How to Write a Novel Without an Outline | Writing Tips
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- For all the free spirits out there, this one's for you
RELEVANT VIDEOS:
Why I Stopped Outlining: • Why I Stopped Outlinin...
Writing Vlog w/ This Process: • Editing As I Go | A Ha...
9 Tips for a Satisfying Plot: • 9 Tips for a Satisfyin...
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
1:30 - Write down everything
2:45 - Edit as you go
4:00 - Bridge key points together
4:57 - Keep the character active
7:00 - See chapters as short stories
10:26 - Outline as you go
11:22 - Have a side project
12:15 - Focus on your story's natural momentum
13:35 - Focus on causality
14:23 - Get critique as you go
15:37 - Get intuitive (until you can't be)
17:01 - Break the book into parts
17:40 - Embrace discovery writing
MORE WRITING TIPS: • Writing Tips
WRITING VLOGS: • Writing Vlogs
WRITING CHATS & DISCUSSIONS: • Writing & Authortube D...
BOOK REVIEWS: • Recent Reads
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"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night; you can see, only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." -E. L. Doctorow
Honestly that's how it feels for me!
Yeah, except my headlights aren't on
how do i turn on the headlights
@@zetjet9901 dying xDD
I love the term "discover writing," so much better than pantsing. :)
Same!
Yeah, pantsing writing makes me think of a book pantsing an author
There's also 'gardening', I heard that from some writer... Sanderson, maybe
@@ooi97 I've never heard of "gardening" but to me anyway even that's better than pantsing. LOL
That's true, it sounds like pantying....
1. Write down everything.
2. Edit as you go.
3. Bridge key points together.
4. Think about the next choice the character can make.
5. See chapters as short stories.
6. Outline as you go.
7. Have a side project.
8. Focus on natural momentum.
9. Focus on causality.
10. Get critique as you go.
11. Get intuitive.
12. Break the book into parts.
13. Embrace discovery writing.
absolute hero. thank you for this.
My favorite term for this is being an architect (outliner) or a gardener (pantser).
I like those terms too!
Wow 😍😍 this terms fit so well
Never would have thought of those, but they fit really well!
outlining feeds into my perfectionism in that, i feel like i need to have a great, detailed outline with EVERYTHING FIGURED OUT FROM THE BEGINNING before i feel i can ever touch the actual writing portion of the process. but i’m also fully aware that i can only “figure everything out” as i’m writing. but because almost every author online says you NEED an outline, i’ve also shied away from just. writing. so this is super helpful. also I love the term “discovery writing” that’s so fitting, and so positive a name for it. thank you!
I have realized I am a bit of both! I've outlined major plot points, but I've really enjoyed discovery writing my characters and their interactions!
I'm definitely a bit of both too!
Me: I'm a free spirit and can watch whichever video I please
Shae: *uploads*
Me: (under breath) frick can she do that
i CAN
@@ShaelinWrites i bet noone has ever been willing to give up his freedom so happily
the way you talk is so soothing how
I have tried doing the outline I end up scrapping it because it never goes to plan. Everything in my outline changes. 🤪
Always felt the need to outline because pancing has a negative view, so thank you for this!
I normally have an outline in my head, a rough one. Just set up, some key points, maybe some cool parts and I just string them together like improv.
I’ve put my main project on hold for a collection of short stories (I had a ton of ideas and was getting tired of my main project) and all of my short stories basically have a few thing thought out and most come as I go
The point you made on treating each chapter as a short story was something I actually learned from literature classes and studying narrative. Even Shakespeare uses this method when crafting his plays, each scene in his plays works as a 'mini-story' that threads into the bigger narrative. You can tell the way a scene is moving forward. Treating your chapters like mini stories creates a lot of structure in the grand scheme of things. It shows you whether that chapter is important or not because otherwise, you'll start wandering off from the plot. I think it's a pitfall that a lot of fanfic writers fall into so this is definitely a good tip for anyone doing discovery writing.
