Thursday, March 22, 2012

Why I Don't Outline (All That Much)

Many who know me well are astounded that I didn't outline (i.e. plan every little detail of) my novel before I started writing it.  They know who I am and what I do for a living.  (For those of you who don't know what I do for a living, I write computer software for a Fortune 500 insurance company.  My title is "Lead Applications Developer."  Sounds impressive, huh?  Yeah, thought so.)

Writing software was a dream of mine since my teens.  I studied like you wouldn't believe and aced my major.  I earned a degree in it.  I practiced it.  I read about it.  I watched others do it.  I worked for companies large and small as a self-employed consultant.  I taught curriculum and continuing education classes on how to do it at the local community college.  I tutored and mentored people on the subject.  Then I got old, needed more stability and less travel, hence my current position for the past fifteen years.

Why the bio barrage?  Because anyone who knows anything about computer programming knows that logic is paramount.  I mean, you can't get much more logical than software development.

So these people who know me so well know how logical I am.  They know how much I cherish structure, predictability, cause and effect, all those things that make me such an incredibly exciting person in the world of real.  So why would I forsake everything I value and not use an outline when I write?  Because my outlines look like this:


Gee, doesn't that look exciting?  Bet you can't wait to split the cover off that book and read all about those points, right?  Yeah, me neither.

To be fair, all those little points must happen in order for me to tell my story.  Those are the crucial plot elements, the moments when characters grow and evolve.  They are the events that drive the plot, the things that take the reader from one phase of the tale to the next.  Without those little points, the climax is rather... anticlimactic.  Unfortunately, if I write to my outline, the whole thing ends up anticlimactic. 

I need a little excitement if I'm going to write an entire novel.  So here's what I do.  I find that logic switch in the back of my head and flip it.  You know the one.  Yeah, that one.  I pull it hard and hold it there.  It must remain firmly in the OFF position!

Then, I call my muse and hope she answers.  (I'll tell you about her voice mail system in a future post.)  I tell her, "Hey, I got this idea for a book!  I've got all these little points mapped out in my mind.  It's going to be great!  I just know it!"

Then comes the part where she hesitates before asking, "Then why are you calling me, Jeff?  Write it!"

"I can't," I tell her.  "It's too dry.  Got time to stop by and give me a hand?"

Fortunately, she usually does.  She wants to know about Point A.  I tell her about it.  Then I start with Point B and she throws up a hand and shows me her palm.  "Just A, Jeff.  One step at a time."  Then her face takes on that pondering expression that no one else in the universe has.  And it begins.

The next thing I know, I have this really cool intro.  Then a paragraph.  By page four I notice that I'm suddenly coloring outside the lines.  I peek at the outline, but she backs up to my desk and sits on it!  I keep writing, making it up as I go.  I glance again.  She stands, stuffs it into her pocket and tells me to write.  I do.

All this is to say that she only lets me see three points at a time: the current point, the next point and the last point.  She doesn't care about the others.  So, after she's visited a few times my outline mutates into something like this:


And it's great!  So what if Point D became Point C½ and I threw Point E out the window?  The new Point E was even better!  Dialog took me there.  New landscapes and cities took me there.  New characters that only she knew about took me there.  I discovered it as I wrote it.

But be clear on this: I never lost sight of the last point because that was the whole point of the story.  Even she reminded me of that.

So now you know way too much about how my logical brain writes.  And I don't think I could ever do it any other way.

So, how do you do it?  I really do want to know!

P.S.  I apologize if this post is a little longer than usual.  Encapsulating it into a single post just seemed...yeah, logical.

18 comments:

  1. You and I have a similar writing style. I've never outlined a story before writing it. I've tried a time or two, but became bored with it before getting much of an outline done. It's more fun to discover the story as I go along. But I usually do have an ending already in mind that keeps me on track.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love to discover as I go, but I use my outline (notes) more as reminders, sort of like a "To Do" list. Sometimes I decide an item can be stricken from the list while another may need to take its place. It helps to keep me pointed toward that last point. But until I set it aside and start writing, it's all just...so...blah!

      I think there's a bit of this in all writers whether they outline (and stick to it) or not. All stories need structure. Some writers must plan that structure. Others of us have to work the structure in a little later.

      Delete
  2. I will never turn it off. NEVER! ;)

    Nice graphics, by the way. And yeah, I'm a little surprised that a computer programmer would be a pantser, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool! I wanted to hear from someone who wouldn't turn it off! I seriously did!

