Outlining is great for plot points, for figuring out what happens when and what scenes are needed where. What they are not great at is determining characters, for fleshing out who they are and what makes them tick.
The more I write, the more I see the benefits of diving into characters early and often. Good vid, Katie. So much of writing is conditional, and you’re always honest about that. Maybe you need to go someplace less murky, like “yes, you have to use vowels AND consonants!”
Wonderful video, Katie. It's great to know you too have realized ideas sitting in your solar plexus. Your attitude or approach is as organic as always and very inspirational. As a heavy outliner, I've learned that preparing for a writing project is like preparing for a trip abroad. I can outline my itinerary hour-by-hour according to the guidebooks but when I get to where I'm going, I throw much of that out and start following my own internal guide, using all that planning as a fallback.
Thanks so much for this Katie - very timely for me as I am outlining a new piece of work! I think so many resources and pieces of advice focus heavily on the bullet point list approach that a lot of newish writers forget that we are creating a whole new world of characters and places and situations not just a point to point story. This has made me want to put aside my bullet list that I’ve been sweating over for the past few days - for now! or at least until I’ve explored more about what these characters are trying to tell me and thus better inform my outline!
10 stars out of five for Outlining Your Novel - I nearly wept with relief when it came out (actually I think I cried when I discovered the podcast "Helping Writers Become Authors" originally) and it is still my most valuable resource! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The best part of writing for me is when the characters "come alive" and take over the story for you. I've been really into very emotional scenes between characters and it's almost like they break the 4th wall and go, "we'd never do that." 😄
That makes a lot of sense. Your videos always give me creative euphoria, lol. It's really stimulating for me to hear about the creative process and the techniques. I'm not a writer, I'm more of a (frustrated) audio-visual guy, I went to filmschool, and for some reason I never took my writing too seriously. I always felt something like "why am I going to write something that's not really going to have actual literary value per se and I'm not going to be able to film?". Which has been a huge mistake because writing is something I could have done, because it's inexpensive and accessible, and definitely a muscle that needs training. Now I find myself finally discovering I can make some rudimentary animations, and I feel like I have no stories to tell or I'm not sure how to tell them. Even when I did take 3 years of screenwriting and I have been writing down most ideas I ever had, but just so I don't forget them, I never really developed them. So, if anybody else is reading this :P my one advice is: if you're a creative person, or have any interest in storytelling in any medium: WRITE. It costs you nothing, and it's (if nothing else) a wonderful exercise you never know how useful is going to be later in life.
I have a lot of ideas, and I'm working on a screenplay. The problem is that, like you, I didn't develop my writing skills early on, so now, when I need the actual ability, it just isn't really there lol. I'm technically making progress, but at this rate, it might be my ancestors who complete my work.
Sorry, I couldn’t help noticing that this video is displaying in mirror image of actual image. What happened? Anyhow thank you for your very efficient and useful info in this segment. It is so easy to follow your instruction. The way you break down the multitude of particles that come together to make an effective story, and then reassemble them into the completed work - this was never taught in school writing classes!! Thank you!!
You are pretty awesome. I wish I had your brain, truly. I have two of your books and your workbook, but I also have ADD! Which means I've surged ahead with my novel before finishing any of your materials! Not surprisingly, I'm only on Chapter 5 and am already in the weeds ... Watching this today is an attempt to get back on the horse, so to speak. I know I have to go back and finish the reading (I love it, but the problem is I love it so much it inspires me to START WRITING NOW). Ugh. Wish me luck.
I love your process. I’ve got all your books and working through it for my first novel. Provides a great framework for writing the thing. Thanks for putting out this content 😊
Your blend of right and left hemispheres was helpful for me to hear. Yes, I have all of your books (major references), but in this too-brief video, you went deeper into the blend of academe and conscious/subconscious. This is an area of writing which I have been looking for. Thank you. 'Not just helpful, this time; more at ground-breaking.
I had the same issue in my writing. My solution (at least so far) is to set up my bullet points with a feeling going in and a feeling coming out; 'Godzilla and Mothra run into each other in a bar. Lots of tense anger but they leave thinking the other isn't so bad, maybe a little sexy?'. Then I use that as a writing prompt and just write a bunch of scenarios until something resonates and I'll take that as my first draft.
