For some
writers, the word “outline” is akin to a four-letter word. It doesn’t have to
be that way.
Yes,
there are successful authors—and I do mean best-selling authors—whose practice
is to let their fingers fly and write by the seat of their pants (known as
pantsers), but they are few in number.
These
authors may seem like they’re winging it. They aren’t. They have years (or
decades) of practice built upon a foundation of knowledge about technical and
creative principles of the writing craft. The majority of best-selling authors
spend time on their outlines, even a few months, including doing needed research,
which is at times extensive, before the first word of the initial draft is
written.
This
preparation process includes sometimes significantly changing or tossing the
outline and starting over. Albert Zuckerman demonstrates this brilliantly in
his book, Writing the Blockbuster Novel,
by showing you iterations of best-selling novelist Ken Follett’s outline for
his novel, The Man from St. Petersburg.
It’s a terrific opportunity to see how a successful author (Follett) works his
craft and crafts his work. Additionally, K. M. Weiland’s book, Outlining Your Novel, provides guidance
so you don’t feel like you’re back in high school doing a dreaded outline, as
does best-selling author of the Lynley novels, Elizabeth George, in her book, Write Away.
One of my
clients wrote her memoir without creating an outline first. The result was the
timeline was all over the place. Among my editing notes was the recommendation
that she restructure the entire manuscript. It took time but she did it, and
her story became fluid and logical for readers.
Another
client wrote his debut novel without an official outline, but he had an
organized mental outline going on, even though he didn’t realize it (it
happens, just not as often as we might like). However, during our time working
together, he did James Patterson’s online writing course, and saw first-hand
how creating an outline would save time during the draft-writing stage, which
he did for his sequel.
Anyone
who uses outlines will tell you that just because you wrote the outline down,
this doesn’t mean it’s etched in stone. For example, the client asked me to
review his outline before he started the draft. Several ideas came forward for
both of us, especially about how to create the desired big twist that alters
the protagonist in a monumental way, which is a shift the author was looking
for. Additional beneficial adjustments to the plot emerged as the story
progressed. When such inspiration happens, just change the outline and keep
writing.
More
unfinished manuscript drafts written by pantsers sit in drawers than do
manuscripts created by outliners who had spurts of pantsing while writing. When
you don’t know where you’re going, you tend to go nowhere. A novel or
non-fiction book written by an author writing with wild abandon can cause a
story or book to go out of control. The task of getting it back on track is
like trying to herd cats. That’s more than a little frustrating, and easy to
avoid.
Writing
is an adventure, from first word to product. Make it the best experience you
can.
[Excerpted
in part from the e-book, Easy, Basic Tips
for New Writers: Things Every New Writer, Especially First-Time Novelists, Need
to Know. Now available at http://www.lulu.com/shop/joyce-shafer/easy-basic-tips-for-new-writers/ebook/product-22760918.html]
Joyce L.
Shafer provides services for writers, with a special focus on assisting new and
indie authors. Services include Basic and Comprehensive Manuscript
Evaluation/Critique and Basic and Comprehensive Developmental Editing, with an
option for Ghost Rewriting/Writing services. Learn more about how to make your
book one readers rave about at http://editmybookandmore.weebly.com/.
