Outlining

Erica has asked about my outline and I thought this might be a good topic for a post. Logically, an outline begins at the beginning and follows through meticulously until the end with each step delineated along the way. A typical outline for a research paper would be:

I. Main topic
A. Important subtopic
B. Important subtopic
1. Detail
a. Sub-detail
b. Sub-detail
c. Sub-detail
2. Detail
3. Detail
a. Sub-detail
b. Sub-detail
II. Main topic
A. Important subtopic
B. Important subtopic
1. Detail
2. Detail
Conclusion

The main topic (chapter) in a novel could be the introduction of a primary character or plot line. Sub-plots or transitory situations and secondary or tertiary characters could be the important subtopics, details and sub-details. All of this would be interwoven to lead to the conclusion or final chapter. It’s like climbing a ladder one rung at a time.

While I have an extremely logical mind, it doesn’t always progress naturally from point A to point B to point C. It likes to jump around so I use the expanding outline (popcorn bag) method. I started with the beginning and the ending then filled in the middle.

I knew who my main character would be and what she was like – even her name – so I wrote her profile first. Then I developed family, friends, co-workers and incidental characters that would logically interact with her and did a profile for each. The level of detail depended on the importance of the person to the story.

For places, I created pictures (sometimes cut out of magazines) of what it would look and feel like; i.e. how big/small, clean/dirty, green/brown, light/dark, shabby/ritzy, friendly/snobby or calming/tense.

I woke up one morning and knew the beginning and ending. From there I started developing ways to move from one to the other. I kept coming up with scenarios that could possibly happen along the way. I just wrote them all down in no particular order without censorship. I figured if it came to mind it was fair game. I put each idea on a different page.

When I had all these components and the ideas slowed to a trickle, I opened my dining room table to its full 92” length, spread out all the papers and started trying to put them into an order that flowed well from the beginning to the ending including where to introduce certain people and places. That really helped point out some holes. I’m still working on filling some of them, but I feel more comfortable with everything now.

There are some people who say they just sit down and the ideas flow from beginning to end. They don’t need outlines. I admire and envy them. Maybe someday I’ll be in that category but right now my massive paper pile/outline really helps. Now I just have to sit down and start filling in all the details and adding all those rich descriptions I’ve been learning about from my fellow bloggers.

How do you work?