I’ve been asked a few times lately to write a post about how I outline, since I’ve recently been talking about outlining.
This is something I’ve been reticent to do, since I don’t really think of myself as an outliner. My outline process does seem to work for me, though, and in the hopes it might help someone else, I’ll share it. But it’s not pretty. There are no highlighters or index cards around. And at times, it seems like the ramblings of a crazy person.
With that caveat, here we go.
Pace–I outline generally as quickly as I can. My goal is to get through the thing, look for places where the story seems weak, fix the outline, then either hand it in or start writing the book.
Format—The outline looks like a story. If I’ve really thoroughly outlined and gone scene to scene, the outline runs anywhere from ten to twenty-five pages. It’s in paragraph form. I sometimes include dialogue. There are no numbers on my outlines since I’m a fervent believer that numbers and words should stay segregated (this would explain my grades in Algebra all those years ago.)
Starting out—I write three series, so to keep my head straight, I put a list of all the recurring characters at the top of the page before I start out. I start out with my victim, as usual, and come up with a quick list of who might want to kill such a person. With that victim and that list, I start writing the outline.
My outline’s first draft (and only draft, if it’s self-pub. I clean up the outline if I’m handing it into an editor) reads as if a child is telling a friend about a movie they’ve seen. You know what I mean: And then this happens! And then that happens! And then…
I go through the whole story scene by scene: body, suspects identified and interviewed, second body, suspects interviewed, alibis checked out, sleuth in danger, murderer revealed. Sometimes I get carried away and stick in some dialogue as I go…frequently without the use of quotation marks. I’m flying through it, doing a brain dump with the story. If I need to brainstorm as I go, I do it on a different Word doc.
Then I’ve got a skeleton of a story. There isn’t setting in there. But it’s an outline. I don’t think my editor necessarily wants to see that in my outlines and I sure don’t. I just need something to get me started.
Then I go back to my opening scene and add some other things in:
I hint at the trouble that’s about to engulf the story.
I like to tie in the beginning of the story with the ending—sometimes with a subplot, sometimes with the opening scene. I think of ways to do this, and then put my first mention at the start of the story.
I do try to have a sort of “Save the Cat” moment at the beginning of the story—some way to make my protagonist sympathetic to the reader. I tend to write protagonists who are prickly and difficult and this helps to soften them up.
I list my characters on a separate page. I make a few notes about them…what they’re afraid of, what they really want in life, where they are now. Then I think of ways that I can possibly give them an arc over the course of the story. Can I make readers end up relating to a character they originally disliked? Can I give some extra dimension to a character who just seems always cranky, cheerful, remote, whiny?
My editor for the quilting series particularly likes it when I can weave different characters’ stories together—one helping the other to grow or change in some way. She feels it gives the story a sense of completion in smaller ways…not just the murder investigation being solved. I do look for ways to do this.
Subplots are vital to my stories and are ways to incorporate humor, diffuse tension, help readers connect with characters, or even help solve the case. I brainstorm ideas…as many as I can think of and with a variety of different characters…and then see which idea is the strongest. Especially if it’s an idea that can also help me accomplish other story goals at the same time. I stick the subplot into the outline.
Strictly for mysteries—I check out my clues, red herrings, alibis. I make sure the story will be fair to the readers.
I make sure my readers’ favorite recurring characters are in the story.
I look for spots that seem boring. I look for spots where my protagonist appears to be taking a backseat. I look for spots to put in clues and red herrings for my sleuth to explore.
If the outline is only for my eyes, then I’m done. If the outline is for an editor, then I try to make it sound more sane. I put in punctuation, for instance. :) I tell my editor I’m open to changes. And I warn her that I may change the story, too. I frequently do.
As for the character description, chapter breaks, et al…those go in after the first draft is finished.
And…that’s about it. It’s really a very simple process. A scene by scene outline that basically lays the book on the line takes me almost a week to write and edit.
Then I write the book.
How do you outline? Is it a process that works for you?
This is the best summary/example of outlining I’ve seen. I’m trying to move to outlining because my pantsing gets me to a point and runs out of steam.
I agree with Mary. I’m going to save this post and use it as a reference guide. How do you “write”? I mean do you use the typewriter or a word processor? If it’s the latter what software do you use? Thanks, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth – What a helpful post on how you outline. I like the fact that you cycle back to your outline as you make it fuller. That way you keep your story consistent. I have to admit, my first outlines tend to be more skeletal than yours do, but I basically follow a similar path to writing: outline, then add in the details. I find that outlining helps me keep the pace of what I’m writing.
Mary–You’re too kind! I was worried when I scheduled this post…it seems so random. I’m glad it resonated with you. I’m one who had to start outlining too (mostly because of time lost with revisions when the book didn’t work.)
Prashant–Thanks! I use a computer (I run Windows 7), and am a Microsoft Word user.
I like the way you think… er, outline. I know this may make me seem rather slow, but I never thought to make a list of recurring characters. I mean, I keep a list, but I don’t list them for the outline.
I’m working on a series right now and that little thing would sure help in keeping things straight.
Great post! thanks for opening up and telling the world your special talents when writing new material.
Authors can be quirky in how they do things, and as an author myself, it sure helps to know that I’m not the only one out there outlining. It seems all my local writerly friends are pantsers.
Elizabeth — Your detailed “How I do this” posts are so helpful! Thank you for taking the time to write these out, because I know many of us find a lot of value in the detail you provide. This is another one that will go straight into Evernote!
Like a child telling you about a movie he saw – that sums up my outlining process. Mine looks a lot like yours. And I also do separate sheets for the characters.
