To Outline or Not to Outline?
When it comes to writing, there is no right or wrong way. However, that does not stop some heated debates taking place over the subject of outlining. For some, planning every twist and turn is the ONLY way to write, while others find it too restrictive and prefer to surprise themselves.
If you think that an outline might be helpful to you, the good news is, an outline can be whatever you want it to be. If you want, you can have a twenty-page outline with detailed plot points and characterisation. Or, you might have a quick one-page outline that lists the absolute basics of where the story is going. It is completely up to you!
There are some definite benefits to having an outline for your novel…
- Outlining helps you to organise your thoughts
It can be hard to keep all of your ideas straight when it comes to your novel. In Speculative Fiction there is usually a large cast of characters and some fairly complex plot twists. Keeping an outline of who does what and when can help you to avoid mixing your characters up, contradicting yourself, or forgetting something important.
- Outlining can make your writing more concise
Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you wished they would just get to the point? This is something that you want to avoid in your work! If you are not really sure where your novel is going, then you might begin to ramble, and this is never good! Outlining where your story is going will help you to stay on track.
- Outlining makes altering your plot easier
If you decide that you want to make some big changes to your plot, then having an outline will make this process much easier on you. If you can see all of the points of the story in front of you, then you will be able to see how deleting that character or altering that scene will affect the rest of the story.
As we have said, outlining is something that you can choose to do or choose to forget, it is totally up to you. However, many people find that having at least a basic outline helps them to keep their story flowing well. This doesn’t mean that you have to write an outline and then rigidly stick to it! Your outline should grow and change with the story, and you can change it at any time to suit the growth of your novel. Think of your outline as a guide to your novel, not a rule book that has to be followed!
If you have never tried outlining before, don't worry - it is not too difficult! Start up a new document either on your computer or on paper. Section this document into chapters – list 1 – 20, or however many chapters you think your novel will have (you can easily change this later). Label each chapter with either the title of the chapter if you have them, or a short description of what will happen in that chapter. After this, write which character the POV will be. For example:
CHAPTER 2 – The Shuttle Lands on Mars – POV Jim
This will help you to find different parts of the story at a glance. If you respond well to colours you can also colour code each POV, i.e. red for Jim, blue for Jane and so on. Again, it is about ease of reference – you want to be able to use your outline like a dictionary.
It is up to you how detailed you want the summary underneath the title to be. For some, a couple of sentences will suffice. Others might like to outline every scene. Try writing a short paragraph at first, and see if that works for you, and then expand on it if need be.
