in which the writer reiterates a resolution

[marycatelli]

I made it after NaNoWriMo and really it was quite a good idea even then.

The whole point of outlining -- at least as I do  -- is to ensure that there's a plot in there.  An complete, entire, whole plot.  That means all the plot issues have to be wrestled to the ground and straightened out in the outline.  It takes longer -- sometimes a lot longer -- and sometimes it means the outline dies on the vine.  Better there than in a manuscript that takes so much longer to write.  Once it's done I can treat it as the first draft and then revise it to include most of the dialog, description, local color and minor twists and turns, and subplots, but the first thing to nail down is the plot, to ensure that there is one.

But I wanted to NaNoWriMo and so I was rushing to finish my outline.  I resolved even then, after I got my 50,000 but not to the end of the book, to not do that again, to never even decide to NaNoWriMo without finishing the outline.  

Now that I am wrestling out the conclusion of the story, figuring out exactly how the heroine figures out what she must do and figuring out exactly where she does so and where she goes to do it. . . I think I underestimated the importance even then.

Comments

[alphien.livejournal.com]

I don't think I had fully understood the importance of an outline before NaNoWriMo. It wasn't until I was writing for several hours a day, ever day, without ever looking over what I'd written before, that I needed a definite map of the plot. But after November, I too, have learned not to underestimate the importance of an outline.

On a side note, have you ever heard of/used The Snowflake Method? I've never tried it out before, but I'm going to give it a shot this coming November, just to see what works for me. Here's a link: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

[marycatelli]

Yes, I've heard of it, but no, I can't use it. I start out a story, usually, with some bright jewel-like moments. Not until I have forged my way through a good chunk of the story do I have a good grasp of what the whole thing's about. I can't start with a sentence summary.