Doing Outlines/Planning?

[Halahan]

This just came up today for me, which I will tell you in a second, but Do you do Planning or Outlines?
I personally do not like outlines for stories or any planning, because then I feel slightly more constricted even if I know I can change it. It's like I have a vague Idea in my head of the plot and characters and such, but I never write them down. It makes me be less imaganative, because I already finished the basic idea in my head.

Anyway, heres how this kinda've came up. (you dont have to read this, but you should)

I got an F on a storyboard thing for P.I. Reading Class for a one minute Movie on Moviemaker about dolphins. (I have a 4.0, but anyways) I was really mad, because I had still done it, I had for ex. the first slide box put, "Title, Good Pic of Dolphins in Background." I was thinking more its order and the more basic stuff, but she wanted (the teacher) more then that. I guess why I didn't put that much effort into it was that I didn't think the storyboard was worth doing. Like... lets see... how to word this... If you write it down on paper, then it wastes twice as much time because, even though you have a clear idea of what your going to do, its much more efficent to do it in the actual moviemaker because then you can clearly see it and edit it and see how it fits... I'm sometimes bad at things like this (also at basketball practice) because I "apply it to the situation," as in if I'm trying to learn something but it doesn't work as well or just is stupid or shouldn't be done in a situation, then I do what I see fit, even if thats not what im supposed to do. Me and my mom were arguing about it. But It just didn't apply to the situation that I should outline it because it is much mroe simpler and efficient to do it in MovieMaker. This is not necisarrily the same for stories, but I wanted to tell it.

 

[SilverHawk]

I'm for a middle ground. I think a "working outline" is best - that is, an outline that you change whenever you feel like it. It's purpose is to make sure that you don't forget that "vague ideas" that you were talking about. However, I also support what you say about not being constricted by a rigid outline.

 

[Pineapple]

Really it depends what you like to do. Sometimes ill have no general outline and other times I will. All i have done with Arcane Corruption book one is when i got to it, no planing. Sure i did plan things in general like "Ok, they need to meet werewolves..." but i never panned on the elves being evil, I just came up with that. But i have the rest of the book planned out in general, so if i did this for my last chapter it would be "luna, Tharon run but tharon gets taken by vampires. Luna gets on a boat to Colossus."

 

[Halahan]

Ya and sometimes too once you write something you see how if you changed something else that you wanted to do farther down the line then it would work better. Like in "The Hunted" (25000 word story I wrote that after i finished I thought it was no good :banghead: )I was going to do where these two Indian boys fought a Battle (younger then) and won but then more came and stuff, but then I realized that isn't realistic so then I changed it where they escaped but then where do they go?, so I have them try to go to the Himilayas where there ancenstors were, but then hwo do they get there?, so I have them meet a Gryphon who flies them but then what are the obstacles?, so theres an evil race of... blablablabla. Thats how I write and I think it works way better cause when you do that you get the feeling mroe of whats happening so you can see how what next will happen should change to work better or something.

 

[Ninva]

In my current story my outline fell appart once I got to a point in the story when so-so had to fight so-so and he never did. xP

 

[Halahan]

See, thats why I don't like Outlines. Its because sometimes the story changes because after you write something it seems wrong or the outline stops the flow slightly.

 

[Krys A Night]

I don't like outlines, but in some cases they are necessary. As long as you take a general breakdown without much details about what you want to do, and put it in the order that you want I can work with that. Though I normally just forget the outline and go by what I want to do in my head.

Though if you're doing a project or a paper for school, doing an outline of what you want and where to put it it will help your grade out a lot. I have issues with papers, I hate writing in a structure that I am told to write in, so having an outline of it helps me get through it in a way.

 

[Halahan]

Well from a publishing standpoint, if your trying to convince a place to publish your book and support you while you finish it or whatever, then you'd need an outline to tell the story.
For ex. once i had to do this storyboard (nine panels) about a story I was to write for language. For one thing, I really hate drawing, unless its on my Etcha Sketch but when I was writing the story I changed the second half of the story's plot, but I still felt constricted to do the battle I had planned to do. It just makes you always go back to what you originally wrote, so I avoid it to let my thoughts flow more.

 

[DM Cross]

With outlines and planning, never concrete anything. Let it be flexible.

Corruption started out completely different than what it is now. As a matter of fact, Corruption was going to be a single book. Now, the book "Corruption" is book 6 in a series of 10! Also, I'm considering doing a collection of shorter books after the first 10. I kept writing and changing things as I thought of new, better ideas, and eventually I had enough back story for five other books and I had ideas for another 4 books! Because I never said "This is the way it HAS to be"

 

[Halahan]

Ya, if I ever did outlines or planning I'd make it as flexible as possible, to the point where it can touch its head to the ground while keeping its knees straight

 

[Lord_Phoenix]

I do the best thinking when I'm in bed sleeping or something. If I can keep something in my head till morening, it usually means it was a really good idea.

 

[Halahan]

Ya that happens to me too, because your so relaxed, and just lying there, so your mind races. For ex., that's how I came up with my new character in my story being a girl.
Plus there is like moonlight streaming in through a window all across my bed so that helps. :nuts: