How to Outline

You may or may not have heard about something called outlining. To 'outline' your novel is, basically, to organize all the plot points, character arcs, and scenes in order for you to see and refer to as you write. But is there really a point in doing it?

WHY:

For most of us--including me--outlining can seem like a boundary at first, only there to slow you down when you're eager to begin writing. It's especially so for those of us who aren't too much into organization in the first place. But trust me, an outline is actually the opposite. You'll thank yourself later for setting some time aside to work on it. My first book was going nowhere fast until I finally sat down and outlined the main events of the plot. The outline didn't even have to be detailed. Simply jotting down a rough blueprint of my novel gave me more flexibility as well as concentration.

Let me explain.

Diving blindly into your story without any idea of where it's headed, no matter how excited you are, is a bad idea. This is because without a plan, there's way more room for mistakes, like meaningless scenes and dialogue. Remember Chikhov's Gun?

"If you tell your readers in the first act (referring to description) that there's a rifle hanging over the fireplace, then that rifle must be shot in the next act."

I know I keep bringing it up, but that's because this principle is so important for writers. Every line of every page of your novel must contribute to the story or your readers' understanding of the story in some way. And if you, as the writer, aren't completely sure where the story is headed, then you're much more likely to give your readers useless information. In order to ensure your novel goes smoothly, you need to plan ahead and know everything about the setting, characters, and plot--even the things you know your readers will never be made aware of. Plus, if you plan ahead, you're never fully stuck in the story because you always know what'll happen next.

And outlining is the best way to plan ahead.

So, now there's the question....how exactly do you outline?

HOW:

There is no specific, must-use format for outlining. All you have to do is jot down, in order, the inciting incidents and plot-changing events. A short scene or two should show your readers what the main character's normal life is like, and then something happens to change all that and things get progressively worse as the main character struggles against some sort of enemy (as explained in the blog post about writing plot: 'How to Start a Novel: pt. 1'). You'll also have to dedicate a section to resolving all that conflict, and using these resolutions to complete character arcs. Not that many details are needed. Just briefly explain what happens in the scene and what that leads to, or how that affects the main character.

If you'd rather have some sort of format to start you off with, here's one that's very simple and easy to use:

https://karcherry.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/plot-outline1.jpg

You can copy that link and paste it into any search engine. It'll take you to the image, which you can either print out or refer to.

Thanks for reading! I hope this blog post helped you.

Make sure to comment any thoughts or suggestions you may have, and maybe let me know how I can improve the site. I've been busy making little (soon to be made live) changes in the design, which is why this post will likely come late.

See you next week!

#writing #plot #novel