Outlining

I came up with a new plot idea, one that is stewing in the back of my mind. It pops up every once in a while, usually while I’m running, and I can’t seem to let it go.

I also can’t seem to make it coherent. It rolls around in different directions, and sometimes ends up making no sense. Then I think it’s not worth pursuing, until it gets a hold of my brain again.

I only know one solution. I need to sit down and put these ideas on paper. I think I want to pursue this idea for NANOWriMo 2013, so I have a few months to flesh it out. My way of putting it on paper is to outline.

Before you run away screaming because the word “outline” conjures up bad memories from high school English teachers, take a deep breath and hear me out. My outlining method is from Karen Wiesner’s book, First Draft in 30 Days (read my review here). It doesn’t use roman numerals and small letters that are indented. It uses worksheets that actually make sense.

Outlining using this method forces me to think more about my characters, my settings, and my scenes. I can see where I’m potentially going to run into problems, and I can write out a few different directions of where I think the book is going. Ultimately, the outline is in my control, and it doesn’t control me.

I don’t outline every scene in detail—only the ones that I’m having difficulty with or have more than one idea for. The rest of my outline consists of big ideas that I’m comfortable with.

I like having a guide that lets me lead the way, and that’s what Ms. Wiesner’s book does for me.