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[Sakabelle]

When you're writing a story, do you outline it?  What I mean is, do you write out what's supposed to happen in every chapter and then start writing or do you just keep the ideas in your head and just write them down as you go?

I usually just write and don't bother with an outline, but I've started this new story where things need to flow in a certain way... so opinions?  I've also done a time line before for one of my stories which helped a lot to keep things organized. How do you map out your stories before/while you're writing them?

[honey]

can we say addicted to outlines???  lol. I find that I get more anal with the outlines with every story I write.

I usually draw a story arc and start with just the beginning, the end of act one, the mid point, the end of act two, the climax and the final scene. Once I for sure have those main events planned then I can break down each act as I go and add scenes here or there as things change. I wish I could draw a diagram of what I'm talking about for you cause I think it helps me like a million times more than any other type of outline I've ever done. I think story arcs help you keep the pacing and overall flow of a story better than a regular outline. They are also a great way to keep track of your character development throughout the story.

With my latest story "There Were Five" I think I went a little crazy with the planning. lol.
It has two main story lines, and then each boy has their own story line on top of that and they all have to weave together in the right order so that you can piece together everything thats going on. That's a lot of the reason I'm so intimidated by this story.
Anyway there was so much going on in it that I couldn't just do a basic story arc. I took note cards (a different color for each different story line, 7 different colors total) and then wrote out every scene that had to happen onto a different card. then I spread out each story line all over my living room floor and had to separate them all into a chronological order which then became my chapter breakdowns. I'm not even joking. You should see this pile of note cards I have.

Anyway, maybe its crazy, but now I have the entire thing planned and the writing of it should go very smoothly. And hopefully once we get to the end, everything will make sense, everything will work, and nothing will have been left out. And the best part is, I should never get stuck along the way. I'll never hit a dead end and suddenly go oh crap. How am I going to fix this??? (Convenient events in a story because the author got stuck along the way is one of my biggest pet peeves!) AND, now my story won't just go on and on and on for ever and ever...  (that's my other biggest pet peeve, when a story doesn't know where to end.)

[mare]

I have never used an outline for a story ever, but i'm weird lol

[AJsKellyMouse]

I do outlines in my head.  And I've put down notes in the beginning of my notebook on things that I know I want to happen and I don't want to forget them.  I always hated doing outlines in school, so I guess that's why I don't do them now.  I suppose my writing my go more smoothly if I used outlines.  I've been debating whether or not to outline the story that I am really trying to write-since I keep deleting it and starting over and all.

[Sakabelle]

I always hated doing outlines in school, so I guess that's why I don't do them now.

I'm the same way, I don't even do an outline for essays and when they're required I'll usually write essay and then do the outline after.

[RokofAges75]

I didn't used to outline, but I do now.  I started when I was writing You'll Never Walk Alone because it's a mystery, and so I had to plant some "clues" early on and keep everything straight.  It was hard to do once I was close to the climax, so I started an outline to make sure I didn't leave anything out.

Broken was the next novel I started on my own, and since the outlining had worked out well for the end of YNWA, I just naturally started an outline from the beginning for that one.  I always have some kind of outline or document wiht my ideas typed up for my big stories now.  I don't necessarily write everything that's going to happen in every chapter, but I make a chronological list of the major events and add filler ideas between them when I think of them.

I also keep a timeline in my outline, so I always know approximately what date it is in the story.  That's actually been the biggest help for Broken and BMS, since, together, they take place over the course of 7 years... it would be hard to mix up the time without that timeline.

[RokofAges75]

I'm the same way, I don't even do an outline for essays and when they're required I'll usually write essay and then do the outline after.

LOL I always did that too.  I would do the essay first and base the outline on the essay in junior high and high school, when the outlines were required.  But in college, probably because I had gotten used to outlining my fanfics, I would do an outline first for big papers.  It did help me keep them focused and well-organized... and it was a good procrastinatio n technique too LOL.  If I was making an outline, then at least I was planning, which made me feel productive, and then I could delay actually writing the paper a little bit longer LOL.

[nicksgal]

lol at procrastinatio n.

Oddly enough, over half my story ideas have come from dreams. I wake up, think it's awkward, then move on. But when the dream won't go away, I decide to sit down and write. So it's like I've already seen the movie, I'm just letting everyone else attempt seeing it.

I may write an outline for my next story because romance is so far from what I normally do. lol

[RokofAges75]

I wish I could get story ideas from dreams.  I hardly ever have dreams that I remember anymore though.  I usually only remember my dreams if I get a good night's sleep... like more than six hours.  Which only happens on weekends.  So sometimes I dream on weekends, but never anything meaningful enough to get a story out of.  The only interesting dreams I have most of the time are nightmares.

[nicksgal]

I think I just have an overactive imagination. lol

Aw. *squishy hug* Nightmares are no good.

[RokofAges75]

I don't even have nightmares that often, but at least they're interesting.  I'd get a more creative story out of a nightmare than my normal type of dream LOL.

[nicksgal]

Now all you have to do is somehow fit BSB in, and you're golden. lol

[RokofAges75]

LOL With Bsb, it's usually the other way around.  My fanfics inspire the nightmares.

[nicksgal]

ROFL. Does Nick run after you trying to chop your leg off?

[RokofAges75]

LMAO!  Haven't had that one yet.