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Thursday 17 April 2014

Outlining for Plotters



I’ve been asked to talk about my writing process, so for those who are interested, here it is!

I maybe don’t have a ‘process’ like many other authors. I don’t have a dedicated workspace – I generally write on the train. I don’t have writing habits – no coffee, no food, and no particular habits. As I write on the train, I have essentially made myself my own captive audience, and due to patchy mobile reception on my train line, I don’t even have the distraction of social media much. 

What I do have is a series of habits that might be useful for writers who consider themselves plotters.

A significant portion of my writing process occurs before I even start. I write character profiles. For the current WIP I even did Myers-Briggs personality profiles for the two protagonists. I world-build, including a map and profiles for each of the main kingdom/countries with details of people, clothing, currency, trade, politics and architecture. I plot.

Yes, I plot a lot. If you read my post How To Use GMC Charts to Plot you know about that part of it, but it’s not the whole. 

Before I start writing, I outline the entire plot from start to finish. The GMC charts help me to find plot details to add to that outline, to make sure the motivations and conflicts make sense, but some plot details are inputs into the chart where others are outputs. Before I start writing I know the start, the finish, and every intended major plot point along the way. 

Plenty of minor details get made up as I go. In the current WIP, unplanned events included the unexpected shooting of a protagonist, a mercy killing, sapping of the castle wall, and explosions. So I certainly don’t allow my outline to strangle the story. It’s a road map, and one that helps me to ultimately get where I am going, but nothing stops me taking the scenic route – and I frequently do. 

Once I have my major outline done, I do a chapter by chapter outline. This helps me to know what main plot points to cover in a chapter, where to break chapters and scenes and what hooks to include to keep the reader reading. I won’t stick to this either – I’m currently several chapters behind where I’m supposed to be because of new plot points I’ve added, but it’s still a good guide.

The advantages of heavy outlining in the beginning are:

  • Improved logical consistency – it’s much easier to make the story hang together if you know in advance where it is going. You can fix this in subsequent drafts, but it can be harder to do it that way, and which you prefer will depend on how your brain works;
  • It serves as the basis of your synopsis;
  • An outline can allow you to more easily condense your story to one line in the beginning, which can help you to better understand your own theme and the main plotline;
  • Reduces the risk of writer’s block;
  • Helps you to plan the novel’s expected length and know if you will or won’t hit target – this can be important for certain genres that are sticklers for word count;
  • Able to better plan chapter breaks and hooks to hold reader’s attention.
A writer may be too....

Once I’ve done all this planning, I can generally sit down and just write. I rarely spend much panning time after the initial phase – if I’m writing, I’m typing. Very rarely will I appear to be just sitting and thinking – I’ve already done it all! If I need to refer back to my outlines, I do. Hmmm, what am I writing today? Oh that’s right… and away I go. 

The only thing that really stops me after I start writing is if I suddenly need unplanned research. Check out my upcoming post on the weird and wonderful things I’ve unexpectedly needed to research mid-book on April 24. 

This is an A to Z Challenge post. If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to check out my previous posts if you haven't already. If you're finding yourself here often, you might like to join as a member, sign up to the blog through RSS or email, or sign-up to my newsletter. Check out my March Newsletter if you missed it. 

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10 comments:

TaMara said...

These are some great tips for plot outlining!

TaMara
One of AJ's AtoZ wHooligans
Tales of a Pee Dee Mama

susan schwartz said...

Organization helps the psyche find its way.
Thank you,
Susan

susan schwartz said...

We are also on the a to z at:

Robin Michelle said...

Thank you for sharing your process. I love learning about the processes that different writers use.
(found you from the A to Z Blogging Challenge

Ciara Ballintyne said...

My pleasure - it's not something I write about easily because it doesn't seem all that special to me. It's just the way I do it LOL

Ciara Ballintyne said...

Thanks for dropping by, but your web address seems to have dropped off. Please feel free to leave it again and I'll be sure to stop by

Ciara Ballintyne said...

I agree 100%, although I know it's not the case for everyone.

Ciara Ballintyne said...

Thanks, I'm glad you found them useful!

A.M. Guynes/Annikka Woods said...

I'm a pantser but I'm finding more and more for my novels that doesn't work as well. I'm currently dissecting and preparing to rewrite my current WIP because it's a very weak story when I want it to be darker and more grim.

Ciara Ballintyne said...

I used to be a pantser - I didn't know any other way. It was only when I met a diehard plotter that I realised I had alternatives. I haven't looked back!

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