3 ms·

Just curious, how long does the outlining take? I've read a similar notion before (Doctorow claiming to write a book in a year by writing 20 minutes per day - b

Just curious, how long does the outlining take? I've read a similar notion before (Doctorow claiming to write a book in a year by writing 20 minutes per day - but he also has a plan what to write beforehand). I am curious if outlining doesn't really count as work in the minds of many writers?

amayne 7y ago
I spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks working on an outline. This is while doing other things.
- 1337biz 7y ago
  How do you writer outlines. Is there a process. Or are you just jumping from idea to idea? Is there any good guide on how to come up with them?
  - amayne 7y ago
    First I write a couple sentence mission statement about what the book is about, the character’s journey, the resolution, etc. This is my way of keeping track if the book is on course or not. Does every chapter serve that mission? I then start with notecards and begin with the big questions: What’s the major conflict of the book? What are my main character’s conflicts? What are the conflicts of each act? I then break these down into chapters. Every chapter has a smaller conflict and resolution. On the chapter break downs I ask what the character is trying to accomplish. Does it work out? How does the outcome change the story? When I do my chapter-by-chapter breakdown the characters are driving the story - this is what makes it fun for me to write. Instead of me pushing a character from point A to B, it feels like the characters are driving the plot. Using this approach I almost always redo the last 30% of the outline when I get to it because the characters have made smarter choices than I the writer had planned. I’m very into writing from a Theory of Mind approach. Let me reiterate that while this approach works great for me, it may not work for everyone. Some people love to write without outlines because they just want to jam on the keyboard. That’s just as valid as any other approach - although I’d like to point out that just because a pro writer says they don’t outline doesn’t mean they don’t have an innate sense of structure in their head. We often don’t know what we know.
    - 1337biz 7y ago
      Thanks a lot, appreciate the insights. I always find the productivity part part the most challenging of it all. That's why I am sold on the structure approach and not waiting for the kiss of the muse.
      - amayne 7y ago
        I've done a few Periscope streams on my Twitter feed about this. You can check them out at @AndrewMayne.

amayne 7y ago

I spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks working on an outline. This is while doing other things.

1337biz 7y ago
How do you writer outlines. Is there a process. Or are you just jumping from idea to idea? Is there any good guide on how to come up with them?
- amayne 7y ago
  First I write a couple sentence mission statement about what the book is about, the character’s journey, the resolution, etc. This is my way of keeping track if the book is on course or not. Does every chapter serve that mission? I then start with notecards and begin with the big questions: What’s the major conflict of the book? What are my main character’s conflicts? What are the conflicts of each act? I then break these down into chapters. Every chapter has a smaller conflict and resolution. On the chapter break downs I ask what the character is trying to accomplish. Does it work out? How does the outcome change the story? When I do my chapter-by-chapter breakdown the characters are driving the story - this is what makes it fun for me to write. Instead of me pushing a character from point A to B, it feels like the characters are driving the plot. Using this approach I almost always redo the last 30% of the outline when I get to it because the characters have made smarter choices than I the writer had planned. I’m very into writing from a Theory of Mind approach. Let me reiterate that while this approach works great for me, it may not work for everyone. Some people love to write without outlines because they just want to jam on the keyboard. That’s just as valid as any other approach - although I’d like to point out that just because a pro writer says they don’t outline doesn’t mean they don’t have an innate sense of structure in their head. We often don’t know what we know.
  - 1337biz 7y ago
    Thanks a lot, appreciate the insights. I always find the productivity part part the most challenging of it all. That's why I am sold on the structure approach and not waiting for the kiss of the muse.
    - amayne 7y ago
      I've done a few Periscope streams on my Twitter feed about this. You can check them out at @AndrewMayne.