      Me? I'm nothing if not unique! Truth be told, I love contradiction. In all honesty though, I'm really somewhere in the middle.

      I do jot down notes in this little app I wrote (because I'm a programmer) that serves as a kind of storyboard. Each block is a chapter with scene description, POV character(s), primary event, setting info, etc. I just don't hesitate to turn right even though my map said to go straight.

      And if by graphics you mean the outline depictions, thank Windows Paintbrush! (That's the limit of my artistic talent.) For the others, thank Wikimedia. (I take copyright issues seriously.)

      Delete
  3. Awesome post, Jeff! It was like reading my autobiography--seriously! I wrote my first book with a complete plan in mind, totally structured and left a bit of leeway for myself to allow some creativity to flow out. The second book is completely a pantser delight. I know where I'm heading with it but the actual plot is more like you described in your second diagram! I know I'll get there, but it's just a matter of time when.

    Again, great post! BTW, I tagged you today on my blog. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you could identify with it. My initial draft of this book was outline-driven and it read horribly dry and felt too forced. I like my revised approach much better.

      Thanks for the award! I have passed it along to five additional very worthy bloggers.

      Delete
  4. LOL! I love that last picture :) I write out of order and then have to sew my scenes together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My WIP has two parallel story arcs and I wrote those concurrently, but not so much out of order. I did jump ahead a bit for a couple scenes though. How difficult do you find sewing the scenes together to be?

      And welcome!

      Delete
  5. Aloha Jeff,

    Thanks for the follow, and logically it makes sense that I return the favor.

    PS.. enjoyed the post... I'm a Point C1/2 type of outliner :)

    Looking forward to reading more of your posts:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome aboard, Mark! Glad you liked it. And what's an outline without fractions worth anyway, right?

      Delete
  6. This is an amazing post. I really like your blog!

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank-you! That's the best compliment this blogger can get! Although saying saying something like "Dude, I'm a big shot publisher and want to buy your book for millions of dollars and make movies and TV shows out of it and build theme parks..." would be pretty cool too! ;-)

      Delete
  7. Hahaha!! I love your outlines! It made me laugh, because that's pretty much how I outline my novel as well. Glad I'm not the only one who doesn't use fancy methods involving index cards and whatever else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, Annie, you're not alone! Seems the bulk of the comments are coming from other outline-challenged individuals. But isn't it great?

      I will confess though, I have seriously considered index cards for holding character bios and such--just to keep them consistent, you understand? ;-)

      Thanks a bunch for stopping by! Always a pleasure to see a new face!

      Delete
  8. Hey Jeff, I got your note about beta-ing...I will def. keep that in mind. Especially since I write from a male pov, I want to make sure I keep it macho. I have been thinking I need a male beta to be certain it appeals to the males. This is def. more of a LOTR, action story, with very little romance (as little as I could get away with, only one kiss in the entire ms).

    As for this post....I am the same way. I start with a chapter, and an ending. I only plan one chapter ahead. So after I write chapter 1, I sit back and think about chapter 2, then write. Wherever that leads will get me to chapter 3 and so on. When I'm writing chapter 4 I have no clue what will happen in chapter 15....all I know is there is an ending am I'm aiming for that. I see the story in my head like a movie on the big screen and I try to make sure it stays interesting throughout my 'movie'. I try and add my supporting characters slowly, so the reader gets to know them. My trouble is remembering the made-up names. Like my planet is called Satus, and the city is Shaoc and a couple of times I had to skim back to find what I had decided to call them :) And then the characters who are only mentioned a few times, but spread apart...I'll have to go back and remember their names as well. haha, so it sounds like we have the exact same style of writing. I like to say "my fingers write the story, I'm just as surprised as the rest of you." But it's kind of true. Even when I start a chapter, knowing the skeleton of what I want, it still can go way to the left and I'm left with something completely unexpected and not pre-planned. I like it like that....I get to discover the adventure as I go :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, yes, come to me for macho. :::puffing out chest while I type::: Robin Hobb wrote Farseer Trilogy from a male POV and did it wonderfully, so yes, it can be done and done well. Aside from scenes, I haven't done much from the female POV. It is a challenge.

      It definitely sounds like our writing styles are no more distant than first-cousins...at most! My email addy is in my bio so give a shout whenever the spirit moves you!

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. Welcome!

      Jeff's definition of outline: abstract concept whereby organized, disciplined and skilled writers produce bestselling masterpieces.

      Definition of Jeff's outline: opposite of above. :-)

      Delete