I wholeheartedly agree with this video. I am not a big fan of these outline philosophies. I'm sure they may work for some people, but for many new writers I think they glom onto these methods because they want a scientific approach to writing. They believe that if they don't follow a certain beat of arc, they will fail in their attempt to write a novel. This is not true. As you hone your craft, you will discover that you have an innate ability to write a novel, provided you are willing to put the effort in. You develop a sense for a literary arc. It's a feeling on when to upshift and downshift and find the glide path to the end. In my opinion, discovery writing allows for more innovation on the fly. If something isn't working, you don't have to throw away the outline because there is no outline. Now sometimes, his can mean you go off the rails. But if you do, there are ways to reset. Who knows, the new direction may be even better. An outline, at least for me, is too constraining, too formulaic.
As a fairly new writer with only barely a month of writing under her belt, I've realized I'm a plantser. I have a plan inside my head, but when I start writing it completely changes. Right now, I'm in the middle of outlining a longfic for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba fandom fully knowing the end product is going to be different than the outline.
Same for me! I can't jump into the story completely blind, I need a guideline, but everything changes in the process because I come up with better ideas
I think one of the reasons I love to write fanfic is because I'm a total pantser who lets the characters tell me the story while I just write it down. I rarely have a clue what is going to happen which, for me, is half the fun.
Great! But keep this in mind. You’ve been writing for a month. That’s not long. Your writing will change drastically over the next few years should you continue. You might go from panzer to planner and back and forth. There’s no shame to be someone in the middle either. Nobody - and I mean nobody!!! - has the same writing process. So what works for you! Good luck!!!!!
Good video. A nice companion piece would be "Pantsing Kills Structure! (Dangers of Under-Outlining)". As you say, everyone follows different methods. I would add to that that also every book needs to follow a different method by merit of where you start (and this is e.g. one thing I disagree with you around the 10 min mark) - sometimes you don't discover your theme specifically until you're part-way through the draft; I'd say that books start from different places. You may have a fully-fleshed plot in your mind and then need to search for a suitable character who would struggle particularly with that; or you may just have the character; or, indeed, a theme. Writing is difficult because there is no clear method that works for each book.
Outlining, for me, depends on the story I'm telling. If there is a mystery, then 100% you need a good outline because you really have to hit certain plot points for it to be a satisfying mystery. If I am telling a plot driven story I like a basic outline, a handful of things I know need to happen in order to make the plot flow. But I mostly write character driven stories where I am more open to where the story goes, so long as the character stays "in character". It is like writing someone's biography as they are telling it to you. I pour most of my planning stage work into creating my characters, understanding who they are and what they want, then I make them a world that suits them. Then I throw them into that world and see what happens with just some basic ideas of what I want to happen. I used to try to do an outline because that's what I was told writers do, but more often than not that goes out the window when my character decides to do something that wasn't in the outline and takes the story in a different direction, usually for the better, though sometimes completely off the rails.
It is also easy to fall into the trap of planning to the point of procrastination or planning so much and refusing to break from that plan when your story demands it.
I've been sitting on my detailed outline for so long, and honestly, this video is genuinely helping me let go of the controlling part of my creative process. Thank you!
Yes! The best thing I have done to improve my writing is dumping the overly complex outline I used to use. Now I don't even write my story in a linear fashion any more. I have a very basic timeline, and just hang scenes on that timeline as I think of them. It's so easy to keep the creativity going when I can just write whatever scene I feel like and not have to worry about what order I happen to think of them in.
