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mbarkerWriting Excuses 12.26: Q&A on Outlining and Discovery Writing
From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2017/06/25/12-26-qa-on-outlining-and-discovery-writing/
Q&A Summary:
Q: How do you outline a scene? Not an entire book. Do you outline scenes?
A: Yes. Index cards: what's happening, what's the joke, what am I moving forward, who are the characters. One line: Awesome hanky-panky hwere while car explodes. If the way it happens is important during outlining, yes. How does it work, what are the beats. My outline is a list of bullet points to accomplish a goal. When I sit down to write a scene, I will write down a sequence of events.
Q: When outlining, how do you know when to stop adding to the outline?
A: When I start adding dialogue, it's time to write the story. When I have the emotional beats to earn a climactic moment.
Q: How much do you have to know about your characters/world before you begin writing?
A: Nothing. Nada. (Implied: you discover that through the writing!)
Q: What do you do to diagnose and fix a structural problem when you have a finished, mostly discovery written draft?
A: Reverse outline. Talk to alpha, beta readers, and analyze the problems they had. Sit down with the scripts and index cards, and push it around. One problem is bad, but two problems may solve each other, if you look at it right.
Q: I taught myself to outline like Dan did, but sometimes I can't always get into an outline like I should be able to. How did you address this, Dan?
A: Change formulas (outlining systems) and see if that helps.
Q: So far I've written five novels. The preparation/outlining process for each has been different by virtue of the story's needs. As pros, do you still deal with this frustration or have you worked out a system that consistently works for you?
A: It's different every time. We aren't chainsaw sculptors making grizzly bears, sometimes we make cabinets and coffee tables. Every book is like a first kiss with a different person. My process has stabilized over the years, but different genres have different processes. Find out what constraints your process has, where the borders are, and then adjust within those borders and constraints.
Q: What are some major indicators that a piece needs more structure?
A: If you find yourself going off track every time you start a new scene or chapter, you may need more structure. Learn the difference between a story and a bunch of stuff that happens. If you've just got a bunch of stuff, your characters aren't growing, you probably need more structure. Stuck, bored, don't want to sit down and write? You may have a broken structure that needs fixing.
( Questions, answers, and MORE! )
[Brandon] All right. So we're going to go to our homework. I have written on my guide for this episode…
[Laughter]
[Brandon] Simply the words "Dan does something wacky weird." Because he promised us.
[Dan] Okay. So here we go. We're playing around with outlines. This is what you're going to do. We're going to force you to think outside the box. You're going to find another writer, or someone who wants to do this with you. Each of you are going to come up with just a quick outline for a story. Point by point, however many points you want. Six or seven. Then, you're going to cut… Print them out, cut them into strips, and then hand the other person the pile of strips. They know the beats of the story, but they don't know what order they go in. Then you have to reorder them, turn that into a cohesive story, and write it.
[Brandon] That's awesome. I love that.
[Piper] That sounds super fun.
[Laughter]
[Howard] It's our I Ching episode.
[Laughter]
[Brandon] Ooo, don't remind me of that one.
[Howard] Okay.
[Brandon] This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.
From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2017/06/25/12-26-qa-on-outlining-and-discovery-writing/
Q&A Summary:
Q: How do you outline a scene? Not an entire book. Do you outline scenes?
A: Yes. Index cards: what's happening, what's the joke, what am I moving forward, who are the characters. One line: Awesome hanky-panky hwere while car explodes. If the way it happens is important during outlining, yes. How does it work, what are the beats. My outline is a list of bullet points to accomplish a goal. When I sit down to write a scene, I will write down a sequence of events.
Q: When outlining, how do you know when to stop adding to the outline?
A: When I start adding dialogue, it's time to write the story. When I have the emotional beats to earn a climactic moment.
Q: How much do you have to know about your characters/world before you begin writing?
A: Nothing. Nada. (Implied: you discover that through the writing!)
Q: What do you do to diagnose and fix a structural problem when you have a finished, mostly discovery written draft?
A: Reverse outline. Talk to alpha, beta readers, and analyze the problems they had. Sit down with the scripts and index cards, and push it around. One problem is bad, but two problems may solve each other, if you look at it right.
Q: I taught myself to outline like Dan did, but sometimes I can't always get into an outline like I should be able to. How did you address this, Dan?
A: Change formulas (outlining systems) and see if that helps.
Q: So far I've written five novels. The preparation/outlining process for each has been different by virtue of the story's needs. As pros, do you still deal with this frustration or have you worked out a system that consistently works for you?
A: It's different every time. We aren't chainsaw sculptors making grizzly bears, sometimes we make cabinets and coffee tables. Every book is like a first kiss with a different person. My process has stabilized over the years, but different genres have different processes. Find out what constraints your process has, where the borders are, and then adjust within those borders and constraints.
Q: What are some major indicators that a piece needs more structure?
A: If you find yourself going off track every time you start a new scene or chapter, you may need more structure. Learn the difference between a story and a bunch of stuff that happens. If you've just got a bunch of stuff, your characters aren't growing, you probably need more structure. Stuck, bored, don't want to sit down and write? You may have a broken structure that needs fixing.
( Questions, answers, and MORE! )[Brandon] All right. So we're going to go to our homework. I have written on my guide for this episode…
[Laughter]
[Brandon] Simply the words "Dan does something wacky weird." Because he promised us.
[Dan] Okay. So here we go. We're playing around with outlines. This is what you're going to do. We're going to force you to think outside the box. You're going to find another writer, or someone who wants to do this with you. Each of you are going to come up with just a quick outline for a story. Point by point, however many points you want. Six or seven. Then, you're going to cut… Print them out, cut them into strips, and then hand the other person the pile of strips. They know the beats of the story, but they don't know what order they go in. Then you have to reorder them, turn that into a cohesive story, and write it.
[Brandon] That's awesome. I love that.
[Piper] That sounds super fun.
[Laughter]
[Howard] It's our I Ching episode.
[Laughter]
[Brandon] Ooo, don't remind me of that one.
[Howard] Okay.
[Brandon] This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.
