I'm 'winging it' with my current story. I deliberately didn't plan a thing, all I have is the main character and a snippet of her memory and two others broadly conceptualised. I wanted to write it out spontaneously, to keep myself entertained and interested. But I'm also writing a synopsis as I go along. So after each chapter, I summarise it event by event, a couple hundred words at most. This way, I won't get lost or have to sift through pages and pages trying to stay consistent, plus, I'll have a draft of my synopsis at the end as well.
My states writers center has just shared this with us, how ironic that it actually has to do with this topic. It isn't about making an outline, it's about organising your thoughts to allow both spontaneity and structure https://medium.com/@caitlinblinks/creativity-chaos-3-ways-organization-gets-your-passion-project-off-the-ground-b4a218336925 hope this is useful Amanda
I tried writing without an outline in my past, and I never finished a damn thing! I now create basic outlines, but they are not rigid. I tend to have 'scenes' in my head, and making an outline helps me place them in a logical sequence. I may have bits of dialogue I invent and will pepper those in where I think they should go as well. But, my outline is merely a guide; it's purpose is to direct the basic story but not define it. I let my characters grow and move through the story on their own, but their purpose certainly needs to be defined up front. There is conflict, steps and roadblocks to solving it, and an ending. The 'filler' I never outline or rigidly map out; it just sort of happens. I can't do it without story and character outlines, but I also know not to force myself to rigidly follow the outlines if the story doesn't want to go the same way. Adjustments are made on the fly as needed.
First, storyboards are not typically good planning devices for a novel. They are static depictions of one moment in a scene, a device from film-making (and even in film-making, their purpose is not to plan the story). Second, if you plan too rigidly, you wall off the natural growth that can take place in a story, both to the characters and the plot, as new ideas occur to you. And, finally, a novel is not just a collection of short stories. A collection of short stories is...well, a collection of short stories. My current project, now nearing completion of a 3rd draft, is a historical novel spanning 500 years. Lots of planning. I identified the time periods to use, the main conflicts to take place in them, major historical figures and fictional characters, and both the historical and fictional timelines for each. I devised a twelve-chapter outline, with a nice title for each chapter that would play off the mc for each historical era and the main event of each modern-day chapter. And then I started writing. It wasn't long before I realized that my chapter outline was constraining a really interesting new subplot that had literally just popped into my head. I tried to write it and not upset the outline, but I soon realized that if I didn't make some change to the chapter outline, it was going to choke my novel to death. So I smushed (a technical term) three chapters into two to make room for it. But it had later implications I hadn't counted on and didn't want to lose. Before I knew it, twelve chapters had mushroomed to fifteen. Then eighteen. Finally twenty. I ditched the chapter titles and went with numbers, stopped worrying if all the historical eras were of roughly the same length. Eventually, I stopped thinking about the outline altogether, because it had served its purpose: it had provided a framework around which to build a story until the story was strong enough to stand on its own. The key was to be flexible enough to be able to take advantage of new ideas.
This. My view entirely. Just like you, I'm at the quarter mark of my first novel. It's fantasy and therefore a little larger word count wise than if I was writing a mystery or something. I began with an idea. Then a character. This evolved into a world with multiple characters, plots, and sub-plots. I wrote it down, made character sheets, and the outline for the chapters with what occurs in each chapter. It's been a year now since I began the project and the story only slightly resembles what it started as. I dropped entire sub plots, characters completely changed, and I even gave the boot to the "main antagonist" because I realized the antagonist's side-kick was entirely better. The only thing that hasn't changed is the original cast of characters (though "who" they are has changed) and the main idea of the plot. But like Ed said. I'm glad I got my story on paper in an outline because it gave birth to what it is now, which is vastly different from what it started as.
I do both. During my first draft, I know at least three scenes in my head, one of which is hopefully at or near the climax, giving me something to aim for. But the story unfolds naturally, without an outline. During my first revision, I know how the story goes and I write an outline based on what I've written. From that I create a new outline and revise the manuscript until it conforms to the new outline. Best of both worlds I think.
After writing a few decent short stories a few years ago, I've been busy doing other things. Now, finally, it seems inspiration has struck. I now have a very brief outline for what could conceivably be a decent novel. The only problem is that I don't really think my writing at present is up to the task. I've never mapped out a character's long term development before, I'm worried about getting the timing right in regards to building suspense... Any thoughts or ideas on what to do? I'm thinking maybe writing a few more shorts to get going again, maybe something I could build into the novel at some point? I know there is no surefire answer to the following, yet I have to ask: How does one know when one is ready to write a novel?
