October Pep: Outlining

This is similar to a post I made earlier, but I thought other MLs and regions might be interested to see the Portland Super Secret(tm) pep talk emails. Here, therefore, is the one from October 15th.

October Pep: Outlining
[Brought to you by nibo, the Ninja ML]

Today's pep talk (sent out from here on out on Thursdays, NaNo-Gods Willing) is brought to you by the following entry in the official NaNoWriMo FAQs:

Do I have to start my novel from scratch on November 1? Can I use an outline?

Yes.

This sounds like a dumb, arbitrary rule, we know. But bringing a half-finished manuscript into NaNoWriMo all but guarantees a miserable month. You'll care about the characters and story too much to write with the gleeful, anything-goes approach that makes NaNoWriMo such a creative rush. Give yourself the gift of a clean slate, and you'll tap into realms of imagination and intuition that are out-of-reach when working on pre-existing manuscripts.

Outlines and plot notes are very much encouraged, and can be started months ahead of the actual novel-writing adventure. Previously written prose, though, is punishable by death.


Writing With an Outline
Outlining is one of those touchy subjects in the vast history of NaNoLand. The FAQ say that it's perfectly okay, even possibly encouraged, for you to pre-plan your novel. Outlines, character sketches, even backgrounds for those tricky antagonists are all perfectly okay as long as you don't cross that line in the sand that leads to actually writing your novel's prose before November 1.

There will, however, always exist that vast divide between those who write their NaNoNovels by outline and those who take upon themselves the courage to simply "wing it." Although for years, I (nibo) counted myself as one among their number, advancing age and personal wordcount stipulations have forced me to rethink this strategy. I come to you today as a fallen 'Wing'er.'

I have come to discover that a certain beauty exists within a well drafted outline. First of all, in my experience, it allows you to achieve a considerable higher rate of sleep in November when you cross into the dreaded, mythic Week Three. Also, it's something to bring to write-ins and Meet and Greets and wave around beneath everyone else's noses, proclaiming how very committed you are to NaNoWriMo and how well you're going to do because of all of this outlining you've done. After all, doesn't a good outline mean that you're destined to win and go on to Noveling Greatness(tm)?

Well, not exactly, but it can help. While many will forever and always NaNo by the seat of their pants, those who swear by the pre-November outlining and planning will also likely continue to do so. Here, for those of you who are outlining this October, I offer the following description of my own outlining methodology, as a moment in the mind of a fellow outliner:

It's similar to the Snowflake Method*, but a little less structured.
First: Get the idea of your novel. Anything will do. Monkeys take over a call center in Victoria, B.C. as a bid for world domination? Sure. Sounds good to me! The next big thing!

Next, figure out a very loose plot. Basic point A to point B. At this point, I usually look at the wordcount requirement I've set for myself and try to figure out about how long I want my chapters to be so I know approximately how many I'm going to need. (I usually err around the 2500-4000 words mark for chapters.)

I write out the chapter numbers in a blank document and create goals for each one (the plot of the chapter in a sentence or two). This is the main chunk of my outline until the beginning of November. Just something to stew over until things really get going and I can meet my characters.

As the novel progresses through the month, I'll take a little time to outline the scenes I want for each chapter before I get to it. This gives me a pretty easy "Connect the Dots" way to get through my daily writing. I don't often hit any serious road blocks, unless they're plot-based, and it gives me something solid to refer back to later if I want to edit the piece as a bid for that afore-mentioned Noveling Greatness(tm).


It might work for you or it might not, but this is how I outline and pre-plan my novel. Sometimes, I'll also hunt down pictures to use for each character and, if I'm feeling really nerdy, I'll create roleplaying character sheets for them. It gives me something to reference during the month if I can't decide what to make the character do next.

Yours in prose (well, not yet) and insanity,
-Lauren (aka nibo, the Ninja ML)
Hostess of "The NaNo Project" (http://thenanoproject.blogspot.com/)


*The Snowflake Method
Heavily relied upon every year by a large number of outliners, The Snowflake Method suggests that creating an outline for a novel is comparable to creating a snowflake using fractals.
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php