༉˚*ೃ 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘.

though it may not be for everyone, i've found outlining my story really helps me to keep focused, make sure i don't get caught out by plotholes, and maintaining a writing schedule. it saves me from writers' block!

THE BASICS OF OUTLINING.   →      *   .    &

outlining always seems like a daunting task, especially if you're the kind of person who prefers just to go with the flow, and maybe outlining isn't right for you! i never used to outline my stories up until the end of last year, where i had too many fics to keep track of them all. i had a few scattered notes of what i wanted to put in my story, and i had a relatively clear idea in my head, but piecing them together as i wrote each chapter meant i ended up leaving out important parts or creating plotholes for myself. i found that outlining scene-by-scene helped me greatly in controlling where my story was going to go, while still letting the story flow on its own.

some people like to just generally outline where their story is headed, chapter-by-chapter say, or plotline-by-plotline. i prefer the scene-by-scene method, which is basically detailing how every scene will go step by step. i'll include some examples below but it really helps me to figure out the flow of the story, as well as estimate the size of each chapter and thoroughly plan how my entire story is going to unravel. 

i have several documents where i keep all of my story outlines based on their fandom, in a folder labelled 'STORY PLANS' so i don't lose them in random places (scattered amongst the document, notes app, or notebooks, like i used to). for me, i separate them into the following categorized documents (which i have no doubt will expand in variety the more fics i write): 'ASOIAF STORY PLANS', 'IT STORY PLANS', 'MARVEL STORY PLANS', 'ST STORY PLANS', and 'MISC STORY PLANS', the last which contains all of the fics for fandoms i don't write as prevalently. they look something like this:

(more condensed, not that many notes just a general idea):

or (heavy detail, heavy notes, constant small ideas, as fleshed out as i can get):

whether i'm very detailed or just have general ideas honestly completely depends on the story or scene. if i have a vague idea and trust i can make it up as i go, i'll stick with brief ideas (EOTH screenshot); if i'm very invested while planning and am picturing the scene with all its intricate details, i'll write those down in as much detail as possible (moonmaiden screenshot). all that matters is getting the general flow of things down!

now as you can see, in my plans, i don't at all worry about grammar, correctness or being formal. i'm constantly typing in all caps or going on small tangents, adding in quotes i think of (which will probably be tweaked later when in the context of the fic) or adding humorous tidbits just for myself.

that's part of the fun of it! that's what you need to remember about outlining — what i love — have fun!! don't take it seriously! use vine references, make jokes, make outlining a fun task rather than a boring job! i absolutely love inserting jokes that just convey what my mind is thinking during that situation. it's just me having fun with my characters and laughing at them while outlining my plot. it's why i enjoy it so much.

here are some of my favourite lines from my outlining plans to show why you just have no need to be serious:

the lines are always funnier than how the scenes actually turn out, bye

THE PROCESS.   →      *   .    &

if you're following along with source material, for example, a movie, a tv show or a book, and you're sticking to that plotline, it's best to have that playing alongside your planning (and writing). when i outline any of my stranger things fics that take place within the canon, i always skip through each of the scenes on netflix (sometimes briefly, sometimes fully if i want to write a more detailed plan) typically just skating my mouse over the episode timeline and viewing the small preview at the bottom of the screen. at this point, i've seen the show so many times from rewatching for fun and for my fics that i know most of the scenes when i glimpse a snapshot of them anyway. i then write out my chapter following that scene, as brief or as detailed as i'd like. 

for my daughters of the dragon book, which is an ASOIAF fic taking place during the dance of the dragons, i have g.r.r.m.'s fire and blood and his a world of ice and fire books alongside me, since they're the only source material where the dance of the dragons is written in detail. i then plan based off of the events followed in those books (a much more complex and time-consuming event than just watching a show) which is arguably much more difficult.

the fics with solid source materials — tv shows, movies or simple books — are by far the easiest to follow, the rest, like original plots, AUs, out-of-canon or complex books with complex timelines are considerably harder. these are ones that i struggle to plan the most. i do have a lot of story plans like this that i have completed (cherry bomb, static electricity, into the night) but if you look at my account you'll realise that the stories that i update the slowest are those that have original plotlines, and most of them i'm still planning because i find it so difficult.

with all stories, you need a beginning, a middle, and an end. that's basic, and remarkably simplified. there also must be a climax, a conflict and a resolution. i'm going to take you through this assuming you already have a solid idea for your fic or story. conjuring these ideas will be in a different chapter. but it's always important that when developing the outline, you consider these important questions:

.     &     ━     who is the protagonist (central character) ?