I'd recommend meeting the requirements for the Writer's Workshop then submitting a few short stories. Then experienced members of this forum will give valuable feedback to help you improve your writing. That's what I'm doing, as I know my writing abilities aren't currently anywhere near up to the task of writing a novel. So, I'm going to be writing things as they come to me, then submitting them to the Writer's Workshop. Once I feel the feedback is positive enough, I'm going to go forward with writing a full novel. Writing is a craft that requires daily practice to master or even grasp.
I'd go for it. You might get hit by a bus tomorrow. The point is time is short, and if you continue to put it off it will never get done. You can always go back and edit and revise later. You will learn a lot more about novel writing by writing one than any workshop or short story task you chose to do. So what if you don't think your up to the task, prove yourself wrong, stop with the excuses. I want to write like Oscar Wilde, it is never going to happen, but I'm not going to give up trying before I've begun. Good luck
I find short stories more difficult to write and recall reading a book of short stories by Joanne Harris. I like her novels. She wrote at the front of the book that she find s/s difficult and she was right, I found hers nowhere near as good as her novels. So, just give it a go. The novel I completed earlier this year began as a s/s which i adapted to be Ch 1 - so that might be a way forward.
There will always be something to worry about and someone somewhere will always find something wrong with your writing. My advice, pick up the flipping pen and just write. If you can spin a good yarn your readers will follow. Worrying about every technical aspect along the way makes it almost sound clinical and could destroy your creativity. It did mine and I've suffered with the dreaded writers' block for over a year.
I see where this is going, and I agree. Only a have a single follow-up question. If one wishes to write, reading a lot is obviously a good idea. However, what about the different self-help books on how to write a novel? Are they any good? Have a few on my Amazon wish-list, and I'm thinking about placing an order right now.
A lot of the How To Write books espouse their own particular methods, which are great of those methods are a good match for your style, but pretty frustrating if they aren't. I think most of the authors of these books have a significant web presence, so I'd suggest checking out their websites and trying things out to get an idea of what might work for you before ordering the full books. That said, practically every writer seems to read Stephen King's On Writing at some point or another, so it might not be a bad place to start for a general overview.
At once. Get coffee/tea, snuggle up in your favorite chair. If you have a cat, put him/her on your lap. Pick a scene that's the clearest in your mind and write it. How do I get over the grip of fear and self-doubt? This is what I put in the bottom of my rough draft: NOTICE: This first draft makes Twilight look like the greatest American novel of the twenty-first century. Simply put, it sucks. You have permission to continue anyway. Remember, it can always be edited later. My creative writing teacher once told the class this: start where the story gets good because that's where the readers will get hooked.
You will build all of those things you are worried about not having, in the editing phase. Don't send it to publishers until it is PERFECT. Don't write it to be perfect. EDIT it to be perfect. Just get the story down and you'll have something to start really working on.
When to start ?after your first draft, as for 'how to' my favorite is "fictional writers brainstorming"
I just jumped in with a novel. I wrote some shorter stories on and off over the years, but never was dedicated. But, with this novel, I've been working on it for over two years. I'm almost done with the second draft.
This is one of those things you learn by doing. You ain't gonna learn how to map a character's long-term development by writing shorts, because the nature of shorts simply doesn't allow that sort of intricacy. Write shorts by all means to get warmed up - but it won't teach you how to write a novel. It's a daunting task, but just have fun. I've been writing since I was 9 and never have I asked, "Am I ready to do this?" Because I've just always done it for fun. Sure I wanna get published, but really, why I started was cus it's plain and simple fun. So have fun, and do it. Do it now! You won't learn any other way.
As I'm getting ready to start a first draft on a new novel I'm starting to rethink how I should go about that initial first scene. My main strategy has always been to show the character a little before a turning point. For one novel I had a school teacher's anxious days before his new year starts ( in which he meets a very odd student ) Looking at it now it seems like wasted rubbish. In another novel I started with a child's accident provoking a man into making a career change to pay for the hospital bills - again wasted rubbish. And in my first novel I actually did not show my mc until the second chapter and started with a murder. I'm on the fence on that one. The trick is to find the right moment of where to start – too far into an event I have to back pedal and explain, and too soon it feels like excess. Right now I'm debating what scene to start with. The idea of the story is to have a family plus the wives ex-husband living in a very spooky house. When I first thought of the story I planned on starting it with them ( including the wife and children ) walking through the house of the title before purchasing it ( a bit of a change for me to jump right in ) – but that would mean back pedaling to explain their situation of how they decided to buy a house together. Explanations which could turn into an info dump. My other idea was I would rather have Ike picking up Obadiah at the mental institution and having the facility foreshadow the house. So I'm back to where I usually start my novels before the cusp of a turning point. Interesting too that I'm already consciously thinking of foreshadowing. Plus, I like the idea of isolating the two characters – Ike and Obadiah who will have the biggest clash in the novel. So what runs through your head when you are about to start that first scene – goal, foreshadowing, tone, character, setting, the quiet before the storm?
