By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Over the last couple of years, I’ve transformed into a (very reluctant) outliner. Long story short, I royally screwed up a couple of books really close to deadline when I’d pantsed them, and with the schedule I’m on, I decided I couldn’t afford mistakes anymore. Or maybe it’s just that my heart couldn’t afford them since I’m sure my blood pressure shot through the roof.
So I outline. My outlines are completely conversational, in paragraph form, and cover the whole story from start to finish. More about my process of outlining in this post from last August. More about what I feel the pros and cons are for outlining in this post from February.
There are definitely elements of outlining that I don’t enjoy. One of the things that I’ve never liked about outlining—the fact that when I go off my outline, which is during every single story, I either confuse myself later while editing, or I feel really disorganized by having my story sprout off in different directions.
For some reason, it never occurred to me until lately that I could just use Track Changes in Microsoft Word to add my changes as comments in the margins. This satisfied my need to keep organized without making me drastically revise my outline.
Uses for comments in an outline:
I put the character description in a comment box to make it easy to locate later in the story. It also contains that character’s full name (which I use Word to highlight so that it stands out even more).
I list the running subplots (as I think them up) in a comment box in the margins. When I want a change of pace or feel as if the main story is progressing too quickly, the subplot comment helps remind me of the storyline. Sometimes I’ll layer in subplots after the first draft is finished, sometimes I’ll write them as I go through. Either way, the subplot marginalia helps keep it in mind.
I note major or minor changes to the plot in the comment boxes so that I can easily see where I changed course in a story. In the outline I’m currently working on, I decided less than halfway through the book to change the killer. So as I worked through the outline, I added comments to the parts of the outline where I listed clues (which are now red herrings) and where I showed the killer’s motivation (which is also a red herring, since I changed the killer’s identity). This will ultimately help me at the end of the story when I look back through to make sure that there are enough clues to the murderer to keep the story fair for readers.
I also decided not to kill one of the previously outlined victims. The death would be a near-miss, instead. This also meant a little outline tweaking helped keep the change a lot tidier.
In addition, this process helps keep me from revising the outline, which just seems like a silly thing to do, considering the outline for my self-pubbed books is for my own benefit. Revising an accepted outline for a trad-published book is pointless, too—because I’m not going to send it over to my editor. I’d rather just explain later that I went off-outline when the completed draft is all spruced up and seamless.
At the top of my outline, I added a logline in the comment box. It sort of keeps me focused and keeps me from wandering too much. For more on creating your own logline, check out these resources: Gabriela Pereira’s “How to Write a Killer Logline,” Allen Palmer’s “How to Write a Logline,” and Laura Drake’s “The No-Stress Way to Create Your Story’s Logline.”
Sometimes I add random bits of ideas into the comment box. Maybe I’m not sure exactly where I want them in the story, but I’ve got a neat description, setting, scrap of dialogue, or interesting piece of research that I want to incorporate…and that’s a better spot than setting up a different Word document and trying to remember the doc exists.
Just thought I’d share in case anyone else was interested in making quick changes to an outline (or just wants to have an easy way to find character descriptions, etc.) For the outliners out there, what do you do, if anything, when you veer off your outline?
I might try that next time. If there is a next time. I usually only glance at my outline once I’m writing. I think since I plan it to death beforehand, I pretty much have it memorized at that point…
Alex–You don’t have the problems that I have with outlining, since yours is so well-thought-out! I do deviate from mine a lot..and months sometimes go by from my outlining to my drafting. I finish a book in one series, write an outline for the next book in that series, then write a book in another series (that I’d outlined when I’d finished the last book in *that* series). Then I finally write the book I’d outlined three months before.
I’m another one who finds outlining extraordinarily difficult – but doing it in paragraphs like this is worth a try! Never thought of using the comments like that either. Thanks for the tips!!
Jemi–Hope it helps! Yes, keeping the outline conversational really helps for me.
Elizabeth, very helpful tips here. These would work great for all types of writing. I tend to make notes as I read to help me remember things I want to include in my review. By the time I write the review, I’ve usually misplaced the notes.
Mason–That’s one of the problems that I faced, too…or else I forgot to look for notes specific to a particular area of the manuscript. This helps to bypass that problem.
Good idea to use Track Changes. Although the first time I got something back from my editor with those balloons on the side, I had to email her and ask how to turn it all off.
Diane–Ha! I know what you mean. :) When I see an editor’s comments all over my manuscript, my first reaction is one of panic!
Since I am working on my first fiction book, I don’t have a history, but I didn’t use an outline on this one. Since the voice came to me asking me to tell its story, I just opened up and listened. But track changes makes so much sense. I will definitely do that next time. I have like 20versions of my mss in my documents folder.
Karen–I know what you mean! I have a few folders like that, too.
