I’m a firm believer that you need a pretty solid outline if you wish to make it through your story. Especially if you’re a fiction writer like me. Possibilities are so endless that you have to stay somewhat grounded to a pre-outlined story or else you’ll never get there! You either run into the problem of having too many side plots or you become overwhelmed and end up with the dreaded Writers Block.
I made that mistake on my first writing attempt. I had an idea and I thought let’s just wing it! Yeah. That was fun… for about an hour. It wasn’t so fun when I trashed that idea days later. Talk about a waste. Funny thing is, it was probably a good idea.
Bad implementation.
That being said. Lets talk about another mistake. Creating an outline and then feeling pressure to work purely within the confines of that outline. It can make it a nightmare for writing. It definitely disrupts the flow and severely hinders progress. ‘No I can’t have this happen because my outline says it needs to be this way.’ Let me tell you, I started doing that on my next book after the above mentioned trash(ed) story. It took me a week to write one chapter! Everything had to fit in too nicely.
It wasn’t even fun!
I’ve learned that being an author is as much about discovering the story we have as telling it. I’ve found I have the most success when I create an outline but allow for flexibility. You don’t know how something will truly play out until you’re in the moment of writing the details. If something feels right, roll with it! It’s so much more enjoyable that way and what you end up with, is a story you’re excited about. After all, if you’re not excited about it… who will be?
Try it out! I’ve had some of my most successful and enjoyable days when I let my mind wander. So long as you’re staying somewhat grounded to that original outline, the story will progress as planned. 🙂
On that note- I just had a monster session working today on what will be book two of “The Kingdom” series. I’m truly happy with the progress.
Coming soon!
In the meantime check out my site and take a look at Book 1: Hidden City
Happy Writing and Reading
~Cam
Author Cameron Kielb 