As someone who used to struggle a a lot with pacing (and especially where to place certain pieces of information) the chapters-as-short-stories technique has helped me a lot to figure out where scenes and information should go.
So I don't comment very often, but I adore your videos. I bear witness to so many things you just said and in the past I couldn't quite put into words why I love discovery writing. This video encapsulates why I love to discovery write in a way that I was nodding my head the entire time and finally feeling like someone gets how my process works. Luckily, I've already been doing most of what you are saying and I'll try the tips new to me. Thanks for being awesome, Shaelin.
I lack control over my stories. I usually have an outline that fails. They write themselves most of the time. I just type and watch the screen.
'just type and watch the screen' HA this
my writing in a nutshell. I had a book prepared that was all about this epic war against an alien species, and it turned into a book where the main character went up against her flight instructor to get revenge for her murdering her father, only to find out that her father had been infected by a parasite that turned him against the workers controlling the only thing keeping them alive...don't ask me how that change happened, because honestly, I'm not quite sure myself.
"NEVER edit as you go!" (Unless it works for you, in which case, "ALWAYS edit as you go!")
Number three, bridging key plot points is golden advice. Thank you. Number four, seeing chapters as short stories, is platinum. Again, thanks.
Those Brandon Sanderson books are seething in the background
I'm a major amateur. Never finished anything yet. But outlining definitely doesn't work for me. It locks me into a creative corner. My only real attempt at a novel stopped at 30 000 words after I realized that my outline; and what was actually on the pages, conflicted. It felt forced trying to bring the characters into the spaces I imagined them being in before I actually brought them to life. I'd rather just let the characters decide where the story goes, instead of telling them where to go. Which is what outlining feels like to me.
Discovery writing can be awesome. And speaking of short stories... I have found that the only piece of short fiction that I worked on kept expanding outwards. It might actually be helpful to look at a discovery project as a small piece first and then expand it with supporting pieces organically as questions come up that become worth exploring.
I love that you say it's ok too edit as you go! As a first-time writer, I feel much more comfortable editing as I go. But so many established authors say this is a bad idea, it's too time consuming- it made me worry I was starting out wrong. Feels good to hear a different point of view. I love your videos, they are super helpful! Thank you!
Thanks, this is a very helpful video. I particularly like the notion of planning the story based on the protagonist's next decision and not just their next action. "Passive protagonist syndrome" is a genuine danger in any novel.
This video was so helpful, thank you Shaelin! I'm an outliner myself, but a bunch of these tips are actually really useful for me. I've never thought of thinking of a chapter as a short story; I'm going to try it tonight when I continue outlining my book :) Thank you
Happy it helped
I loved this so much. By far the most useful video/advice I have found on writing a novel so far (especially as I have always struggled to plan). Can't wait to watch your other stuff. Thank you so much!
Oh.
WOW.
This is pretty much how I've always done my best writing. Very rarely does outlining work for me, and when it does work, it's because all I did was set down plot points and then go from there.
And 'Discovery Writing' really is the best way to describe it, and I can even explain WHY.
Quite often when I start out writing a story, I'll wind up discarding the first five-thousand or so words.
"But why on Earth would you get rid of so much!?"
Simple. Those first five-thousand words or so? It's just me getting a feel for the characters and setting. It'd be boring as all hell for the readers to sit through. But for me? It's absolutely critical for setting up the characters and breathe life into them - their thoughts, their motivations, the things that make them tick. I literally discover my characters by writing about them first and foremost. I'd post fanfics in webforums, and they wouldn't get much attention until someone slogged through the first little bit. But then I realized what was happening and the reader response improved dramatically. But I still always start out with that bit that I know I'll wind up discarding in the end, because I know how important it is that I discover these characters.
Same, but instead of 5,000 words, it's a book...
OMG, thanks! You just illuminated me!! This is exactly what I need atm (discovery write AND outline at the same time + a side project).
I love this video so much! I usually outline a lot and I really like it, but still, you put things into perspective for me and most of your tips actually helped me a lot! I often fall into the trap of trying to outline everything, maybe because I'm scared of the blank page or because an unhealthy kind of perfectionism kicks in. But knowing how it is perfectly possible to write without outlining and still having a structured, functional story at the end, it kind of gives me courage to try it, too! To risk a little intuition sometime ^^
I started the whole "write all the ideas down" process and I keep everything in my Google Keep. That way when inspiration strikes and I am away from writing (like a ren faire or work), I can whip out my phone, create a new note, and bang, Idea for later :D
Excellent advice, especially the end, the story arc helping a person to remind them of the direction they were going. I really believe you will go far as a writer.
I have always written without an outline, but I think that this video is really going to improve the way I write an my productivity, thank you so much for sharing you're knowledge with us, you are a blessing
This is very helpful. Good advice never gets old.
Intuitive writing I like to call it and it’s beautiful. Good tips. Love your videos
Great insight! Never knew there was this brilliant alternative.
Thank you for making this, it was really helpful.
Sooo helpful! I’ve had a hard time coming up with plot points for the novel I’m currently pantsing and, thanks to your advice, I’ve realized my characters are not yet strong enough to carry the plot themselves.
i really like this video, its really reassured me that its okay to be a bit more adventurous from time to time!
ive always considered myself an outliner (and i still think im good at it, my outlines usually turn out to work pretty well) but outlining only gets you so far i think. ive always had trouble getting a good feel for characters, their motivations and natural conflict away from the page, so now i plan major story events and the rest i leave for myself to discover along the way :)
anyway, i really really liked all your points in this video, very useful!
My problem with outlining was finishing the outline and really having no desire to go back and write the story because my subconscious was satisfied the story was finished.
I begin a story with an idea generator on the internet. Then I begin with
1. A character
2. In a setting
3. With a problem.
This was super interesting thank you!!
This video came exactly at the right time! I just started writing a book with only a vague idea for a few plot lines but no actual plan, so this is perfect! Thank you😊💕
Good luck with your book!
@@ShaelinWrites Thank you so much!
I strongly recommend Writing Into the Dark by Dean Wesley Smith. It's an awesome, short read by a very experienced author on how to be a discovery writer. It was a game changer for me.
Thanks for this.
I blitzed through the book to discover that the "things" I started doing on my own are pretty much good(I called it feeling my way through the dark,) and the things I got scared about were part and parcel of it.
Not knowing was such a pain.
I feel liberated. Thank you so much.
Excellent video. So helpful.
Interesting video! I have a pretty complex outline for my main series, but I've been trying discovery writing for a side project and it's fun to experiment with something new and let my creativity run wild.
@@maliceburgoyne495 The fuck?
I'm always a pantser and never outline but I still listened to this video.
Because why not? It's Shaelin!
*I don't edit as I go. My creative process will be disrupted. I finish the book first and do the logical stuff later.
*Wondering is true. It's the reason why I'm such an overwriter and cuts more than a quarter by first read through stage.
I’m an outliner but I still watched this because, of course, it’s Shaelin. I actually think I’m 50/50 on being a ~discovery writer~ and outliner, so the video still gave me perspective on how to work with my story ✌️
Do you take notes as you write?
This is exactly how I write and it. Works for me. Thank you for letting me know it's ok.
Thank youuuuuuuu, finally!
I usually need an outline to force myself to write in order, but not a very specific one. I think I’m, like, at the halfway point between pantsing and outlining, because my outline is rarely anything more than the really really necessary scenes.
This video is definitely giving me ideas to fix my quasi-discovery writing process, though. Honestly, every one of your videos do.
I think it's less "plotter vs pantser" and more "where do you fall on the plotter - pantser continuum?"
My internal outline forms as I write. Alwaya have a "could happen" list on my laptop.
As a pantser, I am never able to use them all, since my writing led me to totally different spaces and situations.
