Writers come in two broad types: architects who draw up thorough plot outlines before they start writing, and gardeners, or discovery writers, who just dive in and play it by ear.
Some writers are natural outliners. Others are natural gardeners. A common complaint of the latter is that they lose interest in writing once they “know how the story ends.” These are the writers who feel like they have a story inside burning to get out, and writing the outline satisfies that urge.
An architect approaches writing a novel like a builder approaches a construction project. He drafts plans, lays the foundation, and knows exactly where the project is going and how much work is left at pretty much all times. This approach has several advantages:
- Prevents you from writing yourself into a corner
- Keeps your characters in line
- Helps you make deadlines
- Stronger endings in general
- Lets you keep series continuity straight
As a professional editor, I can confidently say that every author needs to outline. At least half of all developmental problems in my gardener clients’ manuscripts would have been solved by outlining.
Nor do I ask anyone to do what I don’t do myself.
I outline extensively. For the Soul Cycle and XSeed series I filled four spiral notebooks each and gamed out the rough outlines with friends.
Not that you have to do that last part.
“How long should my outline be?” I hear you ask.
There’s no set format or length for outlines; they can range in size from scene-by-scene summaries of the book to one or two page sketches. Figuring out what degree of granularity works for you is a matter of trial and error.
Which means the sooner you start outlining, the sooner you’ll find your sweet spot.
If you’re a discovery writer, don’t worry. Your “To outline or not to outline?” dilemma has a simple solution.
