Why Your Novel Outline Should Be Incomplete
And why it should work alongside your first draft
Whether you’re a planner or a pantser (writing by the seat of your pants), an outline of some sort can be a great help when it comes to writing a novel.
Let’s face it, writing 60,000 words plus is overwhelming at best. Having an outline, no matter how rough, can mean the difference between staring at a blank screen in a wild panic wondering where the words have gone and sitting down every day knowing what scene you’re writing next.
So, having an outline, whether it’s filled out or contains just a few words, can make the world of difference. But if you’re a planner and you maybe have a planning addiction (hello!), then when do you stop outlining and start writing?
This can be a huge problem for some people, especially those writing their first novel, so here we go, here’s the answer:
You never stop working on your outline, but at the same time, it will never be finished.
Which is why, at some point, you have to start writing the story, no matter what stage your outline is in.
In fact, I recommend that you start writing as soon as you know the basic story and have your beginning mapped out.
Why shouldn’t you start writing once your outline is full and complete?
Because your characters will and should come along and mess the whole thing up.
It’s all about your characters
Sir Terry Pratchett (my demi-god, who inadvertently taught me so much about writing and fantasy) once famously said,
‘The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.’
Which is true. Sort of.
The first draft is actually your characters telling you the story, but seeing as how those characters are in your head, that quote of Pratchett’s helps to make you look less mad.
When writing my debut novel, I managed to get half-way through the first draft before I realised something was wrong.
There were actually a few things wrong, but the one I want to focus on right now is that one of my main characters had been hiding something from me.
You see, I’d written the outline of this fantasy novel with a romantic subplot. I had just the right man for my heroine but no matter what I did, or what he did, she just wasn’t interested. The chemistry wasn’t there.
I ended up taking a break to fix the main problems with the story and as I delved deeper into my main character, something became blindingly clear.
She was gay.
It all made perfect sense. Suddenly, she became a whole character.
So, I offered her a new love interest but she still wasn’t bothered. I was getting frustrated until I worked out, through a conversation between her and another character, that she was already in love.
I ended up getting my romantic subplot from two other characters, but that main character’s romance ran slowly throughout the whole series.
Realising what she was holding back from me not only changed the whole of the main subplot of that novel but also shaped the ending of the third book in the series (and will shape subsequent books when I get around to them).
Want another example of characters taking over and ruining your plot?
A couple of months ago, I sat down to start writing the first draft of a new novel and within the first sentence the whole beginning of the book had been changed.
It took seconds for the characters to derail everything.
Why did it happen so fast? Because it’s the second book in the series, so the characters are already developed, and because they’re stubborn, rebellious sky pirates who change their mind constantly (it’s infuriating but I love them).
Your characters coming to life, taking their own direction and pulling the story with them is a sign that your characters are well-developed.
It’s frustrating, yes, but it’s also a wonderful feeling.
Plus, when your characters take control, the story will inevitably become better.
The thing is, your characters can’t come to life and take over, making your story better, if you don’t start writing the story in the first place.
The biggest outlining mistake
Of course, if your characters are going to come to life and take your story in different directions than you originally envisioned, the last thing you want is a complete and full outline brimming with details that then becomes utterly useless.
I know of first-time writers who will pack their outlines with every detail, practically writing the entire book in notes, and never really starting their first draft.
Of course, this might work for some and if any part of this article makes you scoff and look at me strangely, then feel free to ignore it.
Every writer is different and you have to do what works for you.
But if you’re just starting out and don’t know your process yet, then consider that you might be wasting your time filling out that outline only to have your characters force you into rewriting it once you’re partly into the first draft.
Your outline can have gaps.
You can be unsure what happens next.
Part of the outline can just read ‘fight scene here’.
Sure, you still might not know what happens by the time you get there, but chances are you’ll have a better idea of your characters and story by that point.
If you feel like you know the story and you’ve written down the basics, then get writing!
Keep your outline beside you as you write, and update it as and when it needs it.
Your novel outline should be a working document alongside your first draft, chopping and changing as your characters lead you through the story.
Your outline serves only two purposes — to steer you in the direction of the ending and ensure you never have to sit down and stare at a blank document wondering what on earth happens next.
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