In one of your future videos, could you talk about the action and reaction periods @ the Act Level, please? Is there more reaction than action in Act I? Is there more action than reaction in Act II? What about Act III? If Act I is predominantly reaction, does that make for a passive protagonist? Thank you, Val
I love your stuff, but I would pay serious money for some actionable exercises. Perhaps a compilation video? I am a pantser who usually pantses his way to a short story, and I desperately want to write a novel. I am currently engaged with an experiment wherein I have forced myself to write an outline, but I see the points on the outline as flash fiction prompts. Granted, this leads to each bullet point being a single scene, so the carrot named length has once again been placed a little farther from me than I expected.
I love these segments! I have gained so much from tuning in. I hope you can help me unravel something I've been thinking about. I'm fascinated by Archetypal Character Arcs, but I need help understanding how they fit in Gothic Horror, which usually features a young wife and a much older husband. I know it must follow an arc, maybe The Maiden Arc, but I'm not sure. Can you please expound upon the arc or arcs related to gothic horror novels like "Rebecca" or "Rosemary's Baby"?
For myself, the outline wasn't too painful. It's now complete, and I know all of the steps in my story. But I also find it very, very, hard to write the prose. So far I have been writing draft after draft after draft of Chapter 1 without much success. _My prose is shyte._ My beta readers are just bored... 😢 At the moment I'm trying a new tactic: Write much less about what happens, but much more about how each character _feels_ about what happens. Hopefully the reader can now get into the character's heads from my prose and empathise with them. My next draft (20th-ish?) of Chapter 1 is nearly ready to be read by someone else ...
Do you have a workbook on Scene Structure and Scene Writing? I think the original question shows the problem that person has between turning outline-points into scenes.
Outlining is great for plot points, for figuring out what happens when and what scenes are needed where. What they are not great at is determining characters, for fleshing out who they are and what makes them tick.
The more I write, the more I see the benefits of diving into characters early and often.
Good vid, Katie. So much of writing is conditional, and you’re always honest about that. Maybe you need to go someplace less murky, like “yes, you have to use vowels AND consonants!”
Wonderful video, Katie. It's great to know you too have realized ideas sitting in your solar plexus. Your attitude or approach is as organic as always and very inspirational. As a heavy outliner, I've learned that preparing for a writing project is like preparing for a trip abroad. I can outline my itinerary hour-by-hour according to the guidebooks but when I get to where I'm going, I throw much of that out and start following my own internal guide, using all that planning as a fallback.
Great analogy! Sometimes all that is certain is when the flight home happens (the ending)
I'm an outliner. Your book helped me condense my outlining in a more meaningful way.
Thank you!!
Bought the Outline book and all your other books. Soooooooooo worth it. Thank you for all your help.
Thanks so much for this Katie - very timely for me as I am outlining a new piece of work! I think so many resources and pieces of advice focus heavily on the bullet point list approach that a lot of newish writers forget that we are creating a whole new world of characters and places and situations not just a point to point story. This has made me want to put aside my bullet list that I’ve been sweating over for the past few days - for now! or at least until I’ve explored more about what these characters are trying to tell me and thus better inform my outline!
Thanks for the peek at Storming. I'm always interested in seeing how someone else does it.
10 stars out of five for Outlining Your Novel - I nearly wept with relief when it came out (actually I think I cried when I discovered the podcast "Helping Writers Become Authors" originally) and it is still my most valuable resource!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The best part of writing for me is when the characters "come alive" and take over the story for you. I've been really into very emotional scenes between characters and it's almost like they break the 4th wall and go, "we'd never do that." 😄
That makes a lot of sense. Your videos always give me creative euphoria, lol. It's really stimulating for me to hear about the creative process and the techniques. I'm not a writer, I'm more of a (frustrated) audio-visual guy, I went to filmschool, and for some reason I never took my writing too seriously. I always felt something like "why am I going to write something that's not really going to have actual literary value per se and I'm not going to be able to film?". Which has been a huge mistake because writing is something I could have done, because it's inexpensive and accessible, and definitely a muscle that needs training. Now I find myself finally discovering I can make some rudimentary animations, and I feel like I have no stories to tell or I'm not sure how to tell them. Even when I did take 3 years of screenwriting and I have been writing down most ideas I ever had, but just so I don't forget them, I never really developed them. So, if anybody else is reading this :P my one advice is: if you're a creative person, or have any interest in storytelling in any medium: WRITE. It costs you nothing, and it's (if nothing else) a wonderful exercise you never know how useful is going to be later in life.
