by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I still think of myself as a very reluctant outliner. It’s definitely my least-favorite part of the creative process. Brainstorming is fun, drafting is fun. Even editing can be very satisfying. But outlining? Not so much for me.
I started out as a pantser, making up my mysteries as I went along. I was, actually, pretty good at this. Then, one day, I ran right into a huge plot hole just a week or two before my deadline for Penguin. That was the last un-outlined book I’ve ever written.
I don’t think outlining is an either/or proposition. I think there’s room for a little middle ground. Even if you don’t have a plan for your entire book, you could create a mini-outline for your next writing session…just a sentence or two giving you some direction when you pick up your project again.
Here are my thoughts on the pros and cons of the outlining process, as I see them.
Pros of Outlining
I write faster. Soo much faster. That’s because I don’t even have to mull things over when I open my laptop: I just write whatever my outline tells me to write that day.
I don’t have plot holes. My plot works because I’ve already tested it through a full outline.
I’m able to jump from series to series without having a hard time working on a series I haven’t written in for months because everything is laid out for me.
Because I have a roadmap, I don’t worry about the book very much as I’m writing it. I know the book will be finished and that everything in the story will work.
I get my covers done for the next book several months before I even begin drafting the story. After penning an outline, I write the back cover copy and the book designer goes off that.
After any sort of a break (like the one I took last December), it makes it much easier to dive back into the story.
Cons of Outlining
Time. It takes me about a week to fill out an outline for a project. My outline includes all the parts of a mystery, but also the subplots and what’s happening to the secondary characters in the story.
For several books after I started outlining, I felt that my writing was a little flat or a little stilted, which had to be fixed in subsequent drafts. After getting better at following an outline, these problems disappeared.
Writing short. When I started following an outline, my writing got tighter and my books became shorter. Sometimes I do have to add more words in second drafts.
Less fun? I still really enjoy writing, but I do miss the days when I’d just make things up as I went along.
I’ve decided that outlining works better for me, despite the drawbacks. But I’m wondering what your writing process is like. Do you write the story organically, or do you outline?
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I spend up to 3 months developing what I call the story design: characters, plots, scenes, setting, arcs etc. When I’m done, I mind-map the whole thing. If I can mind-map it, I know enough about the story to write it. And the mind-maps are very useful while I:m writing the first draft.
Now that’s an outline!
An outline can take me months to put together but it does make the writing go faster. Like you, I also have to add a lot after that first draft. I envy those who say they have to cut words. No idea what that’s like!
Yeah, I have *never* overwritten. I write so sparsely that it can take me a week to beef up what I’ve written.
This is a really interesting post, Elizabeth! Outlining does have a lot of advantages; I find it works for me. I like the idea of knowing more or less where a story is going as I write it, and I do write more efficiently. But I think you’re right that, like everything else, it’s best in moderation. It’s funny you’d mention how writing can get stilted if you stick too rigidly to an outline; that’s happened to me, too. I find I have to go back and liven the writing up with something that wasn’t in the original story. Outlines, I suppose, are great servants, but not good masters…
Isn’t that odd? You’d think that it wouldn’t end up stilted if you’re basically re-writing what you put in your outline, but it can come out that way.
I’ve made similar steps towards outlining although I’ll never be an in-depth plotter. I write romance, so I know the ending will be happy so that helps! I think my outlines are more character-based (and not always written down). I know the characters, their foibles and strengths, I know how they need to grow throughout the story, who/what impacts the suspense element, and what event will trigger the crisis moment. With that all set, I can usually write a draft that doesn’t need major revisions.
It sounds like you do a nice amount of planning before you write the books, which makes sure it all goes really smoothly!
I can’t outline a whole book but have found outlining the major plot points and outlining the rest as I go works for me. I can see that outlining a mystery would be a good idea.
Mysteries can definitely be a little tricky without an outline. Thanks for coming by, Natalie!
I, too, have mixed feelings about outlines. I think, regardless of genre, it’s good to have a *plan*, which might be notes to yourself, some kind of spreadsheet, or a short narrative/summary for yourself (that’s basically what I do). No matter how you do it, you’re going to be able to see where the story needs more work, and you can decide how best to fill it in. Hats off to authors like you who can pants entire books — especially mysteries!
I know what you mean about feeling stilted when you, basically, know too much going into the writing process, and that you have to go in and add more. However, that is MUCH better than having to knit together disparate scenes that just came to you (and that you went with). I wrote one book that way, and OH MY! That was the most torturous editing I have ever had to do in my life. Just as with cooking, it is much easier to add than to subtract.
I think pantsing a whole mystery went fine…until it didn’t, ha!
Such a great analogy! Yes, it’s just like cooking. You can add more salt later, but you don’t want to over-salt to begin with.
Hi Elizabeth – I know I’d have to outline if I ever get round to writing a story. If I’m doing something short for a post – then I can carry it round in my head and adapt as it develops. Long books – I so admire the authors … mystery has to have all the dots covered; But I like the ideas you’ve put forward here re the planning of the novel – makes sense to have a roadmap. Great post for us to read – thank you … HIlary
Thanks, Hilary! Hope you have a happy week and thanks for stopping by!
I call myself a “Planster.” Part panster, part planner. I write the briefest of outlines and that gives me the freedom to allow the story to develop. Sometimes my characters take me in a slightly different direction than I’d planned. However, I always know the outcome of a book before I begin to write.
I like that term, Joan! You’re taking the best of both worlds. :)