Outline Blues

I absolutely hate writing outlines. Over the years, though, I've learned that they are a necessary evil. Without them, your story can meander off in all directions and you can end up writing the same part twice or leaving out crucial plot development. You can also call the same person three different names by mistake. That is why detailed character sketches are also important. Character sketches are less hateful because you get to write out the little quirks and snips about your characters that you need to know to write them effectively, but that no one else will ever see. Outlines, on the other hand, only make me want to start writing the actual chapters.

As a result, I dart back and forth between my outline and another open file where I scratch out ideas and scenes that I don't want to forget while I'm trying to map out the story. The outline for Plans ended up being 43 pages long and took me almost a month and a half to write. I'm sure it wouldn't have taken as long if I wasn't so damn flighty when it comes to this part.

Plans is on hold until I can get the beta copies printed, and I've resolved not to read it through again until I get those copies and can read it along with my readers. This is partly as a show of solidarity for their pain, but more so because I've read it so many times I've started to imagine I've used the same phrase seven or eight times when I really only used it once. It's time to take a step back and let it breathe for a couple of weeks, no matter how much I adore my little sprites.