Starting Your Story: The Outline

    One of the most important parts in creating a story is outlining. It might not always be very fun, but trust me when I say it's extremely necessary. An outline can be a crucial part in figuring out what you want to happen next: If you aren't quite sure where you want a scene to go, just glance at your outline and move on to the next event that's supposed to happen. If you know the specific plot points of your story, it's easier to fill the gaps in between.

    There are many ways to create your outline. If you're a bit of a mess, like me, you can just scratch ideas out in a notebook, and then connect the dots wherever you see fit. If you're a bit more structured with your process, you can draw up a literal timeline and mark down which events you want to happen when. Or, you can even use your timeline as a sort of writing exercise: write out the entirety of what you want to happen in your novel in the form of a short story. Basically, explain all the events that you want to happen, which you will later add more detail to. 

There are many websites that can assist you in this process. One that some of my friends have recommended to me in the past is Campfire Writing. Although primarily used for worldbuilding, it can still be good for outlining. 

There are many aspects of your story that go into an outline: Setting, characters, world events, and much more. Personally, I like to focus on the events before I dive more into the characters and their setting. All of these aspects need to come together for your outline to be complete. 

When outlining your characters, one good way to start is to create a character timeline. Your character's past, present, and future rely on the events of your story, so if you don't have that imagined for them, it's hard to fit them into the outline of your story.

When you're considering the setting of your story, refer to the events you want to take place, as well as the events that might've happened before the story started. How do all these moments impact the world you're trying to build? What type of background will your characters thrive in? How can your world influence the events in the story? These are all questions you should ask yourself when incorporating the setting of your story into your outline.

For the novel I'm currently working on, it wasn't very hard to form an outline. The plot is based on real life experiences, and such the characters are modeled after real people. I've taken those experiences, written them out on a timeline that makes chronological sense to the story I want to tell, and whenever I get stuck, all I have to do is glance at this timeline and do my best to recall what was happening to me in the moment I'm referring to. It's not always that easy, however, and I implore you to put just as much effort into your outline as you do your manuscript.

Once you have your outline solidified, you can finally move onto every writer's nightmare: the blank page.

Comments

  1. Brooks FlickAugust 27, 2024 at 8:50 PM

    I've never had the mind of an author but this is very interesting! You mentioned that you prefer to focus on the events in the story before you work on characters, etc. When you're writing a story, do you usually know how that story STARTs, and work from there, or do you know how you want it to END, and work from there?

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  2. Heather LinerodeAugust 28, 2024 at 11:55 AM

    I appreciate your insight into how to start! I like to write in my free time and would love to write my own book. I think it's very interesting that making an outline wasn't difficult for you in this instance, with so many directions you can go story-wise I feel like its a little overwhelming to decide on a set concept. I also checked out Campfire Writing and it seems like a really useful tool that I may have to use in the future. Looking forward to reading more about your progress!

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