• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

Outline vs Discovery?

What's your style?


  • Total voters
    57

Mindfire

Istar
I'm just curious to see how many of the members here are outline versus discovery writers. (Or plotters versus pantsers if you prefer.) There was a thread about this already, but it was a year old. Plus, it doesn't have a shiny poll like this one's got. :D Of course there are some people who do a bit of both. In that case, what's your dominant strategy? Or are you purely neutral (if such a thing is possible)?

Me personally, I'm outline-dominant with a dash of discovery. I like to have a clear vision of what direction the story's going in with just enough wiggle room for interesting new details.
 
Last edited:

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
All discovery for short stories.

A bit of broad outlining for longer works, with discovery thrown in (and the path set forth on the outline is likely to get shot to hell once I start writing anyway).
 

OGone

Troubadour
I'm not really sure. I was thinking I was an extreme OCPD outliner but what I actually do is outline one chapter with 4-5 bulletpoints, write it, then outline the next chapter. I've scrapped my WIP and am now in the process of starting again though because the direction I was going wasn't leading into what I needed to happen. When I deviate, I find it hard.

I picked outline/plotter, I find it easier that way to make the story coherent.
 

Taytortots

Minstrel
I can sway between the two depending on my mood or the type of story. For example, if i'm inspired by something I might just start writing and let the tides take me where they may.
However, I chose outline because that's typically how I do things. I'm not too diligent, I fully expect I will drift a little from my original plans to a certain degree. I always know where I want the story to go and a few important details, nothing else is really strict and I like the freedom to change it up if I get inspired by something.
 

Ophiucha

Auror
A bit of both. I think I do a bit more outlining than not, but if something changes while I am writing, I am willing and able to just go with it instead of sticking with the outline just to see where the new path goes. It isn't always the best, but it always sparks some new ideas that could make it to the next draft. I also never commit to the little details, since I usually find those change to fit the mood and (if they begin to pop up) themes of the novel. A story I worked on for years had basically the same sequence of events for eight drafts, but the setting went from 'pseudo-medieval fantasy' to 'Lovecraftian world with no sun inside of a clam's shell'. So, y'know, I'm flexible.
 

Ophiucha

Auror
10sdnk6.gif
 
Outliner. I've tried to make stories up as a go along, but it doesn't work: I always know the entire plot by the time I finish the first chapter anyway, so there's really no point. And if I don't outline it, chances are I get stuck somewhere because I didn't plan ahead enough.
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
10sdnk6.gif

^ This totally cracked me up!

Anyway, I'm a hard-core outliner. I'm a very linear writer and I need to know where I'm going to get there. That being said, I also tend to let my characters run with the bit in their teeth, and even with exhaustive outlining they still manage to surprise me.
 
Oh dear, discovery writing seems to be losing. I personally take that approach because seriously, no ideas come to me when I outline. Before the start of the story, I might do a little to know the direction I'm going, but it's all pantsing after that. It really loosens up my mind and sort of puts me in a drive that would have been otherwise eliminated if I had outlined. That's what happens to me when I write. It's always exciting to be in the minority.
 

Devora

Sage
I, personally, fancy a balance of both. I create a basic skeleton for the story to movie along, but i leave myself room to come up with more, and possibly better, ideas.
 

teacup

Auror
Balanced for me. I began with a faint idea on the entire story, but it didn't include my second mc at all. I began writing without much of an idea how to start it off and just carried on. I had my mc meet with the second mc and then he became a very vital part of the story, and it grew from there. Now I have an outline ready for what will happen for the rest of the books, but right now I've had to return to the beginning to change it all. (bad writing, characters different to what they should be, unnecessary things etc)
 

Butterfly

Auror
I'ma bit of both. Got the main events but no idea how to move from one to the other. So that's where the discovery come into it.
 
I used to be 100% discovery. Absolutely refused to outline, didn't see its purpose. Didn't have a need. Then I went back and read through one of my more inspired projects and started finding plot holes, or areas that needed to be badly re-written because something happened later that made that scene obsolete, or I wanted to add some foreshadowing. I then sat down and worked out an outline that completely changed the shape of the book. All of a sudden I had a brand new story that had the same characters, and same general plot, but overall I liked better. My problem is that now I get bad writer's block, because I've started getting stuck in my outlines.

Other stories I'll switch between the two , or I'll outline a chapter/scene as it comes up, but let the story go where it will. Really, each new piece that I work on I end up having a slightly different approach, so it's a bit tough to say I'm dominant one way or the other ...
 
Both here. I mean, I outline the whole story, the major features, just to remind me what I should be writing for. But in actual writing, I let loose. Even to the point in turning a single chapter in a entire arc (with 6 chapters).
 

Sparkie

Auror
Every time I start planning I get discouraged. It always seems like I've left too many loose ends. I stick to short stuff mostly, and I write pretty much whatever comes to mind. When something spontaneous doesn't work in a short story it's easier to fix.

I'm probably in the minority, but I really feel like I can't plan effectively. Anyone else feel that way?
 

Nebuchadnezzar

Troubadour
I'm probably in the minority, but I really feel like I can't plan effectively. Anyone else feel that way?

I'm the opposite, I'm afraid. I can't write without planning.

To a great extent I think that's because I don't write unless I have something I want to say -- some theme or idea that I want to get across to other people.

I have to admit I've never been able to fathom the concept of discovery writing. It seems to me that it's like saying that the author actually has nothing in particular they want to say. There's no idea or theme or philosophical axe they want to grind. They're just communicating because they feel like communicating today, and who knows what they might say?

That's just mind-boggling to me. If there's no purpose to the story, why tell it? Does anyone really want to read a meaningless, themeless, message-less, warmed-over retread of a Quest to Defeat the Dark Lord that someone "discovered"? What a colossal waste of time for both the author and the reader.

I'm sure there's something I'm missing about discovery writing, because a lot of people I know and respect write that way. But I just can't imagine starting to write a story without knowing the message I want to communicate by writing it. And once you know the message, there is very little else to discover in my experience.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I have to admit I've never been able to fathom the concept of discovery writing. It seems to me that it's like saying that the author actually has nothing in particular they want to say. There's no idea or theme or philosophical axe they want to grind. They're just communicating because they feel like communicating today, and who knows what they might say?

That's just mind-boggling to me. If there's no purpose to the story, why tell it? Does anyone really want to read a meaningless, themeless, message-less, warmed-over retread of a Quest to Defeat the Dark Lord that someone "discovered"? What a colossal waste of time for both the author and the reader.


Yes, Nebuchadnezzar, I think it is fair to say you don't understand. That's perhaps the most ignorant and condescending mischaracterization I've ever read on the issue. Based on the tone of the post, I suspect trying to explain it to you would be like trying to explain geometry to a biscuit.
 
Top