Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Trying Outlines ... Again

Speaking of trying again, a few things you may not have previously known about me: 
  • I don't write in chronological order. 
  • I don't outline until I'm done with the book. 
  • I don't write chapters at a time. 
  • I don't know how long my books going to be until it's written.
I really shouldn't have ever said "don't" because . . .

I just finished a pretty extensive outline on my current wip that I'm only about 1/3 of the way through. This is a written-down-on-paper-with-enough-detail-I-don't-have-to-try-to-remember-everything-in-my-head outline. I tried this before once. The outline was more one wordish and I had no idea what I was thinking when I wrote it. I don't think it was supposed to be an outlined story.

From a pantser trying to write from an outline, I'm curious, have you tried going against your norm? Are you an outliner who's tried writing from the hip? Are you a pantser who's outlined your latest wip? How's it going?

6 comments:

Stephanie McGee said...

I'm a blend of pantser and plotter. I usually have a vague outline of the novel when I start, but it's just a guide. Usually my books defy all attempts at outlining. (This current one, especially.)

Good luck with the outline!

Johnny Sengmanichanh said...

Did you know, if you go camping, you could prob write alot more. Just sayin...

Christine Fonseca said...

you know, I've done both - and for me, I outline. It is a flexible outline that does change and bend to the needs of the characters as they come to life on the page - but yeah, I gotta start somewhere!

Pam Harris said...

I'm definitely both. I outline the first few chapters, then I start somewhere in the midde and just write. I'm a pretty organized person, so being a part-time "panster" slightly scares me. But that's usually when my best material comes to light. :)

KA said...

I pantsed my first two novels, but I'm trying my current wip with an outline. I got about halfway through and then realized it would be better to juggle the scenes around a bit...same story I originally outlined, just in a different order.

Lydia Kang said...

I've always been an outliner, but they were very simple and basic. Like, this major thing happens in chapter 1. This happens in Chapter 2, etc. This time around, I'm writing down the different scenes and what happens. I hope it works!