I’m starting to realise as a new writer that all these structures are a guide to ensure pacing is consistent. I think you can write anything providing you work to a series of mini arcs that increase in intensity throughout the story. That will give good pacing and means you are free to be creative and the reader will enjoy whatever you write 😊
As a screenwriter, I've noticed that the structures that were initially designed more for films than for books are now being actively promoted among prose writers. The thing is, cinematography is an industry, it has a limited screening time to tell a story, so we need those structures, or at least we have to know them and study them long enough to the point where we won't actually need them, because we can follow all those story beats without trying. Viewers and readers are two different kinds of audience, and I'd argue that in cinematography story structure matters more, while prose gives you more freedom. Same things that work in a book might not work on screen. But... In terms of my own relationship with story structure, I absolutely love it. It taught me a lot, and most of all systematic thinking that I used to lack. It helps me actually understand the flow of my story and finish my projects. But it really is important not to overdo it, you're absolutely right. Or else you risk writing something cliche, or losing your spark, or simply scaring yourself too much in pursuit of it being 'perfect'. So, it's important to always know when to plan and when to let yourself go. Thanks for reminding myself of that, cause I was tempted to linger on the previous stage of my process to plan more, while really, I could already go onto the next stage :)
4:21 the sad thing is that if you're going with traditional publishing, probably you'll need to follow it, just like Hollywood movies who use the three act structure. Not even for selling, but because they can judge you for not "knowing the basic of structure". However, I'm a huge LitRPG fan, and almost all of them began at RoyalRoad with 100+ chapters. When the authors go publish it in Amazon and divide in books, you can clearly see how it doesn't have a clear beginning, middle and ending, it's just 100+ chapters divided in books. Like, there's more than one arc in each book, and this is really similar with Japanese Light Novels who are published per volumes as well. I love this sort of structure. Don't think the publishing companies will ever take it seriously, but happily nowadays we can self-publish.
There's a kind of chicken and egg problem here, and the same is true of writers block. ideas in your brain are like a pipe with too much gunk trying to exit all at once. Outlining frees up the pipe, cuz your brain doesn't have to desperately cling to it mentally anymore. So, would you have come up with the unique twist if you hadn't gotten the primitive version down first? Who knows? It's almost a necessary evil. I agree, the important thing is to recognize it's okay to chase the intuition down. I also see a reverse problem sometimes where i read a work and I get a lingering feeling that "hmm, something is missing". And almost always, what is missing is a plot beat that they'd have included if they'd outlined in detail. Like a Mid-Point Reversal is missing. Or there's no Hook before Inciting Incident. Or there's no All is Lost moment. But I think it's easier to insert that plot beat stuff later in revisions than the spur of the moment sparks of imagination/genius. That stuff is unique to the writer.
I totally agree that these things should be considered during revision, but when you are drafting, thinking about them might make you feel stuck and under pressure
I fear my point may have got lost in translation a little here. Story structure is obviously important and I'm not saying you ought to ignore it or forsake the act of writing outlines (not at all, my entire teachings are based around setting up a correct bird's eye outline for your story before you write). What I was trying to say with this video is that there is such a thing as being too detailed and too strict with following your outline, because I've seen this trend of incredibly detailed beat sheets, and writers simply making their way through them like a schoolwork assignment to craft the exact story they plotted, while snuffing out other ideas that come up as 'distractions'. This, to me, is where the danger of losing a story's spark comes in. I'm a big believer in outlines being 'living documents' that change as you write and come upon newer, better, more unique ideas.
Impersonally I think both creative freedom and abbie Emmon's three act story structure makes writing fun. I have a friend who is a panster, she just listens to herself. She thinks internal conflict is the bomb and am finding her creative thinking freeing. I'm Writing paragraphs that are very immersive right now.
My brain does NOT like outlines. When I've tried outlining scene-by-scene, I've used up my creative energy there. I tend to spend my prep time on character work, the broad strokes of worldbuilding (the stuff I have to know to start writing). Maybe I'll know some of the big scenes or moments, a lot of times I have some idea of the ending. Story structure is useful to me during the first draft because if I don't know what happens next, I can look to see what kind of thing should happen, and brainstorm from there.
OMG I needed to hear this so much, you don't even know thank you sooo much for this vid.
