NaNoWriMo Notes: To Outline or Not To Outline?

[sidhe_faerie]

NaNoWriMo Notes: To Outline or Not To Outline?

This has always been one of the hardest questions for me.

 

In General:

Sometimes an outline turns out to be hindrance and not a help. Sometimes the outline I start with is not the story I finish with.

Larger stories need some guidance. Some form of an outline is necessary.

Smaller stories don't need as much guidance. I can go without an outline in that case.

To Outline:

Outlines guide the story as I go. It reminds me of scenes and conversations that I want included in the story. It helps with pacing and chapter division.

There are times when I get too hung up on the outline to write a story that people want to read or that I want to write. I put too much in the outline then try to mash it into the story. I end up taking a lot of it out.

To Not Outline:

There is something to be said for big rambling stories. I have been known to ramble with the best of them. There are times when I like to let the mood take me.

There are also times when I let the prompts guide the story. I have done some weekly prompts in the form of a story. In this case the prompts are the guiding force.

Notes vs. Outlines:

An alternative to outlines are free form notes. Notes are primarily the prequel to the first draft. Mine are usually a big free form mess of jumbled thoughts and bits of conversation mixed in.

Notes usually get absorbed into the story where outlines stay intact. They get pulled apart then put back together and added to making the first draft.

 

Each story is different and what works for one story may not work for others. Notes, no outline or an outline, it is a choice that has to be made for each story.