My Writing Process// Part Two: Outlining

Welcome to the second post in my writing process series. Last week I told you how I grew an idea from a seed of inspiration to a lanky seedling. This week I'm going to tell you how to take that partially grown idea and turn it into an outline.

Disclaimer: I want everyone reading to know that writing is a subjective and personal adventure. What works for me might not work for you. I've had many ask about my writing process and how I go about outlining, which is why I'm writing this series. I've gone through many different methods throughout the years and this is what works for me right now. But you should always experiment with processes and see what works for you. These are merely suggestions, not the way to do it. I don't even follow these steps all of the time. Take what seems useful to you and leave what doesn't.

~Outlining~

As I said last time, I'm using The Herbalist's War as my example. I felt like my outlining process for this book was #onpoint and made the entire drafting portion so much easier. 

I'll often come up with several good ideas for plot twists and conflicts during the growing phase. These are super helpful when I start outlining.

For this novel, I tried something new and it worked tremendously. I used a conflict arc/chart thingy because this was my first standalone novel and my biggest project to date. I needed something visual to keep the big plot points straight. 

What is a conflict chart, you ask? Basically, it's a wave chart where you map out where your conflicts are in the story, how much tension there is, and when it should happen. If you're saying that studying Algebra serves no purpose in the real world, I present to you an XY graph. Don't ever tell me writing doesn't involve math. It does. *takes out pin* *bursts your bubble*

This is my basic conflict chart. I know, my handwriting isn't cute.
You're welcome for the assault to the eyes. 

As you can see, this helps visualize the tension and time correlation. I usually put marks along the bottom line to indicate the chapters (there's a few on this drawing, but I got lazy and didn't feel like finishing it the number of chapters varies for each book). This helps me balance the conflict throughout the story, instead of smashing it all in one area. At each 'crisis' wave, I insert one or more of the plot twists/conflicts as they fit into the timeline. Now I can tell just by looking at it if there's enough conflict or if the plot is flat.

Next, I get an idea of how many chapters I think the story needs. This doesn't have to be set in stone. If I find some chapters need to be combined during the first draft process, I'll just go ahead and do that. I make a note of it on the outline and then just keep going. For THW, I decided it was going to have 50 chapters. It ended up having 47 chapters. I've also added chapters for some of my stories. Just remember that the outline is to help keep you on track during the drafting portion. It's not a set-in-stone can't-be-changed deal. 

I then use the conflict chart to divide my chapters into sections: beginning/opening, middle/set up, and end/tying up.

For this story, the first five-ish chapters were the 'beginning/opening chapters', with the first conflict point happening during the chapter at the end. Chapters 6-30 were middle/set up chapters, with one twist in the middle of this section and another at the end. Then chapters 31-end were the end/tying up chapters, with one more conflict, the climax, and the denouement all spread out in the section.

Obviously, this is all subject to change during the editing phase, but it works for my drafting process. I feel like there will be less for me to edit structurally because of this process. I know for The Dawn of a Hero, I had to go back and add all of these details because I didn't do so to start. It works either way, so if you choose to not do this for your first draft, that's fine. You can add it in later. I just prefer it this way. #lessworkforme Also, I cried a lot less during the drafting portion.

So now I have a completed-ish outline. I usually print it out so I can scribble notes all over it, but I keep the digital copy handy so I can make big changes there.

A couple takeaways:

1. Make sure your conflicts are well spaced and not squished together.
2. Don't forget to add conflict (as I've so often done)
3. Remember that an outline is a tool, not a pair of shackles. You can change it.
4. Think about your story in terms of shape. What does it look like? On that note, I wonder if someone has ever drawn a picture, then based their story structure around it. Maybe I should do that at some point...
5. Try new things with each story. Don't be afraid to experiment.

I hope this was helpful. It's just a glimpse into my crazy outlining brain. This process will continue to evolve since I try new things with each story, but this is what it's like now.

Onto y'all! What things do you do for outlining? Or do you prefer to pants? Or a mix? What's your sweet spot?