Story Structure, Outlines, and Why It All Limits Creativity
Having plans and direction is good – and even safe – when it comes to many things. A building constructed without plans as to where walls, doors, windows, plumbing, and electrical go isn’t going to stand for very long. Knowing where you’re going and how to get there prevents wrong turns and lost time, especially when your destination also comes with a deadline, like an interview, a gathering, or other appointment.
These types of plans and structure help move things forward. But remember back in school when the teacher wanted an outline, a rough draft, and the final paper? Yes, it was meant to guide you through a structured writing process to ensure you wrote a full, detailed paper.Personally, I dislike outlines. I find them limiting, or I think of something else that flows better or makes better sense and suddenly the outline is broken. Event A is supposed to happen in Chapter 12? The flow of actually writing had it happening in Chapter 8. Meaning things that happen in the chapters leading up to 12 need to be reassigned, or cut altogether because now it doesn’t make sense.
As I draft, notes clutter the side margin – reminders of who is who, whether times and even character ages line up, what I named the brewery the main character frequents, and other research notes. A new document is started titled Story Title – UNUSED, just in case something becomes useful again.
I’ve strayed so far from the original premise that I’m on “Final Master Outline v3” and potentially looking at a “Final Master Outline v4.” Because once things start to flow, there’s really no stopping them or reining them in. Forcing them to stay in line? Ha! Have you tried to write a fictional character? Word of advice if you haven’t: don’t.
You may have read writing advice about The Three Act Structure, inciting incident, rising and falling action, climax, and resolution. “The inciting incident should happen X% of the way into the book. Your Act 2 should be X% of the book, so if you’re writing a 300-page…” Excuse me? How do I know final page count before I’ve even written the first word? Do your characters care about percentages? Honestly, most of them say IDGAF and wander off to do their own thing. That piece of key evidence that wasn’t supposed to appear until Chapter 10? The MC found it in Chapter 5.
I’m not saying that outlines and structure don’t work, they do. Outlining and drafting help you tell the story to yourself so you can tell the story to your readers. What doesn’t work is the limits it puts on your creativity. The words might flow, but in the back of your mind there’s this little voice whispering “that wasn’t supposed to happen until Chapter 10.”
Writing isn’t about forcing an idea into a single mode and making it work that way at all costs. Listen to your creativity and let it take you where you’re supposed to go.
What was your biggest frustration about outlining and drafting? Let’s talk on Facebook!