But sometimes I get bursts of ideas. Yesterday morning I didnt even actively think about my current draft and out of nowhere I get these crazy good ideas of puttin in clever twists and conclusions. I guess it all rotated in my subconcious mind and gave me really weird looking, yet fitting puzzle pieces to use in my story.
Helpful video, thanks
Thank you for this video! I've always story wrote without an outline and I always felt bad (cuz others always had an outline). I've tried an outline before but I love just making character notes and story notes, this might just because the character notes part is my favorite part of story writing.
every single video is absolute perfection. no idea why it took me 2 years to comment on this.
Causality works for me, I believe it's because memory in the brain is a network of associations, in like just a few minutes I was able to create a scene in my mind, starting from some random idea
Hi, Shaelin. I find this concept of natural forces of momentum in a story to be quite fascinating. While I've heard of these separate elements (conflict, goal, stakes, tension), I hadn't considered them as potential sources of natural movement for discovery writing. I'm thinking about trying to discovery write my next project and would love to hear more about how these elements help you naturally move the story forward while pansting. Would you consider filming a video about this in the future if you ever have the time for it? I'm sure many would find it helpful! Thank you.
Make every chapter a shot story.. that's brillant! Thank you Shaelin.
Can you plan to make a video about multible POVS in a book? :)
I've got one already! It's fairly old but if you look up 'writing multiple storylines' you should find it!
Chapters as short stories... this is brilliant and might just help.
I agree with you on most everything. However, I’m discovery writing. I got about half way through, then I outlined plot for the rest of the book. I’m feeling good about that decision. 🙂
3:10
I do that! I edit as I go, trying to get the product as polished as I can from the beginning. People say to just leave it and rewrite later and I thought I was weird somehow, especially since I thought of myself as an outliner. Being as 'organised' as I can in order not to get lost.
I am beginning to outline/mind-map a horror novel, and I have the beginning plots points and end plot points all planned out in just a few paragraphs. I have the plot of the middle (the idea of what will happen) but I haven't written it out as I'm still not sure how to structure that act of the story. I write down all the plot points as "we begin here, then this happens, then we move onto this scene, and then this scene". And if I'm stuck, I write down in my notes something along the lines of "I'm not completely" sure what will happen here" and then I move onto the next plot point and keep writing the synopsis. It's not outlining, but this helps me to envision the entire novel and so when I start writing, I know where I'm heading, to this point then to this one, and so on and so forth.
On the "work on another project" point, I have a few short stories (one also horror, a couple that aren't), that I sometimes work on when I want a break from the novel or when I want to practice my writing voice and just writing in general.
Thank you
I stopped writing to watch this video, this is how much I love your videos 🤷♀️
I just can't outline at all on my first draft, I've tried so many times and it never works out, I can't figure the story out unless I'm actually writing it. I know the key points of my story, the characters, and the conflicts, but not exactly how everything if going to happen, or in what specific order, and I don't know ANY of the little things! I only make the outline after the first draft is written, it's way more useful to me when making revisions.
For me discovery writing is the only way. My first middle grade book,"The world of all things lost" was written that way. I wrote trial scenes form the basis of the book but ideas were coming to me as I wrote. I tried to plot for my second book, ad yet the title has not been decided, which is now in the process of being written but it didn't work. I have been more successful writing as I go. I do have an ultimate ending which is intended to surprise the reader but how to get there, that's the question. I like your suggestion of having a side project. Discipline must be applied if you do that.
Best to have a deadline to work to on your main project if you do that so that you won't get lost in your side project. So, Discovery writing is my future because it's the only way that I can write. Thank you for the video; it's most helpful.
Ha, love it!
I always think that writing is like conecting the dots. I know that I have to go from point A to point B, but how I'll conect these parts I'll just find out when I sit down to write.
Another thing I always do is try not to finish things too nicely, because once the tension and conflict is resolved, it is hard to start from a point where everything is fine in the story. It is easier this way to keep things rolling and you can always correct the pacing once the manuscript is finished and you enter the editing process.
