There's a great joy in starting a new writing project. There's my clean page, waiting for my words of brilliance to flood down upon it. There's my shiny new idea, waiting for me to write it down on paper. There are my characters, waiting in the wings to come on stage and play out my story.
It's all there waiting for me. Waiting for me to put my fingers to the keys. Waiting for me to start.
Then I do start. With a head buzzing with ideas, I race through page after page, trying to get my story down before it flies away, trying to capture the amazing story living in my head. Words seems to appear of their own accord.
Then I have to stop. I've run out of time to write. But I can't resist scrolling quickly through the pages I've written, not reading them, just looking at the words, at the start to a brand new story. And then I see something that makes me smile.
I've left the outline already.
Not badly, but in a way that will hopefully make the story better in the long run. And to tell the truth, now I've written something, I find having an outline doesn't annoy me as much as I thought it would. If I've left it already, then there isn't much hope for it in the rest of the story. Though it has helped me work out the basic direction of the story and the main plot points, which is what I need.
I've come to the conclusion that outlines are made for generally ignoring.
I love that clean page feeling. Too bad I'll bully it around with a red pen later. But you have an outlive, and that's a great start! :)
ReplyDeleteTo tell the truth, I think my poor outline's going to take a beating. It's ok as far as it goes, but things don't always work out in the story that I plan in the outline. It'll just have to be flexible.
DeleteAnd, they say that rules are made to be broken, don't they?! Are you going to share your story, Immy? I'd love to read it! xx
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll definitely want some people to read it once I've written it. I'll need some reassurance that I haven't written complete rubbish.
DeleteI'm definitely breaking the 'stick to your nice neat outline rule'. Still, I've come up with a plan. I'll simply change the outline to fit the story. Perfect idea don't you think?
Why bother with outlines? Creativeness rebels against them anyway, I think. Make an outline, but never write it down, or you'll spoil it...:D I have an outline in my head, and it's continuing to evolve. I finally see what they mean about a story growing properly...
ReplyDeleteI used to think that outlines killed my creativity. I swore never to use them. However I found that writing down where I thought my story would go actually helped, rather than wandering through without a clue.
DeleteAll my outline is is a few basic facts, and a few basic plot points I'm working towards. The middle? A mystery, just waiting for my creativity to get a hold of it.
That's how I do my outlines too. I used to hate them, but they really do make it easier. I just use mostly bullet points and put down whatever I think really ought to be in there. Lots of times I end up changing it anyway, but my thoughts are neater and clearer than they are when I'm just randomly writing. (So basically everything you just said, Imogen. :p)
DeleteI put my outlines down in paragraphs, one paragraph for each plot point. Plus I note in any important backstory I've managed to work out. Then I go and ignore everything I've written. It seems to work.
DeleteOh my gosh you are a woman after my own heart. I try to be a planner. I really do try. But I'm just not. I create an outline of sorts and by the end of the first chapter I've already strayed. And after I stray, I don't go back to the outline and change things I just keep going.
ReplyDeleteBut...sometimes I go back to the outline and might grab a scene from it. Its not even remotely close to where I had originally placed it but at least the outline isn't a total waste :)
yay for new stories! I'm starting one too :)
I've always envied people who can plan a whole story out, then write the story according to plan. Like you, I've tried to be like those amazing people, but every time I fail.
DeleteAll I hope for from an outline is a general direction, some pointers as to where this story might end. My characters never act like I want them to, so predicting their movements is impossible.
I think one of the best parts of writing is starting a new project. Everything's just so fresh and shiny.