I have a lot of ideas, and I'm working on a screenplay. The problem is that, like you, I didn't develop my writing skills early on, so now, when I need the actual ability, it just isn't really there lol. I'm technically making progress, but at this rate, it might be my ancestors who complete my work.
@@ZenShroud1 I feel ya 😅 I'd like to think it's never too late, but yeah, it'd be useful to have developed that skill already.
And, might I add, your Scrivener template (with your story structure outline embedded in it) is AMAZING, too!
Extra helpful as usual. Thank you from myself, and I suspect most others who visit your posts/videos.
How wonderful you insight, vision, instruction. Inspiring. Bravo
Sorry, I couldn’t help noticing that this video is displaying in mirror image of actual image. What happened?
Anyhow thank you for your very efficient and useful info in this segment. It is so easy to follow your instruction. The way you break down the multitude of particles that come together to make an effective story, and then reassemble them into the completed work - this was never taught in school writing classes!! Thank you!!
You're the best. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you Kate for another awesome video.
Thanks. I'm practising how to reach a good outline. Start with a premise and daydreaming up a synopsis. I have your book so studying that is next.
You are pretty awesome. I wish I had your brain, truly. I have two of your books and your workbook, but I also have ADD! Which means I've surged ahead with my novel before finishing any of your materials! Not surprisingly, I'm only on Chapter 5 and am already in the weeds ... Watching this today is an attempt to get back on the horse, so to speak. I know I have to go back and finish the reading (I love it, but the problem is I love it so much it inspires me to START WRITING NOW). Ugh. Wish me luck.
I'd also recommend the Storming Outline. It's very in-depth and is a potential method of a sound outline that others could learn from.
I love your process. I’ve got all your books and working through it for my first novel. Provides a great framework for writing the thing. Thanks for putting out this content 😊
Your blend of right and left hemispheres was helpful for me to hear. Yes, I have all of your books (major references), but in this too-brief video, you went deeper into the blend of academe and conscious/subconscious. This is an area of writing which I have been looking for. Thank you. 'Not just helpful, this time; more at ground-breaking.
I had the same issue in my writing. My solution (at least so far) is to set up my bullet points with a feeling going in and a feeling coming out; 'Godzilla and Mothra run into each other in a bar. Lots of tense anger but they leave thinking the other isn't so bad, maybe a little sexy?'. Then I use that as a writing prompt and just write a bunch of scenarios until something resonates and I'll take that as my first draft.
In one of your future videos, could you talk about the action and reaction periods @ the Act Level, please?
Is there more reaction than action in Act I? Is there more action than reaction in Act II? What about Act III? If Act I is predominantly reaction, does that make for a passive protagonist?
Thank you,
Val
I love your stuff, but I would pay serious money for some actionable exercises. Perhaps a compilation video?
I am a pantser who usually pantses his way to a short story, and I desperately want to write a novel. I am currently engaged with an experiment wherein I have forced myself to write an outline, but I see the points on the outline as flash fiction prompts. Granted, this leads to each bullet point being a single scene, so the carrot named length has once again been placed a little farther from me than I expected.
I love these segments! I have gained so much from tuning in. I hope you can help me unravel something I've been thinking about. I'm fascinated by Archetypal Character Arcs, but I need help understanding how they fit in Gothic Horror, which usually features a young wife and a much older husband. I know it must follow an arc, maybe The Maiden Arc, but I'm not sure. Can you please expound upon the arc or arcs related to gothic horror novels like "Rebecca" or "Rosemary's Baby"?
Great.
awesome
For myself, the outline wasn't too painful. It's now complete, and I know all of the steps in my story.
But I also find it very, very, hard to write the prose. So far I have been writing draft after draft after draft of Chapter 1 without much success. _My prose is shyte._ My beta readers are just bored... 😢
At the moment I'm trying a new tactic: Write much less about what happens, but much more about how each character _feels_ about what happens. Hopefully the reader can now get into the character's heads from my prose and empathise with them.
My next draft (20th-ish?) of Chapter 1 is nearly ready to be read by someone else ...
Wow! Thanks!
Do you have a workbook on Scene Structure and Scene Writing? I think the original question shows the problem that person has between turning outline-points into scenes.
My Structuring Your Novel Workbook includes a section on scene structure: www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/book/structuring-your-novel-workbook/