There is a huge misconception when it comes to outlining and that a writer has to stick to the outline. As a planster, I highly encourage outlining while at the same time saying stray away from the outline if your creativity takes you into a new direction. Nothing is wrong with going with ideas that you have that are in a different direction because those can be better. In addition, you can compare the new direction to the old direction to see if it works out. At this point you can decide if it is a good idea to keep the new scene in the story, move it around, and also decide if the old scene still works because sometimes it does with a feel alteration or none at all.
Misconceptions About Outlines
I think there is a huge misconception about what it means when an outline is created and how it “should” be used. I’ve often heard authors state it causes them to feel boxed in, therefore not leaving room for creativity. Though, I’m curious, has anyone ever told you following the outline is not mandatory? You might be thinking, “Well what was the point of the outline?” I’m glad you asked.
An outline is created as a reference to the timeline of your story. Think of it as a chronological list of events. In real life we cannot change the past, but since this is fiction and you are the creator of the story, you can quite literally do anything you want. So, if you planned on your climax being Billy rushed to the mountaintop to find the evil Dr. Handy with his wife and children, but you change your mind to be Billy rushed to the mountaintop to find Dr. Handy with only his children, that is fine. Because more than likely you have already sorted out why that event is taking place instead of the original event.
Outlining is knowing what you want to happen and taking note of it. And if you’re anything like me, you have one million details to follow while still allowing yourself room to create more to your story. And if you want to keep track of changes just save it as v1, v2, v3, etc. But you will not be condemned for not sticking to the outline. But it is best to get to that new idea rather than letting it leave you.
Give Yourself Space to Be Creative
If you are too settled on the outline you created, you lose the opportunity for increased greatness. I’ll say that again, you lose the opportunity for increased greatness. No author is looking to be given a one star review so they have to allow themselves grace to know things will change as their writing journey progresses. Believe it or not, the more you write the better you will become at writing. Therefore, by the time you have reached the halfway mark of your writing journey, you may realize there is a change in the beginning of the story that needs to take place.
As new ideas surface you will begin to identify what does work and what doesn’t work. It doesn’t mean that you need to redo your outline, it just means you need to operate differently from that point on. You can go back to make changes later—don’t forget to make notes for your ideas, they slip away so easily.
So, think of outlining as merely a tool that allows you the opportunity to flush out various scenarios to eventually reveal what doesn’t work. Then bringing you to a better perspective of what will. When you know what doesn’t work you know what to remove from the possibility list therefore allowing space to open and bring forth new ideas for your story.
Nothing is perfect
We often get caught up with things going according to plan and that’s just not the way things workWhat works for your story works for your story. There are times where sticking to the outline may be detrimental to the process, such as when the story has a lot of world building involved. If a scene happens that does not coincide with the rules of that world you will either need to make sure you can implement this new part of the world or remove it all together. Though you are writing fiction sometimes the audience wants things to make sense, and sad to say, if too much doesn’t make sense it can hurt your story. But don’t over think that either. A great story can sometimes overshadow things that don’t make sense.
With that perfection can never be achieved. Which is another reason to not feel as though you are mandated to stick to an outline you created. Sure it sounded good for that time, but as I stated in the previous section things change. New ideas arise and some things just do no work anymore. Does that mean that your picture perfect story is now imperfect? No. I’d like to think that actually pushes you a little closer toward perfection.
By eliminating the idea of a perfect story based on what you have outlined, you make room for a perfect story due to the origin of the outline. By this I mean you have to start somewhere. If you never created the outline, you wouldn’t know how to identify what your idea of perfection will look like. Now that you have your outline, and have created space, freed yourself from the idea of perfection you have set yourself up for a healthier writing experience.
In the end, outlining is never mandatory. And you don’t have to stick to it. However, writing an outline can get you to where you need to be. Never feel like it’s a binding contract or that others will judge you because you didn’t stick to your outline. You will be more commended to have the bravery to change things no matter how much you love them then to keep things mediocre and not change things out of fear. Because that’s really odd that’s holding you back is fear of your story appearing as something that it’s not. So create that outline, leave space for yourself to create more, and get rid of the idea of perfection because nothing is perfect you always need more time to create and an outline is just a tool to help you get started.
