Writing from an Outline (or summary, if you will. And I know you will.)

Whiskey still in a Georgia cave.
Distillation in writing doesn't need to be hidden in a cave. Photo by Ken Killian.

Way back in the beginning of the new decade (Jan. 15 to be precise), I was reading Albert Zuckerman’s Writing the Blockbuster Novel. Although there were some useful bits in there, it was Ken Follett”s successive outlines for The Man From St. Petersburg that caught my eye. When people talked about outlines and writing I had always imagined a scientific outline replete with capital and lowercase letters, numbers and indentation. Follet’s ‘outlines’ are more story summaries. Each version is about 15 pages long. This was a revelation.

Now I am working on my third draft of Shadow of the Black City, but instead of forging ahead and just revising my second draft, I’m using Follett’s method to explore the story deeper. It seems to be working out pretty well. I find that looking at it in a distilled form allows me better see themes, character relationships, and story arcs. It also makes it easier to play with different things without committing to writing 5 or 10 thousand words about it.

My hope is that working over these outlines a few times before working on the third draft will be more efficient in the long run, allowing me to really revise rather than completely rewrite my next draft. I feel like I could have saved myself that horrid first draft (replacing it with a mildly repugnant one) had I approached my story this way.

My blogging friend Teresa Frohock has a nice post related to her experience of working from an outline versus off the cuff. In her post she compares two novels she’s written – one from an outline and one from the seat of her pants. The side by side comparison is illuminating. Check it out.

For my next novel, I’ll be using this approach at the beginning rather than in the middle. If you haven’t tried, I recommend at least giving it a shot.

6 thoughts on “Writing from an Outline (or summary, if you will. And I know you will.)”

  1. Hi Jonathan,

    Thanks for the referral! I remember I used to scoff at the outline method without even trying it. Now that I have to budget my writing time between job and family, I’m not just looking for ways to deepen my story-line, I’m looking for more efficient ways to write.

    The outline really helps, and you explained how quite beautifully.

    1. That table in your post really drives home the advantages of writing with an outline. I wish I could produce a great story without one, shooting from the hips and channeling my muse, but, alas, I’m more of a roll up my sleeves kind of writer. I don’t mind, though. It’s fun to see things take shape as a result of that work. If an outline makes it a little more efficient, all the better.

  2. Pingback: writing fiction with the 1-3-1 method « helluo librorum

  3. Hi! I’ve definitely been converted to outlining. The first draft of my novel was lacking a lot of structure, which I made up for in the second draft. Still, I’m not finished with it and I’m convinced it’s because I didn’t think it through thorougly. I must admit, plot is not my strength, but character and dialogue are. Now that I’m moving onto another novel, I’m going to outline it ALL, characters, world, everything before I begin to write. I’m going to spend the entire summer outlining, in fact. (as well as revising that first novel, again.)

    1. I wonder how many people write their first novel that way and never continue because they don’t like the way it turns out. I would bet there are more conversions to some sort of outlining process than there are from outlining to freeforming it. My guess is that most writers use some sort of method of summarizing, or scene and character sketching, or anything else that anchors their story.

  4. Pingback: repeat monday — writing fiction with the 1-3-1 method | helluo librorum

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top