Well, I've done it; in writing my third novel I've found that (due to time-constraints imposed by my hourly job) I need to organize The Key of Living Fire in order to get it done and keep the plot-line amazing. So far the novel is around 53,000-words. I'm hoping for between 115 and 130k in the final manuscript.
The problem I ran into was the plot twists multiplied and I couldn't keep track of them all, or, rather, I was close to forgetting key elements as I wrote new material. The outline I'm forming is almost 2,000-words, which seems rather lengthy to me. The story is growing into something I will be proud of and I think the outlining is proving to be an indispensible tool.
Perhaps I'm turning into an Outliner? (-:
6 comments:
I've found outlining to be an indispensable tool. It doesn't clog my creativity, like some people say it does. Rather, it kick starts it.
Good luck with the word count!
I can see the creativity angle from both viewpoints.
On the one hand, writing from-the-hip offers fun, unexpected opportunities to send characters in new directions both geographically and in dialogue.
On the flip side of that coin, outlining offers a way of deepening the foreshadowing in epic stories. And mine has a lot of foreshadowing... so here it is helpful to outline. But the scenes still need to be written from the-hip.
Well, there's nothing that says you can't write-from-the-hip and outline. I used to not believe in outlines at all, but then I tried one. They can be very helpful, but you don't have to follow them exactly. I have one story where the outline says my mc is an orphan but when I started writing that was just too cliche... something else turned up, and while my story still loosely follows my outline, it also has taken on a mind of its own. I love it when they do that! :)
Star-dreamer,
Exactly! The evolution of the story as we write is one of the most important aspects. I am only following the outline loosely, though the main scenes will end up very close to their summarizations in the outline.
Enjoyed looking on around on your site.
I don't like outlining, but it always helps me keep things strait. Even for a short writing project (like a letter!). And I'm still able to stay flexible.
I use outlines to help me get everything in my story straight.
Just to let you know, thejoraiemfiles.blogspot.com has changed to fourththrone.blogspot.com
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