I’ve decided to update the homepage’s Rymellan and fantasy progress meters every Friday. I just updated them for today, and I’ve passed the halfway mark on the fantasy story first draft!
Well, not really.
Writers fall into two camps: those who outline and those who don’t (the latter group is sometimes referred to as “organic writers”). The camps aren’t mutually exclusive, but most of us probably tend toward one method or the other. I’m in the organic camp. I write by the seat of my pants. That doesn’t mean I don’t have an idea of where I’d like the story to go, but I don’t spend time laying a story out in detail before I write it.
Sometimes I come across articles or posts expounding the virtues of outlining and asserting that every writer should do it, but it doesn’t work well for me. My best ideas come to me as I’m writing, because that’s when I discover new and important things about the characters and setting; things I never would have discovered through outlining.
Do I ever outline? Yes. Sometimes I’ll write a brief outline when I’m partway through a story. As I work on a story, I’m often bombarded by ideas and dialogue for upcoming scenes. My head starts to feel as if it’ll explode. I don’t want to forget the good stuff. So I’ll pause to capture the ideas and visions flying through my mind. That releases the pressure on my brain and lets me refocus on the scene at hand. If I were to share my outlines, you’d see that they rarely include earlier scenes. You’d also notice that I rarely stick to them. By the time I reach the scenes in question, they sometimes no longer make sense or have to unfold differently.
What does this have to do with the fantasy story? Well, by the time I sat down to write the fantasy, I’d had the characters and a fuzzy idea of the plot kicking around in my head for well over a year. I finally bit the bullet and forced myself to start it. I’d always seen one of the protagonists taking a certain action, but I’d never liked the circumstances around it. They felt contrived. They felt dumb. I felt I could do better. But I didn’t know how. Knowing that the act of writing kicks the creative part of me into full gear, I decided to write the circumstances as I saw them and trust that something better would eventually come along.
Something did. And, whoa! It’s not only deepened a character in ways I never would have anticipated, but it’s influenced, either subtly or blatantly, just about every scene in the story. It’s also one of the primary factors driving the plot. If I’d outlined in advance? Trash. Complete waste of time. And I never would have discovered this facet of the character through outlining. I’d had this character in my head for over a year and had no clue. Absolutely no clue. I needed to be deep inside the character’s head to see it, and once I did, I immediately understood the implications for the story as a whole.
Fortunately I made this discovery early on, so I’d only written about 2000-2500 words related to the contrived, dumb idea. They’re still in the file, because I wanted to keep moving forward. So I’m not really halfway there yet, but I’m very close, and the story is going well. The first thing I’ll do when I edit the first draft is select those 2000-2500 words and hit the delete key. 
As far as outlining vs. winging it goes, do what works best for you. That advice probably applies to just about everything related to the process of writing.
Have a great weekend!
Great post. It’s interesting to look at writing from a organic writer’s point of view. I’m more of a plotter, but I can see why not outlining works for you.
Pingback: writing process: plotting « Jae's Fiction
Jae,
Your post on the topic was fascinating, as well (see the pingback above). I highly recommend that everyone read it and take the brain hemisphere test.
Thanks for dropping by!
I definitely see the advantage of both sides of the fence, and typically place myself around the middle. I outline the major plot elements I want to achieve and have some sense of each major section of the book, which allows me to foreshadow upcoming events while still allowing the book to flow organically. One thing I have noticed is that books written organically tend to be character-driven rather than event-driven.
Unfortunately, you can occasionally run into the situation where you don’t have a completely understanding of your main character and his or her motivations. This is the main downside to the organic method, as it can be quite costly (try encountering the same issue you did at 65,000 words instead of 2,500). Having said that, I encounter writer’s block the more frequently I know the exact outline of things to come. The more I outline, the harder it is for me to actually write it (since it feels like I’m regurgitating the same thing over and over again). This also complicates the process of revision and/or rewriting (as the case is with the 65,000-word bungle).
All in all, the psychology behind how people write will always fascinate me, and I always like to hear from people about this particular dynamic.
Cheers,
– Ryan Fitzgerald
Ryan,
You’re right; it would have been much more expensive if I’d made my discovery at 65,000 words. And yes, I write character-focused (not quite driven) fiction. Despite the potential pitfalls of the organic method, it’s the best method for me. As you said, both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. I can see the benefits of outlining, but the part of me that writes refuses to stick to outlines.
Like you, I still manage to foreshadow because I usually see major events well in advance of them happening. I just don’t write them down.
I’ve yet to experience writer’s block (*knocks on wood*).
Thanks for sharing how it works for you!