Elizabeth – Welcome to the outline side. We have cookies. ;-) – Seriously, I know exactly what you mean about balancing the need to keep things in order, and letting the story go where it will. It’s tricky and I don’t know that there’s one right way to do it. But I do agree with you that Track Changes is incredibly helpful. I use it to keep everything in order when I’m writing. I also use it when beta readers give me their feedback. I toggle between the beta reader’s input and my own draft and use Track Changes to make sure I’ve not forgotten anything.
Margot–Cookies! I *knew* there was something I liked about outlining!
That’s another great way to use Track Changes–to insert editorial changes from betas. Nice idea!
Very useful tips, thank you.
I have to admit that when I was using Word, I rarely used track changes. I used to do my outlines on paper and kept them all in a folder. How times change!
I’m now a very ardent supporter of Evernote and I love the way Scrivener allows me to keep everything in one place, outline cards, research, pictures, music, maps. I’m sure I’m only using 15% of what the software can actually do.
However, I will have to convert all my work to Word (which Scrivener does) for my editors and proofreaders. And I am certain to get LOTS of tracked changes, at least with the first draft :)
AD–And when that method worked for you, that was perfect! I did the same kind of thing (okay, it was a while back). I think it’s probably only when our output increases that we start reassessing the approaches that used to work.
I like Evernote, too. Mostly, though, I use it to organize favorite writing articles, household tips, and recipes. I’ve got the free version still, but have a feeling I’m going to need to shell out for the paid version soon.
These are brilliant suggestions. I use Scrivener and I do a similar thing so that editing is easier at the end.
Clarissa–Any time savers are a good thing, for sure!
I think I’ll try this on my next solo book. I’ll have to follow your thread to understand “logline.” Intuitively it doesn’t mean a thing to me. What I picture in my mind is a long string of logs on a river on the way to the sawmill. (It’s the Maine ancestry in me.)
I started the whole writing process in retirement with my oldest friend. We have two published and one in the works. We couldn’t do without track changes. It’s our lifeline. I have used it for years in my pre-retirement work, too, so it’s very facile for me. And while writing the current book, we have twice changed course, changed murderers, changed motives. We haven’t kept track using comments or an outline, but I think that could have been a good method.
It’d be great to see a one-page example of something you’ve already published to see how you work it. Send it via e-mail to me if you prefer not publishing it on the blog at cpwcurtis@gmail.com.
Your blog has been very enjoyable. Thanks.
Chris
Hi Chris,
It’s a screenwriting term, so don’t worry about not knowing it. Basically, it’s summing our story up in one line. So mine for my current project is: An octogenarian discovers a suspicious death at a retirement home and uses her wits to find the killer, against the wishes of her police chief son. But I like the string of logs going to the sawmill, too!
Changing murderers is great. It gives a whole different perspective on a story, doesn’t it?
I’ll shoot over an outline with Track Changes to your email. It’s…well, there’s a lot of stream of consciousness going on. :) My creative process is messy, so you’ll see ideas, research, and unpunctuated dialogue in the outline.
Wow, I never thought of using track changes this way. Great idea.
I hate Track Changex EXCEPT for the comments feature. That, to me, is great. My first critique group used it all the time rather than put ‘hands on’ the manuscript itself.
Terry–I use Track Changes for interacting with my editors…but I totally know what you mean. Sometimes spacing and punctuation get messed up with Track Changes because the editors’ deletions won’t include a space, etc. The comment feature is definitely the best part.
I use Word (R) for my last 2 edits, what a useful thing to use comment boxes for! I think I’ll try that next edit (tonight for instance…)
I tried Track Changes and got a big mess so I am leery of that for now.
I use the headlines to note important places in ms and the ‘whoa, you forgot a big piece’ comments and ‘tie this in’ and stuff like that I make in edit 1 or so.
Thank, I am really enjoying your blog consistently
Sara–Hope it helps you when you try it out!
Yes, Track Changes (the non-comment part) can be messy. I have to work with it with my editors, but I don’t use it when I’m not working with them.
Thanks for coming by!
I tried the comment box on my subplots last night, and discovered I had one running I hadn’t thought of as a subplot line. so your suggestion was helpful already as now I won’t leave that subplotline dangling . . . .
merry day. merry writing!
Sara–Wonderful! Isn’t it great to flesh those subplots out? And so satisfying to tie up all those loose ends, too.
I’m more of a timeline planner. This happens, then this. Sometimes it’s all main plot, sometimes it’s a mix of main and a subplot or two. Then once I start writing, I’m more a dumper. Whatever’s in my head goes on the page, except I nearly always stick to that timeline plan.
Carol–I love that description of it! That must be what I am…a timeline planner. I’m like a kid telling another kid blow-by-blow about a movie I’d just seen…that’s what I’m recording on my outline.
That timeline is subject to change, but I always keep the general frame of the story.
Thanks for coming by!