Hi everyone!
It’s funny how much smoother things go when you don’t lose your glasses and are virtually blind for two days. That being said, the second week of outlining went much, MUCH smoother than my initial start to writing this new book.
I really felt like I was getting into the swing of things this week. I finished making a draft of the initial plot outline, then started brainstorming ideas for running side plots and details throughout the story, as well as making a list of all the rivalries and threats that will be present for the characters.
Last week, I felt I was only spending about fifteen to twenty minutes on outlining each day. Some of that had to do with me having to squint at the page right in front of me just to read my notes for two days, but it was also because I was just getting started on the new story, and still in the feeling out phase with the story and characters. I had mentioned last week that it wasn’t until I started doing a more detailed outline that I started to understand the motivations of one of the main characters. I tend to take it slower when I start a new project because I’ve only got this general direction of where I want to go, and revelations like I had last week have a huge impact on how much more productive I am the longer I work on these stories.
Most days I felt like I was outlining for about an hour. There were two days where I was only able to squeeze in about ten to fifteen minutes, but the rest of the week I was not only jotting down much more notes, I felt they were also on a more in-depth level, whether it was because I was going into more details about characters and scenes, or whether it was because I was starting to get a better sense of how the story would look as a whole.
For the last half of the week, I’ve started to go through the outline of the plot from the main character’s point of view, and I’d say I’m about halfway through the story right now. I plan to do this again for the other main characters, to understand their motivations and goals at each stage of the manuscript. I’ve also started to break the outline down into what I believe the chapters will be. One chapter looks a little too long, and I’m trying to find a good spot to break it up.
I’ve also noticed that although I’m currently focusing on a breakdown of the story from the main character’s point of view, for some of the “chapters” I’m focusing more on what other characters are doing, or his reaction to what they’re doing. Most of the time, it’s what the main villains are doing, and while I think the main antagonist is going to be a force to be reckoned with, these notes shouldn’t be taken right now, but held off until I do the breakdown again from their point of view.
For some of the “chapters” there are also notes about what minor and background characters are up to. While I do intend to keep this information in the manuscript for now, this outline has helped me notice that I should be focusing on presenting this information through the experience of the main character. If I want to include all the actions of all these other characters, whether big or small, its important that I relate it in such a way that the readers understand how this all impacts the main character, and why its relevant enough to be included in the first place.
There’s once again a lot of room for improvement with the outlining. But I’m pleased that I’m doing so much more of it, and how much more it’s delving into the story as a whole.