Do you write an outline for a novel before you start writing? Many people do. Some people think you can’t write a good novel without an outline. Some people don’t believe outlining is necessary at all. I used to be one of those people, but I’m slowly changing my mind.
I’ve been working on a new short story that is quite a bit longer than the flash fiction I usually write. Whenever I write a story it starts with the idea for an opening scene. Once I write that scene, I’m pretty sure about how I want the story to end. Usually everything that happens in the middle simply comes to me as I write. This story wasn’t working like that though. I got stuck and couldn’t figure out how to get from point A to point B.
I put the story aside and worked on other things. I’d come back to it from time to time, but I still found myself stuck. Then I decided to try outlining it. I sat down with an old-fashioned pen and paper and started listing the plot points for the story. Just like that, I was able to fill in the missing piece. Outlining helped me work through this difficult story.
After that I was completely converted to outlining and started outlining my newest novel chapter by chapter. My outlines aren’t very detailed. I’m new to this whole outlining thing and don’t know exactly how to go about it yet, but what I am doing is working well for me.
For the novel I outlined I wrote the goals for each chapter. For example:
Chapter 1: Introduce main characters, Sadie, Kevin, Marcus, Jolie, and Ruth. Portray family atmosphere and introduce family relationships.
Chapter 2: Marcus gets sick.
…and so forth.
I didn’t go into too much detail because that’s not really the way I work. Some people go into extreme detail when writing their outlines. If that’s the method that works best for you go ahead.
The early stages of your outline should answer these simple questions about your story.
- Who are the main characters?
- What is the problem or conflict?
- What will move your characters towards a solution to resolve the conflict?
- When and where does your story take place?
Once you’ve discovered the answers to these simple questions you can move on to more detailed outlining if you like. You can outline chapter by chapter like I did or even scene by scene.
Use any tools that will help you get your book written. The same methods don’t work for everyone. Try different methods for outlining and decide which one you feel the most comfortable with.
Picture by John Althouse Cohen