Talk to me, people.

[only_more_love]

For those writers who outline or do intensive pre-planning, will you tell me what your process is like?  

ETA:  If you're willing to share a sample outline, I'd love to see it. 

Answer anonymously if you want.  Answer even if we're not "friends."  Answer even if you just stumbled across this post and have no idea who I am.  

(And hell yes, I'm spamming today.) *g*

Comments

[bertie456.livejournal.com]

For those writers who outline or do intensive pre-planning...
*happy sigh*
Planning makes me happy.

The way that generally works best for me is writing out a basic outline first of all with as much detail as I have at the time.

Generally as I get further into the outline, I think of things I need to add in earlier; for example, if x is the killer, I should've had him in the background during this section so that he can see event a, and then I'll also add him in here to leave a clue that he had opportunity to kill person y.

It's also good for adding character notes; if I want to introduce person z's secret best friend, I need to drop hints earlier in the story that she exists instead of just springing it on people. (I find it easier to do this part by hand so I can scribble and draw arrows as necessary.)

Once I have the scribble-covered outline, I write it up again, a bit more neatly, and try to break it down into scenes that I want to write. This usually comes out as a short paragraph per 'scene' with as much description as I have at that moment in time.

Example:
- M. is leaving work, flirts openly with S, mentions their meeting at the motel later. As he heads up to his car, he gets a call from his wife(Annie?), claims he's working late. Bumps into janitor as he's leaving. (Passes other people as well - parking attendant?) Wife complains, obvious that he's done this before, but he is unfazed and keeps lying. Hangs up, gets to car, is thinking about S more than wife. Feels faint, falls to ground, sees someone walking over. Recognizes person, starts to speak to him, but passes out.
- B. walks into Jeff. the next morning...

Depending on chapter length, each bullet point paragraph would be about one chapter. (If the scenes are short, sometimes two bullet points per chapter.) With this layout, I usually go through and write a timeline at the sides, just saying Day 1, Day 2 etc. so I know how much time is passing.

After those two outlines (sorry, it's a fairly epic process but I enjoy it), I start to write it but do short chapter outlines first. For example, before the first chapter in a recent story, I had the outline of the next three chapters in my head, especially the starting and stopping points. At chapter 4, I started a new word doc for each of the chapters 4 to 8 and wrote a brief outline to try to work out how fast the action would be happening and also to eliminate unnecessary scenes. I can now also go to these docs to add quotes or lines of narrative that suddenly occur...

Short summary of my long-winded methods:
-General outline with annotations added
-Scene by scene outline with details and timeline.
-Start writing, but have a plan for the few chapters ahead, complete with adjustments and writing/dialogue/POV notes if necessary.

Phew, that was a long post. Sorry if I was rambly, but I hope there was at least something useful there. :)

Edited to fix even more HTML. Oops x2.

[labsquint.livejournal.com]

*happy sigh*
Planning makes me happy.

HURRAH! I'm not the only one in the bunch! And not planning makes me nervous and crazy. I can't stand not knowing where I'm going in a piece.

This was fascinating (to me anyway) to read as you and I/we don't do it that differently at it's core. From the bullet points to the detailed timeline, you know exactly where you are going and what you will be doing before you ever set hands to keyboard.

Your logic and organizational skills warm my heart, Bert!! :)

[bertie456.livejournal.com]

*points to icon*
I am Baldrick. My plans may not always be the sanest of things, but I always have one. Because I'm anally retentive like that. :)

you and I/we don't do it that differently
LOL, I just read yours and was thinking the exact same thing! You obviously take a lot more time with yours, what with the technical details and consultation, whereas with my current plan, I'm more with the "and then they have angry!sex, and then they have guilty!sex..." framework.

But yeah, I like to know what the end will be before I start writing otherwise I'll get stuck/bored and never finish anything. :)

[labsquint.livejournal.com]

with my current plan, I'm more with the "and then they have angry!sex, and then they have guilty!sex..."

Bwahahahahahahaha! Not that there's anything wrong with that! Bring on the smut...

But yeah, I like to know what the end will be before I start writing otherwise I'll get stuck/bored and never finish anything. :)

Yes! No unfinished pieces. That's an absolute with me...

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

whereas with my current plan, I'm more with the "and then they have angry!sex, and then they have guilty!sex..." framework

*wants to read ... worries she's writing more slash in a different fandom ... cries*

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

You weren't rambly; I asked a question, and you answered it in a very helpful way. So thank you for taking the time to do that! I am not much of a planner when it comes to writing fiction. I have a general idea of where things are going, and as snippets of dialog, etc. pop into my head, I'll put them into a document. But most of the "real stuff" actually happens when I'm writing.

That said, I've been wondering if I can streamline the process, make it more efficient, and possibly create a better product, if I can force myself to be more of a planner/outliner. I thought it might be helpful to hear how some "planners" approach the process. If nothing else, I just like to talk shop. *g*

You are awesome for taking the time to give me such a thorough answer; thank you so much for that. *hugs*