I’ve always found it interesting when someone shares how they come up with an idea and what they did to start writing a story. I’ve heard people have made detailed outlines and story arcs or story pyramids (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement).
When I started writing my novel, I knew exactly where I wanted Rena to go. Of course, it was all in my mind. I decided I needed a written outline, so I could refer back to it. I wrote one, and it certainly helped. I found it was a lot easier to write scenes because, technically, I had already written them; they just needed details and descriptions.
Finding the best way for you to plan out a story, I believe will make it easier in the long run. Once you figure out how you work as a writer, your writing will ultimately be improved.
What do you do when planning out a story?
-Landman
I'm still on the fence as far as to outline or not to outline. When I started my novel I had a general idea where I wanted things to go, but the mechanics hadn't been worked out. I did stop to attempt an outline when I discovered that I disliked my first 150 pages. The outline was harder to write than the book!
ReplyDeleteThat was a while back. I had to take a long hard look at my work. My entire cast of characters changed, the novel went from 3rd limited to 1st. Same basic plot...
I guess what I'm saying is that I enjoy spontaneity too much to outline very much.