The pros and cons of Outline vs Organic

When I wrote my first book, Awakening, it was an organic process. I flew by the seat of my pants. I started with one scene, developed it into a paragraph, then into a page, and finally into an entire chapter. Eventually the story filled out as characters and scenes presented themselves, but it was messy. With no outline, I had no map. It meant constantly raking back through what I’d written to check the details. Did character X have brown hair or blond? Had he come on the scene before character Y?

My writing process changed as I found my way.

Eventually I grew tired of that reference game and developed two “helper” documents. One summarized setting details, and characters’ physical attributes and personality quirks. The other was a timeline to keep track of dates when events occurred. This is critical to ensure realistic timing between events. For example, if a character suffers a black eye, you can’t have the bruising gone two days later when he or she shows up at work.

Both documents have proven indispensable. After the first major edit of Awakening (and there were many), I decided to begin the story several scenes after its original start. The timeline document helped me place the back story I’d cut. Another edit had me moving scenes earlier or later in the timeline. Unravelling story arcs and reworking them into different times proved very difficult. The timeline document helped, but having a map with more detail would have saved me a lot of work.

A outline developed.

With my second book, Revelation, I organized myself a little differently. I started by arranging story snippets I’d cut from Book I and wanted to include in Book II. That list expanded as I added plot points and new characters and settings. By the time I’d finished, I recognized it as an outline. It wasn’t comprehensive, but it proved a good addition to my helper documents, and kept me better organized.

When writing my third book, Redemption, an outline became imperative. The Gift is a trilogy so story arcs needed to be tied up and back story needed to be judiciously spread out. I’m organized, but there are limits; I couldn’t keep that many details in my head. I needed to flesh them out in an outline first. Even with the outline, I had challenges segueing smoothly from one scene to another and spent days waiting for that stellar idea rather than writing.

Outlines aren’t for everyone.

They’re tools. Sometimes outlines are useful – other times they get in the way. The same is true of writing organically. Being a pantster isn’t for everyone. I think every writer finds their own comfort zone over time.

Who knows what process I’ll use with the next book. I’ll let the story and its characters guide me and bring in other writing tools as and when they’re needed. What process works for you?

Wooden desk Photo by Justin Kauffman on Unsplash

White desk Photo by Gabriel Beaudry on Unsplash