Elizabeth,
Thank you so much for the post! I have read a number of authors who do “narrative” style outlining. I guess it is something I am going to have to try as the more structured outlining doesnt seem to work for me. Right now I am working on using multiple “meta” documents and the “snowflake method” for my next project.
You actually hit on something else that I have been doing research on recently. The treatment of recurring characters in a series…how do you manage character development within each story and across the series? I think that my next project would be a good candidate for a series and I would like to setup the character arcs to fit that format if I can.
Hi Elizabeth
Great post, thanks
I still struggle with outlining, mostly because I like to think as I go, rather than planning in advance.
I am, however, trying to change that and I think this post gives me a great place to start, so thanks. I also need to get better at writing down my characters, as you do, before I begin. I have spent far too long digging back through hundreds of pages to find the one reference to the town someone comes from, or their favourite song!
It’s also nice to find someone else who believes in the separation of numbers and words. Algebra is a strange and possibly evil invention invented solely for the use of torturing children :)
cheers
Mike
Elizabeth,
It is good to see that my thoughts to planning out character arc across the series are actually in line with reader expectations! I was questioning my intuition as I thought back to some of my favorite short story/radio drama series where there isnt much character development across the series.
I am sure that even in book 6 you can pull out a few character flaws/personality traits from your characters that have given/can give them some internal struggles and growth!
JL Stratton–Oh, the character list–vital. I don’t know about you, but my memory is shot. It also helps me to refer back to the list to see who’s been “offstage” for a while in the outline. That way I can loop them back into the story.
I was a holdout for a long time before switching to outlines. The stories definitely seem to go a lot smoother with an outline.
Margot–I think I *tried* to be even more skeletal in the past (an outline for the quilting mysteries editor comes to mind), but I think she wanted to have a bit of a better idea where I was going with the series than that. Now I’ve gotten used to the longer ones.
Diane–Great! So glad you think it’s helpful.
Alex–Why doesn’t this surprise me, Movie Buff? :)
Jing Wang–Narrative-style outlining…yes. This is what I do. :) I hadn’t even realized what it was called…ha!
Well, there are a couple of different ways to handle recurring characters and series arcs. I *have* been writing each book as a standalone, so any development happens encapsulated in each book. But! I’ve lately been getting some feedback on readers about that (feedback=negative review), saying they’d rather seen a story arc. I dunno…can you start a story arc with recurring characters in book 6? This is what readers are asking me to do. I suppose I could start trying to write the books that way and see what happens.
Michael–Ohhhh yes. Me too. The recurring character list is my quick-reference cheat-sheet, but I have other cheats, too…including a style sheet that lists business names, ages of characters, what they look like (don’t want a brown eyed person turning to blue), etc. There’s just no way for me to keep up otherwise. I love my characters…I do feel as if they’re real! But–I forget what they look like. :)
Jing Wang–That’s the feedback I’m getting. On the one hand, I’ve got a couple of people who want to know if they have to read the series in order–and then they seem relieved that they don’t. But now I’ve got *more* people who are willing to read the series in order if there are arcs to follow.
Let’s hope I can get away with my change. It’s a big one! But maybe it will carry me forward for more books than I’d otherwise be writing for the series.
Wow, perfect timing! My next project is a mystery novel and I’ve been wondering how to put down on paper all the work that’s been going on in my head. I figured that I’d need some sophisticated planning tool (I’ve checked out some samples) and was already stressing about the outline process. I can definitely do “and then…and then”. Yay!
Great post, Elizabeth! I like your method. I’m a terribly undisciplined person, so it might fit me. I’m going to try it.
In the past, my method has been to make a linear time line of the bad guys’ plan, then decide where the good guy intersects it. I then write ten bullet points about what I want to see happen as the result of that intersection. Then I fill in events underneath those bullet points. Lastly, I circle critical events in the outline and decide which characters would be best to deal with that.
My method is over-structured and takes me forever because I get off track all the time.
Your method sounds more in the mold of story-telling and allows for those creative bursts.
Thanks again!
Peace, Seeley
I love hearing how other writers work! I do outline, first by taking notes of ideas, then placing them on index cards and shuffling them around. Sort of a wonky outline.
Thanks, Elizabeth, this is helpful. I’ve struggled with outlines forever and I know my glacial writing pace is a result of that. I appreciate your sharing your process here.
Cheers.
Julie–I’m envious of people who easily adapt to index cards and cool outlining tools! Those, to me, seem like Real Outlines. :)
WrightingWords–Oh good! Ha! Yes, it sounds like a 6 year old wrote my outline, but my editor never makes a peep about it. Trust is a wonderful thing! (Or maybe she just has a large glass of wine after she reads my outline…)
Seeley–Your outlining process sounds amazing…but stressful. I can see where it would take a while to work through.
Yep, just a story. That takes the fear factor out of the process for me…outlining sounds like a scary English assignment involving Roman numerals. But this isn’t like that.
yvonnemontgomery–Great!
I think one problem for many of us (and I know I felt some pressure there, too) is that we expect too much of our outlines. For me, it wasn’t going to be a work of art, wasn’t going to show all the conflict and arcs and scene goals and stuff like that. It was just going to be a story. And if it needed fixing later, I’d fix it later.
Yvonne–Exactly…it’s that pressure. I’ve seen some gorgeous outlines that writers have done. Mine isn’t one of them. :) It won’t win a beauty contest, but my editor hasn’t complained.
Hi Elizabeth – you do have an easy style for us to read .. and I love the way you set things out ..
Also the child analogy must be so true .. simple and straightforward .. the filler can be added later ..
Interesting read .. cheers Hilary