.     &     ━     what is the situation?   →   what is the protagonist's personal condition at the beginning? how will that condition be changed, for better or for worse, by the protagonist themselves, uncontrollable circumstances, or by the antagonistic force ?

.     &     ━     what is the protagonist's objective?   →   at the beginning, what does the protagonist want? what moral (or immoral) choices will she have to make in her attempt to gain that goal ?

.     &     ━     who is the opponent?   →   who or what stands in the way of the protagonist achieving their objective ?

.     &     ━     what will be the disaster?   →   what misfortune will befall the protagonist as the result of their attempts to achieve their objective ?

.     &     ━     what's the conflict?   →   what conflict will result from the protagonist's reaction to the disaster? and what is the logical flow of cause and effect that will allow this conflict to continue throughout the story ?

after you've considered these important points, record notes of them or create a short summary detailing the character's overall journey. for example:

escaped laboratory experiment (situation) sar hopper (protagonist) just wants to have a peaceful summer following all the chaos that has followed the years before (objective). but when the mind flayer (opponent) once again infiltrates hawkins with its eyes this time on her (disaster), sar needs to put everything on the line, including her own life, to make sure her despairing visions of the future don't come to pass (conflict). 

you can make it more revealing of your story and plot, i'm just mindful to not give away spoilers here since i haven't yet posted the final chapters of my moonmaiden fic! virtually every story, film or show will have a plot that can fit into this template (some more detailed and complex than others) and it's also a good way to come up with summaries for fics you're posting!

next, it's time to begin roughly sketching and brainstorming ideas for your story or series. record ideas, scenes, character arcs or concepts you already have for your story — even if you have no idea how they'll currently fit in. try to record every idea you've had in relation to this story / series. i spend countless hours brainstorming in the shower, in the car, at school or in tests (oops), about what the major points of my story will be, or scenes i want to include. it's around these, that i shape my fics. the ending of moonmaiden was the first idea i had for the story, and from there i developed all the impactful scenes that should lead up to it. whatever ideas you have, make sure to write them down.

if you're struggling to conjure ideas or outline in general, i strongly suggest listening to music. it doesn't work for everyone (i will in the future make a 'writing with music' chapter for anyone who needs it) and some people just can't concentrate with music, but for me personally it completely changes the game while writing. when outlining, i constantly have either one of two options for music on: either, i listen to the fic playlist i've created for that story, which helps me to feel like i'm in the universe of that fic or fully invested; or i listen to my study / writing playlist on music which is full of nostalgic soundtracks from my childhood overlayed with rain sounds, very calming and inspiring (they're lyricless, so are helpful to play at low volume in the background). if you've never tried it before, give it a shot! it's always really helped me with writing and my inspiration.

then, go through and highlight or mark every scene that you're unsure about, that may not have a point or may fall into plotholes. if you ever get stuck on a scene or a transition, leave a few lines break or a highlight these too and come back later. sometimes, those are places where you may have a new chapter or a chapter break, other times the transitions may come to you later, or even while writing the scene.

while doing this, it's important to unpack characters, to 'interview them' in a sense. a good way to do this can be to keep a character document or an oc book (which is what i do to keep track of critical aspects of my character i always lose somewhere in my documents). but also consider their goals, arcs, their past, and flaws that will affect the plot and how it develops. i'll go into this in detail in another chapter.

now that you have an idea of scenes and characters, it's time for you to go from beginning to end with the completed outline. when following canon plots, this is the time to watch the show and fill in the remainder of the outline with what your character will be doing in relation to those plots, how they'll react and what they bring to the table, adding your own character-oriented or original scenes where you want. for those crafting completely original stories or out-of-canon fics, it's time to do that, but without the basic guideline of an already-canon plot. 

go through your story scene-by-scene, numbering the chapters or scenes as you go (if you can). no longer are you focused on brainstorming and exploring ideas, now you want to mould the structure of your story. you may go into great depth or just summarise each scene in one-line sentences. the goal is to identify the key components of each scene and run with them. 

