bang chan burner account · 18d
hello! i love your fics (and have gushed about them multiple times in your comments) and appreciate how open you are to answering Qs about your process!
what i would like to know is -- how much do you actually outline before you start writing, and how much of that outline makes it to the final story? you said in an earlier answer that you're a heavy planner and outliner, plotting each line of dialogue.
im asking because for this fic that im writing, i have a pretty detailed outline - not to the dialogue level like yours, but each scene is mapped out and how they'll drive the plot forward, etc. but when im putting the words to paper, i sometimes end up deviating or coming up with additional scenes or lines in my head that dont follow the outline to a T.
another writer oomf said that it's normal, to "let the story write itself." does that also happen for you? or do you follow your outlines religiously?
Hi hi!! Thank you for loving my fics and for gushing about them in the comments. I’m using my telepathy to learn your identity as we speak
The answer to your question is I go absolutely crazy town on my outlines. The Story Does Not Control Me I Control The Storyâ„¢
jk
My outlines vary in length but are usually around 20k words. I think my shortest outline was 10k and my longest was over 60k but I can’t recall exactly how long
In addition to writing out every piece of dialogue, I am also establishing setting, physical movement, plot lines, themes/motifs, and character development in my outlines. It really is like. Everything. I’ll post some example screenshots on twt under where I post this response
Almost everything I outline makes the final cut as well. Sometimes I’ll remove things from the outline that ended up taking more space than I intended. For example in racehorse, one of the chapters I wrote was originally 20k words longer than what it is currently. I cut 20k after writing it bc it was too too long. The conceit of that chapter is the same, but not quite as detailed as it was before
So for your process. It is extremely normal and fine for your story to shift as you write it. There’s a method of writing called discovery writing, which is where you go in with an idea, start writing without much of a plan, and just discover where the story takes you. Your process sounds like you have a plan, but you still make room for discovery writing as the story and characters develop and naturally progress in a direction you hadn’t originally considered. That’s super common
My favorite part of the writing process is editing, then outlining, then the actual writing. So for me, I want the writing part to go by quick and easy. Therefore, I am doing multiple rounds of outlining and planning before I start writing. By the time I get to the actual writing, I’ve already encountered all of the moments where the story wants to naturally deviate and accounted for them in my outline
So because my outlining process is so vigorous, I do end up following the outline pretty closely and I don’t encounter moments where the story gets away from me as I write. Most of the changes from my outline to the story I end up posting are cosmetic
Please understand that my way of outlining is not typical and I’m kind of a. Crazy person for the way I do it