I wholeheartedly agree with this video. I am not a big fan of these outline philosophies. I'm sure they may work for some people, but for many new writers I think they glom onto these methods because they want a scientific approach to writing. They believe that if they don't follow a certain beat of arc, they will fail in their attempt to write a novel. This is not true. As you hone your craft, you will discover that you have an innate ability to write a novel, provided you are willing to put the effort in. You develop a sense for a literary arc. It's a feeling on when to upshift and downshift and find the glide path to the end. In my opinion, discovery writing allows for more innovation on the fly. If something isn't working, you don't have to throw away the outline because there is no outline. Now sometimes, his can mean you go off the rails. But if you do, there are ways to reset. Who knows, the new direction may be even better. An outline, at least for me, is too constraining, too formulaic.
As a fairly new writer with only barely a month of writing under her belt, I've realized I'm a plantser. I have a plan inside my head, but when I start writing it completely changes. Right now, I'm in the middle of outlining a longfic for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba fandom fully knowing the end product is going to be different than the outline.
Same for me! I can't jump into the story completely blind, I need a guideline, but everything changes in the process because I come up with better ideas
I think one of the reasons I love to write fanfic is because I'm a total pantser who lets the characters tell me the story while I just write it down. I rarely have a clue what is going to happen which, for me, is half the fun.
Great! But keep this in mind. You’ve been writing for a month. That’s not long. Your writing will change drastically over the next few years should you continue. You might go from panzer to planner and back and forth. There’s no shame to be someone in the middle either. Nobody - and I mean nobody!!! - has the same writing process. So what works for you! Good luck!!!!!
Good video. A nice companion piece would be "Pantsing Kills Structure! (Dangers of Under-Outlining)". As you say, everyone follows different methods. I would add to that that also every book needs to follow a different method by merit of where you start (and this is e.g. one thing I disagree with you around the 10 min mark) - sometimes you don't discover your theme specifically until you're part-way through the draft; I'd say that books start from different places. You may have a fully-fleshed plot in your mind and then need to search for a suitable character who would struggle particularly with that; or you may just have the character; or, indeed, a theme. Writing is difficult because there is no clear method that works for each book.
Outlining, for me, depends on the story I'm telling. If there is a mystery, then 100% you need a good outline because you really have to hit certain plot points for it to be a satisfying mystery. If I am telling a plot driven story I like a basic outline, a handful of things I know need to happen in order to make the plot flow. But I mostly write character driven stories where I am more open to where the story goes, so long as the character stays "in character". It is like writing someone's biography as they are telling it to you.
I pour most of my planning stage work into creating my characters, understanding who they are and what they want, then I make them a world that suits them. Then I throw them into that world and see what happens with just some basic ideas of what I want to happen.
I used to try to do an outline because that's what I was told writers do, but more often than not that goes out the window when my character decides to do something that wasn't in the outline and takes the story in a different direction, usually for the better, though sometimes completely off the rails.
It is also easy to fall into the trap of planning to the point of procrastination or planning so much and refusing to break from that plan when your story demands it.
I've been sitting on my detailed outline for so long, and honestly, this video is genuinely helping me let go of the controlling part of my creative process. Thank you!
Yes! The best thing I have done to improve my writing is dumping the overly complex outline I used to use. Now I don't even write my story in a linear fashion any more. I have a very basic timeline, and just hang scenes on that timeline as I think of them. It's so easy to keep the creativity going when I can just write whatever scene I feel like and not have to worry about what order I happen to think of them in.
I’m starting to realise as a new writer that all these structures are a guide to ensure pacing is consistent. I think you can write anything providing you work to a series of mini arcs that increase in intensity throughout the story. That will give good pacing and means you are free to be creative and the reader will enjoy whatever you write 😊
As a screenwriter, I've noticed that the structures that were initially designed more for films than for books are now being actively promoted among prose writers. The thing is, cinematography is an industry, it has a limited screening time to tell a story, so we need those structures, or at least we have to know them and study them long enough to the point where we won't actually need them, because we can follow all those story beats without trying. Viewers and readers are two different kinds of audience, and I'd argue that in cinematography story structure matters more, while prose gives you more freedom. Same things that work in a book might not work on screen.
