Outlines:You use them at all?

[.[FoxBoy~DigiMatt].]

My father is a language teacher and he told me that when I write a story,to start off with a complete preliminary outline of the story,because if not your story may never end,or you may run into a block you can't get past.I never believed him,but I never finished a story.I'd get into a bad rut,or just get bored with it and toss it.

Though I spoke with a few writers before,and they said basically the same thing.I even asked Orson Scott Card if outlines were useful and he said yes.By the way,that is in person.

What do you do?Plan with an outline,or just start writing?

[clarion]

I outline. They're not very structured, but they're outlines.

I have a hard time finishing anything in one burst--often I put things away and let them sit for months or even years before I go back and work on them again. If I didn't outline, I'd forget where those stories were going and have a really hard time finishing them.

[WobblyHeadedBob]

I useusally just outline in my head, but it is useful to write down a few notes of where you are taking you storie

[Lady_Brimstone]

I do a mix of an outline and improv. The main plot ideas i write out with minor details i want to remember. But the actual writings, conversations, how to get from point a to point b i prefer to use improvisiation because then i can be as creative as a i want throughout the whole story, rather than just the creating part 3nodding

[chimeratoadie]

outlines in my head only. my books are character driven. I let them take me where I will, but when I see where it's going, I try to get a general idea of where it's going to end. a too strict outline will limit the story's possibilities.

[The Krause]

Orson Scott Card says outlines are important. However, Carl Hiaasen (in person) said that he doesn't use outlines. So two published, notable authors who have two opposing views.

I really respect Hiaasen, however, for me, outlines are necessary. Sometimes I'll put a story that I'm working on aside for a while. I have a play that I've been working on since January, it's complete, but it's not finished. I have plans to expand it, add to it. Those plans I outlined so that I wouldn't forget them when I came back to it after my sabbatical from playwriting. Outlines can be useful, but they aren't an "end-all, be-all" of writing.

[finalrain]

I haven't used outlines on anything that I've finished, but I've only finished short stories and poems so far.

The things I've written outlines for, but haven't finished? It's hard to tell if that's my own laziness, or if the outlining process is what actually killed it.

[Finnegain]

Lately, I've attempted to use outlines and note-taking. It's very nice to be able to go back and look at my plan for writing something and decide whether the concepts I've put down will work at all. So far, I haven't finished anything, but I tend to be fairly glacial when it comes to writing. (I can't wait for classes to start up again. Sitting in class is one of the few places where I write like a fiend.)

However, none of the short stories I've finished have ever had outlines. Do keep in mind that most of my short stories are very short.

[[ insert name ]]

Eh, I only use outlines when I have a good set of ideas. I NEVER start with outlines, I just go with the flow, and when I reach a rut, I actually do sometimes make an outline. But alot of the times I just sit up at night playing odd scenarios through my head, and most likely get an idea from that. Outlines are also useful for me if I have an idea that I will be putting in a story, so I can figure out how to lead to it.

[Missie DuCaine]

I don't use structured outlines. I tried that a few times, and the novel and its characters rather firmly decided that it didn't want to follow any "outline". XP

My novels change far too much in their development to write outlines. ((Case in point - my quasi fantasy, gunslinging, Arthurian inspired novel I'm working on right now? Used to be a Harry Potter fanfiction. Don't know how it turned into this....))

Instead, I just take notes. Write down things I intend to happen, but don't say..."This will happen here".

[Mistress of the Stars]

I only outline when i have a lot of info to get down etc.. stare

[Echelon Mykal]

I've never outlined. I know what I'm going to do. Normally.

[Sage of Chaos]

I've tried writing outlines, but it really doesn't work for me. I'm a spontaneous writer who just wants to get out and write whatever's in my head, and maybe smooth out the details after I'm done. What I do though is make a document seperate from my story and write down all of my ideas for potential stories or scenes and save them for when I reach that particular scene. Like, if I think having an ending scene at a carnival would be cool, I note that down and then continue with my story.

[Auroara]

I'm concentrating on one novel that I've been working on for...two years. And this whole time, I've never used an outline once. Actully, in a book I read, you should only outline the middle - in fiction stories anyways. Because the middles usually need the most thought, and from there, the beginning and end should simply come to.

[crime in the city v2]

Tamora Pierce (in person) also said that she didn't find outlines useful. But I, like she said she did, know where the story is going and what some important points along the way are going to be, I just don't (usually) write it down.