Outline to Write
I remember how much I hated doing outlines during school. I was terribly surprised, then, when I tell people to write an essay or short story by starting with an outline.
Start with the basic ideas of your story. This part you can do in your head in many cases. If you do this on paper, leave lots of room between entries. Your story will just about write itself. You might start with something like this:
boy meets girl
boy and girl fall in love
girl is killed in a car crash
boy is devastated
Take each basic idea and write a sentence about the idea. This sentence should be your basic action or plot of that particular part of the story. The sentences don't need to be elaborate. This is basically just the blueprint for your story. And, since it is your story, it can change as you go along. You can even add more than one sentence per subplot. Just make sure you have enough room to write. An example, very basic, would be as follows:
Boy meets girl during summer vacation.
Boy and girl fall in love and arrange to attend the same university in order to be together.
Girl is killed in a car crash when she is on her way home from a late class. It was a drunk driver who fled the scene.
and so on.
Once you have your basic sentences done, start filling in the details. You might need more paper for this. You might even just start with a fresh piece and write the story following your blueprint. Just write. There is no right or wrong way to tell your story; it is your story.
Give your characters names and backgrounds. Describe where the story takes place. Describe how the characters interact with each other, what they think, and what they do. Build the details of how they met and what it was that made them fall in love.
I guess the general idea is to have a plan before you begin. The best plans are subject to change but have a better chance of success if thought out in advance. An outline is just one type of plan. What I diagramed above isn't really even an outline but is only based loosely on outlining principles.
Good luck!
Start with the basic ideas of your story. This part you can do in your head in many cases. If you do this on paper, leave lots of room between entries. Your story will just about write itself. You might start with something like this:
boy meets girl
boy and girl fall in love
girl is killed in a car crash
boy is devastated
Take each basic idea and write a sentence about the idea. This sentence should be your basic action or plot of that particular part of the story. The sentences don't need to be elaborate. This is basically just the blueprint for your story. And, since it is your story, it can change as you go along. You can even add more than one sentence per subplot. Just make sure you have enough room to write. An example, very basic, would be as follows:
Boy meets girl during summer vacation.
Boy and girl fall in love and arrange to attend the same university in order to be together.
Girl is killed in a car crash when she is on her way home from a late class. It was a drunk driver who fled the scene.
and so on.
Once you have your basic sentences done, start filling in the details. You might need more paper for this. You might even just start with a fresh piece and write the story following your blueprint. Just write. There is no right or wrong way to tell your story; it is your story.
Give your characters names and backgrounds. Describe where the story takes place. Describe how the characters interact with each other, what they think, and what they do. Build the details of how they met and what it was that made them fall in love.
I guess the general idea is to have a plan before you begin. The best plans are subject to change but have a better chance of success if thought out in advance. An outline is just one type of plan. What I diagramed above isn't really even an outline but is only based loosely on outlining principles.
Good luck!
posted by Vickie at 5:40 PM
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