Do You Outline?

I recently attended a writing conference hosted by Jared Hunt and Crystal Stranaghan of Gumboot Books. The sessions were part of their Live Your Dream program, a collection of highly informative materials that are aimed at helping beginning authors to better develop the varied aspects of their craft, from writing to marketing.

One of the most insightful and helpful topics of the weekend sessions, I found, was one that many writers either seem to openly dread or merely tolerate, with varying degrees of apprehension. Below, you'll find a short sampling of Jared's tried and true advice on using an outline--as a tool--to its fullest potential:

Though I list them as numbered steps, this process is intended to be a cycle rather than a linear path. Feel free to move from one step to the next at any time and accept that you'll be back at the beginning several times before you're done.

Step One: Scenes
For outlining purposes, the basic unit of storytelling is the scene (or event). Whether your original inspiration for writing this story was a character, a place, a conversation, an object or anything else, the seeds will bring to mind certain things that are going to happen. Those “things” are the foundational scenes of your story.

Write a single sentence (or a couple of bullet points) to describe each scene that comes to mind right away. Don't worry about keeping things in order or having them make sense yet. Just get the basic ideas down. Many people like to use index cards (one per scene); I favour an outlining program like OmniOutliner. Use whatever method you're most comfortable with – just make sure it doesn't get in the way of creativity.

Keep adding scenes until you've exhausted that initial inspiration. Next, spend some time arranging the scenes you've generated into logical order. As you're doing this, look for holes in the narrative – places that need to be filled for the story to make sense. Brainstorm interesting ways to fill these holes and choose the best ideas to become new scenes. Some questions I like to ask when brainstorming include:

What is the worst thing that could happen right now?
How could that turn out to be the best thing by the end of the scene or story?
What does this character want?
How can I prevent her from getting it?
How will she overcome that obstacle?

A YA novel will likely have between 40-60 scenes; a picture book should be kept to 5-10. Your goal is to generate at least twice that many so that you can pare down to just the best ones. Remember, 90% of what you do is not your best work.

Step Two: Expanding Your Outline
Once you feel like you've got the basic skeleton of your story, it's time to delve a little deeper. For each scene you've created, go back and ask the following questions:

Who is present?
Where is this taking place?
When does this take place? (within the story as well as historically)
What do the characters want?
What actions do the characters take?
What are the characters thinking?
Why is this happening?
Why is this scene necessary?

This is a good time to start doing some research. Make sure your answers to the above questions are complete and authentic.

Step Three: Story Points
Now it's time to do a little analysis of your scenes. Go back through your expanded outline and note any of the following things:

Decision Points
The difference between a story decision and a mundane one is in the consequences. There must be something at stake. Most story decisions involve one of the following two situations:

1. Irreconcilable Goods
The character wants two (or more) things, but can only choose one of them. This reveals their true character by showing what they want most.

2. Lesser of Two Evils
All of the options presented to the character are bad, but he is forced to choose one. This reveals their true character by showing what they want least.

Turning Points
Like all human beings, characters generally take actions that involve the least possible effort but that they still believe will let them achieve their desires. A turning point is any time that minimal effort results in something unexpected. Turning points force the character to make increasingly greater efforts.

Conflict
There are three primary levels of conflict:

1. Character vs. World. Large, powerful forces external to the character are preventing her from reaching her goals. Examples: nature, war, huge corporations, political systems
2. Character vs. Character. Other characters of similar power and influence are preventing the main character from achieving his goals. Examples: family, spouse, friend, boss, co-worker
3. Character vs. Self. Internal weakness is preventing the character from achieving her goals. Examples: doubt, anger, hatred, insanity

Noting each of the types of story points in a different colour can be a useful tool for step four.

Step Four: Analysis
Go through your outline and observe how many of your scenes don't have a story point noted. Ask yourself why those scenes are in your story. Chances are good that they only exist to provide information to the reader. Do your best to take that vital information and work it into another scene somewhere else.

Your goal should be to have no scenes that exist purely for information.

Conclusion
Done properly, the outlining process takes care of the “heavy lifting” part of writing. When you move from outline to first draft, you'll find you can write quickly and with confidence – no more writers' block for you!

© Jared Hunt 2010
Jared Hunt
Writer, Editor, Teacher
www.jaredhunt.ca
http://liveyourdreamworkshops.com/the-workshops/



Now, if you'll excuse me, I have 5 pages of an 'outline' that I think I need to revisit...

Yours in Truth,

Derek Donais