My mission: to write a nail biting, tantalizing, outline of the revision of my current WIP.
We've discussed outlines before on this blog but it never changed the fact that whenever I sit down and plan to outline something, absolutely. nothing. happens. It's like writer's block to the infinite exponential degree. And then highschool memories haunt me of teachers forcing me to outline research papers and draw those stupid spider things when you brainstorm. Roman numerals. Lower case letters. AAAHHHHH!!!
Solution: Don't call it an outline
A fabulous critique partner referred to it as "steps." She encouraged me to write the steps, or as I like to call it, a "scene flow" of where I'd like the story to go. And you know what?
It worked!!! I'm about 40% of the way through my steps and I can't wait to create more steps. It's like building a staircase really, a staircase to a really cool imaginary place.
Happy writing!
That's why the scene development doc I came up with for myself has worked so well. It's not an outline, it's a guide of how to get to where you want to go.
ReplyDeleteWhat is this wonderful scene development doc you speak of? Do share!
ReplyDeleteI use a spreadsheet, changing the font and cell colors constantly. Because I'm tech-savvy, it makes "outlining" seem fun.
ReplyDelete