if you get stuck, jump ahead to a point in the outline you already know and work backwards (what i often do) until you can find a coherent connection. take your time — depending on the length of your story, it can take weeks to fully construct an outline. look for the potential problems in your outline, anything that might slip you up or that is jarring, and try to figure out ways to smooth them out. 

for me, it's always a long process, with constant large changes to the outline. but they often end up large outlines of 6,000 words, tens of pages, detailing the unravelling of every scene in the fic, from the briefest of mentions to complete detail. if there's anything i need to figure out, i simply write a note on that part of the document and highlight it in bright yellow so i know to return to that problem later — or else it may cause a plothole. but it's always so worth it.

ever since starting outlines, i've been unable to go without them. i always complete and outline before i begin to post chapters of the book on wattpad, because otherwise i get tripped up and stuck on where to go next, and my updating schedule is ruined. outlining in such a way has seriously helped me overcome writer's block; i hope it can help you too. and i hope this guide of the process helps in some way. it's hard to explain how i outline — it's something individual to everyone — but i tried to compile the most basic points in an attempt to point you in the right direction. it might take a few experiments to find the right way to outline for you, i know it did for me, but i find it's the clearest way to write, it'll help you in the future. 

REMEMBERING OUTLINES DON'T NEED TO BE RIGID.   →      *   .    &

one of the reasons i didn't used to outline, as well as simply previously being unable to plan out the story (i used to find it impossible), was because i found it difficult to always stick with my original plan; i thought an outline was rigid, and i had to follow it just like that, and i thought it would take out my enjoyment of letting the story flow. so here's me to remind you, changes to your outline are okay! alter them, tweak them, completely change them all you'd like!

even just a few weeks ago, after planning the entire story last year, i changed an aspect of the ending of my moonmaiden fic a chapter or so out from where i was up to, because i figured it would make the fic more exciting. and i'm so happy i did! outlines are always malleable and flexible. you think another scene would work better removed? added? changed entirely? go for it! having an outline means you can change that while knowing what affect it'll have on the other chapter you've planned! it means that you won't completely change a chapter and then realise after you're way into your story 'oh no, i forgot to include that crucial aspect back there, now i'm stuck' which is what used to happen to me in a lot of my older stories. by outlining, you can change something and then read through your whole outline and then make sure it still works, you won't get caught out and change something only to realise that the next chapter relied on that. essentially, you can see ahead and behind with the greatest clarity. this used to be the thing that gave me the most plotholes. 

OUTLINING A SERIES.   →      *   .    &

outlining an entire series can be a giant job, no doubt, especially if it has three to five books in it (like some of mine do) which is just so incredibly daunting. my advice for it is to take each book and write a general summary of what your character will struggle with, will achieve, etc. like the summary i suggested above. by breaking down each book, it shows how the general plot needs to go and what each book needs to advance to get there. make sure to note under each book certain plots or scenes that will be involved, make sure you have a general outline of the later books in your series so you can lead up to them correctly in your previous books.

then, i suppose, outline each book individually. i find it easiest to outline the first book first, and as you do so brainstorm more ideas for how its sequels will operate, and what plots will be arisen in them. again, this is much easier if you're following source material like films, shows or novels. i often write the first book after creating the outline for it, and having a pretty solid or at least vague ideas of how its sequels will go, making sure i establish the most important aspects that will arise in those sequels in the first book, or else you'll find yourself with a lot of plotholes. this can always feel daunting, but breaking it individually down into the steps i provided above in the 'process' section greatly helps. it's just a bigger task.

outlining always seems like a slow, boring and daunting task when you first look at it. hopefully these steps breaking it down and reminding you that it can be flexible and fun helped! in other words, i highly recommend giving outlining a shot. i used to think it just wasn't for me, but it turns out i just wasn't doing it correctly. now, outlining is like my one sole saviour. not only does it save me from writer's block, it also prevents me from going completely off-track, having unrelated filler chapters, falling into plotholes, or breaking my updating schedule. i always know what to do next, and i'm always thinking over how my scenes are going to run. it's completely turned my writing habits around! i totally recommend trying it, even just for a little bit, to see if it will help you too.

RESOURCES.   →     *   .    &

7 steps to creating a flexible outline for any story , k. m. weiland .

.      &     →    article :      https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/7-steps-to-creating-a-flexible-outline-for-any-story