getting bored, but also keeps me on track so I don't go flying into the middle of nowhere (which I still manage to do lol!)
Simone: I also use OneNote, although that tends to be more for character outlines & world building than strictly outlining
Nicolette: I love the paint idea. Stories with multiple characters or lots of subplots can get overwhelming fast. But I am addicted to a complex plot and I cannot stop. I've recently started color coding my virtual note cards to keep them all in line. Do you find it's easier to work on one plot/character at a time and then figure out where they intercept or do you just go chronologically? Cause I use to do chronological and I found that I filled in with a lot of fluff, but when I did everyone or everything separate then tried to fit them together, I found places where I could kind of 'fill in the cracks so to speak' for example. In my outline I am working on right now. I have one character who is meant to be in an entirely different realm while he is also supposed to be with another character smacking some sense into her. Because I had to bring him back in a hurry I was inspired to find a way to help him get out a sticky situation, where before he would have just strolled in and out.
Simone: That's a tough one, actually! I'm trying to think how I developed Nightfire & Strays. Nightfire is more of a revised version of Wildfire, so I guess I kind of knew how everything was going to interconnect already, I just had to adjust what I wanted to do differently and work out the plot holes. I'm really weird about how I plot - I tend to approach everything like a mathematical equation. I have the 'solution', aka the climax, and I have the variables jumbled around somewhere, I just need to figure out how they add together. And then the equation is never 'finished' - as I'm writing, I'll notice things I missed or I'll have new brainwaves about taking stuff in a different direction and my outlines can change. My plots never start out as complex as they end up, but I'd never be able to build on it and keep everything together if I didn't outline from the get-go. Strays was just supposed to be about a werewolf soldier with PTSD who comes back home to heal, but I wound up with subplots about pack wars and armies going after werewolves with royal blood. But with my outline, I was able to see how everything would tie together in the end and I love, love, LOVE, how I can see them all intersect near the end *.*
Simone: I'll be honest, the reason why I love outlining so much is because it makes me feel like an evil genius, lol!
Nicolette: I love that too. When I write my outline I get to see everything mapped out ahead of time and I feel more confident about the story. I think there's a huge misconception about outlining that you're going to know exactly what is going to happen line by line. But that's not true. The dialogue and the character themselves really change the way the story progresses and I am constantly editing my outlines as I go, to adjust holes I missed or to change the direction. I think the key is to know HOW the story ends and then work backwards. There's a ton of room for creative adjustment, it's like a roadmap to your story, you can take any exit you fancy along the way.
Simone: Oooh, that reminds me! Sometimes I have to write out my dialogue before I ever write a scene and outline how that's going to go, because I'm so horrific at it naturally!
Simone: Yes!! And it can end up going drastically different to how you intended, but that's not necessarily a bad thing
Nicolette: Sometimes when I don't know what's going into a scene I will just write out the dialouge nothing else and that's a good jumping off point.
Nicolette: Do you have any tips for people who are considering switching from pantsing to outlining?
Simone: I guess the easiest method for me (as well as the quickest) to start with is just opening up paint, drawing up some columns or even creating a spider-diagram. You can even do this on paper! (I have done this on so many napkins, hehe!) Just jot down all the images and scenes you have in your head and then try to number them so you know what order they go in and then write little notes on how they all connect. It's like watching your brain appear on paper, except you don't forget anything a few hours later lol!
Nicolette: I want to add to yours. I think barfing out all the ideas you have is the first most important step. Whatever works for you individually, spider web, synopsis, or even doing bullet points. And like you said, Simone, putting everything in order. My biggest piece of advice is figure out how it ends! Starting with the end makes a huge difference when you're outlining. If you're like me and you need really detailed outlines to function, then start there and then figure out where it starts. You have point a and point z now you do what I call 'What if? Start thinking of different scenarios that can lead your character through all the points of the story. Put your major events that you've come up with in order and think about how the character got to where they are. You'll be surprised by what you come up with.
Simone: Hehe, I feel like I should say, "It was all barf once!" because that is literally how I feel about anything I've ever written. "I remember when that was word vomit!! Look how you've grown cry emoticon "
Nicolette: YES! That is so true. I have literally hated every single thing I've ever written at some point. I think it's a critical part to the creative process. If I don't hate it there must be something wrong with it.
Simone: LOL!! I always start out thinking "My god this is the best thing I've ever written ever, I'm a genius" and by the time I read over it I have to wonder if I'm insane. LOL
Nicolette: SAME! I'll get an idea start writing and then about half way through I wonder what horrible monstrosity I am calling fiction.
Simone: Do you have any particular programs or even web site pages that you use for outlining??
Nicolette: Yes. About a year ago I got this amazing program called Scrivener. It's a writing program and planners dream all rolled into one.
Simone: I keep meaning to check that out!! I'm so old school that Paint is my tool, haha! Well, Paint and OneNote. OneNote is like heaven to me *.* I CAN COLOUR CODE THINGS!!
Nicolette: Ok, just to nerd out for a minute. I used to use onenote, until I discovered Scrivener. It's like one note and word had a baby, but like super-sized with all these extra features.
Nicolette: Seriously, I can color code, you can upload images. You can split screen, full screen, and you can even compile the files for printing or turn it into an ebook for proof reading.
Nicolette: This program seriously. It is my life.
Nicolette: That's a screen shot of my current WIP. All the chapters are in there. Those little notes are my chapter outlines. Below is a screen shot of the prologue. And on the side there's a place where I can read notes etc. PLUS. I keep all my story notes for a series in here.
Simone: I'm totally sneaking peaks and trying to get spoilers btw tongue emoticon.
Nicolette: That's why I made it so small. HAHAHA
Simone: I have a few screenshots of mine, but I'm very too the point spoilery so i blurred out the "good" bits, hehe
Nicolette: OMG Your organization is so pretty! I feel like I just found my organizational soul mate. HAHAHA
Simone: Hahaha I HAVE to organise everything because my plots get so convoluted. I'd be so lost!!
Simone: My Nightfire files are the worst. Everything is sorted into "important", "very important" "so important you NEED this" and i'm like "well which one is it?!"
Nicolette: HAHA. I cannot help but overcomplicate my plots. It's just in my nature. Which is funny cause I'm a pretty simple person IRL.
Nicolette: I have one more question: Do you have any books that you'd refer on outlining or even writing in general?
Simone: I tend to pick and choose which tips and stuff I take from books, but one I keep going back to is The Creative Writing Coursebook (edited by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs). It has a collection of different authors' takes on various parts of the writing process, and there's a whole section on plotting and how others get their ideas down grin emoticon
Nicolette: Oh I haven't read that one. I'll have to check it out.
Nicolette: I recently read a great book on outlining called 'Take Off Your Pants' (No joke that's the real Title) It has some great tips for breaking down a story and the benefits of outlining. Also there's another book about productivity that I read recently called 2k to 10K amazing Book. There's some great outlining tips and just generally learning to write faster.
Simone: Oooh actually I have Take Off Your Pants on my kindle!!! I think @Saturn137 recommended it to me!
Nicolette: It is a great book! Seriously everyone should check it out.
Nicolette: Well I think we covered just about everything there is about outlining. If you were anti-outliner before hopefully you've changed your tune after we talked about it! Simone, do you have anything else to add?
Simone: Nope, I think I covered all my crazy, lol! I hope I haven't scared anyone off trying it tongue emoticon
Nicolette: LOL. It's always possible. But I for one am even more excited to outline. Tongue emoticon. Thank you everyone for joining us with another Malice Chat!
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Your turn to weigh in, what's your preferred method. And if you've been a panster before would you try outlining?
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