Many writers and editors will say working with an outline is easier and (possibly, in my opinion) quicker. For these reasons, I’ve been trying to outline as much as possible. It has meant I’m not missing as much as I might if I were to just write what comes and arrange it later. It was also lauded as the best way during the writing workshop I attended at the end of last year.
But.
Having an outline doesn’t mean you have a completely easy path toward your goal. Sometimes the words get stuck between my brain and fingers that want to type them out on the page. Sometimes I just don’t have time to finish an entire scene or chapter in one sitting, and it’s somewhat difficult to sit down and finish it before moving on.
Another method taught during the workshop was writing for at least 10 minutes a day. With an outline and that 10 minutes, I am guaranteed to have a novel-length story by the end of the year.
But.
I don’t always have those 10 minutes – sometimes I have five, sometimes I have 10, sometimes even more. I also don’t want to be drafting this story for an entire year.
But.
I ran into a chapter and scene that just wouldn’t end. For a couple weeks, all I had was those 10 minutes. The first few sections of the chapter went well, I was able to pick up and carry on and finish scenes and sections. Until the final scene.
Those 10 minutes a day were not productive at all, so it seemed. I would sit to review and keep writing, only to have a few more sentences or a couple paragraphs completed. I stopped counting the minutes and started counting days. It took about two weeks to get through that last scene to the point I felt good about closing it out and moving onto the next chapter.
Why did the writing of this scene not end? I don’t know. With my outline and the words in my head, I knew exactly where I wanted it to go. Still, I just couldn’t move the action forward. It wasn’t a particularly difficult scene in terms of what was going on and the characters involved.
I’m trying not to dwell on it, because now it’s done and I don’t need to worry about it until I go through and edit before moving onto the next stage in the publishing process.
Whew.
There are other things that I’m finding actually more difficult since I’ve started down this road of planning before writing. I’ll talk about those some other time.
For now, let me know if you’ve ever experienced this – a multi-part task that you could only get done little by little yet still felt you’d made no progress.
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