But...
In terms of my own relationship with story structure, I absolutely love it. It taught me a lot, and most of all systematic thinking that I used to lack. It helps me actually understand the flow of my story and finish my projects. But it really is important not to overdo it, you're absolutely right. Or else you risk writing something cliche, or losing your spark, or simply scaring yourself too much in pursuit of it being 'perfect'. So, it's important to always know when to plan and when to let yourself go.
Thanks for reminding myself of that, cause I was tempted to linger on the previous stage of my process to plan more, while really, I could already go onto the next stage :)
4:21 the sad thing is that if you're going with traditional publishing, probably you'll need to follow it, just like Hollywood movies who use the three act structure. Not even for selling, but because they can judge you for not "knowing the basic of structure". However, I'm a huge LitRPG fan, and almost all of them began at RoyalRoad with 100+ chapters. When the authors go publish it in Amazon and divide in books, you can clearly see how it doesn't have a clear beginning, middle and ending, it's just 100+ chapters divided in books. Like, there's more than one arc in each book, and this is really similar with Japanese Light Novels who are published per volumes as well. I love this sort of structure. Don't think the publishing companies will ever take it seriously, but happily nowadays we can self-publish.
There's a kind of chicken and egg problem here, and the same is true of writers block.
ideas in your brain are like a pipe with too much gunk trying to exit all at once.
Outlining frees up the pipe, cuz your brain doesn't have to desperately cling to it mentally anymore.
So, would you have come up with the unique twist if you hadn't gotten the primitive version down first? Who knows?
It's almost a necessary evil.
I agree, the important thing is to recognize it's okay to chase the intuition down.
I also see a reverse problem sometimes where i read a work and I get a lingering feeling that "hmm, something is missing". And almost always, what is missing is a plot beat that they'd have included if they'd outlined in detail. Like a Mid-Point Reversal is missing. Or there's no Hook before Inciting Incident. Or there's no All is Lost moment.
But I think it's easier to insert that plot beat stuff later in revisions than the spur of the moment sparks of imagination/genius. That stuff is unique to the writer.
I totally agree that these things should be considered during revision, but when you are drafting, thinking about them might make you feel stuck and under pressure
I agree. Every writer no matter their process needs to make sure they hit those story beats.
I fear my point may have got lost in translation a little here. Story structure is obviously important and I'm not saying you ought to ignore it or forsake the act of writing outlines (not at all, my entire teachings are based around setting up a correct bird's eye outline for your story before you write). What I was trying to say with this video is that there is such a thing as being too detailed and too strict with following your outline, because I've seen this trend of incredibly detailed beat sheets, and writers simply making their way through them like a schoolwork assignment to craft the exact story they plotted, while snuffing out other ideas that come up as 'distractions'. This, to me, is where the danger of losing a story's spark comes in. I'm a big believer in outlines being 'living documents' that change as you write and come upon newer, better, more unique ideas.
Impersonally I think both creative freedom and abbie Emmon's three act story structure makes writing fun.
I have a friend who is a panster, she just listens to herself. She thinks internal conflict is the bomb and am finding her creative thinking freeing. I'm Writing paragraphs that are very immersive right now.
My brain does NOT like outlines. When I've tried outlining scene-by-scene, I've used up my creative energy there. I tend to spend my prep time on character work, the broad strokes of worldbuilding (the stuff I have to know to start writing). Maybe I'll know some of the big scenes or moments, a lot of times I have some idea of the ending.
Story structure is useful to me during the first draft because if I don't know what happens next, I can look to see what kind of thing should happen, and brainstorm from there.
Sometimes I feel these gurus want people to write all the same, so when they come up with their own thing, they'll stand up more.