That's also a great tip! As long as there's unresolved tension there's somewhere to go :D
same with me, when im writting a story i like to imagive cool scenes and use a story to connecy these cool scenes
I try to outline i just get confused LOL
What's the first book on the second line? It looks so pretty!
I always felt like a need to outline but lately have been experimenting with pacing! thank you for the video. also, I can't access your website? is it shut down or something?
I've been working on my story for about ten yrs and finally decided to outline. I noticed though that I tend to do a loose outline just incase I feel that the story is going in a different direction as I write. Do you have any tips for this?
Share your story idea under this comment:
Malice Burgoyne
AWESOME! Nothing like a little fun flash-fiction!
This is a great video 👍..... I always like what you say, but I have a favor to ask you ... Can you make a video on making a antagonist which fits with protagonist?😅 Plzz
I'll keep the topic in mind :D
stephen king is a discovery writer i'm pretty sure. pantsing where i'm from is when some school kids pull your gym shorts down in the gymnasium. or anywhere they can, really. thanks for the vid!
Should I right a book I am younger than a teen
Yeah, eat it, plotting snobs! Thanks, Shaelin.
when i try to force my self to make an outline, i just felt like i dont want to write that story anymore. the outline used most of my creative energy i just give up on that story.
The thing is you don't know how an story will naturally go. For example lets start with the premise, 'today i woke up, and turns out I'm skynet'. It would be very difficult to know what would you do, without actually going to a very high degree of detail like the one achieved by writing the story. That's with only one character, Skynet/human mind mesh. But what happens when there's thens of them?. Really outlining is not possible to do, can be aproximated, but not done. At least if there's a cause and effect going on, and a lot of reasoning in the way. But Skynet is a lot harder to write that most characters, so is not totally accurate.
Shorter chapters... In my first book, there were three entire chapters on the same page. I think that qualifies as a short chapter
omg I’m just going to start writing PERFECT TIMING. How the hell do you do that?
psychic??
The term discovery writing is so hipster...I love it
for me personally having a google doc where i literally just info dump everything helps me a lot more than doing a structured outline. i never really thought of it as "pantsing" because i write down all the major plot points and subplots in the info dump before i actually started writing and i would use that as my "outline" but i guess it is since it isn't a structured outline..
Writing a Book is so hard! I wish it would be easy someday.
Sorry. I've been at it for years and it's never gotten "easy."
Your videos are very informative. You should do literary lectures.
Thank you, I'd actually love to be a professor some day.
@@ShaelinWrites well, it's been a year. How goes it?
I like calling the "discovering method" just as "gardening writing" (self explanatory).
I didn't invented it, of course. it was G R R Martin
Is your website down?
Url just changed because I cancelled my wix plan since I'm not really using the website at the moment so didn't want to keep paying for it haha. Now it's at shaelinbishop.wixsite.com/shaelinwrites
If I outline a novel then I lose all the excitement to write it. Because I already know every little thing that's going to happen!
Hi!
Been trying to find you on Kindle, but nothing comes up under your name..🙁
Am very interested in reading your books.
Do you have a link?
I don't have a book published yet, sorry!
ShaelinWrites
🙁
Looking forward to reading your books when you get them published! They sound super interesting!👍💖
hey look earth... it's Shaelin, a wonderful dreamy superstar
Yes, I fly by the seat of my pants and I think I get better ideas along the way than I would have had but the process is way slower, I think.
I'm going to try and plan though.
You notice that deep octave drop at the end of many of your sentences? eek
My book is historical fiction. When I started out, I had trouble getting my outline all down on paper, but I went ahead, wrote out my character development and then decided to do a timeline that started all the way back to the first date of when my characters first met and worked thru to the end of the story to make sure all of their ages would still work with the story and then had to make sure all of the history still fit with the dates. By the time I got all of that organized, I found it much easier to get my outline finished.
It’s strange we can’t read what you’ve written. I would like to see your writing
I have a short story published in The Puritan, which you can read online! It's in issue 45.
ok yes yes let me make a outline Also me ok now lets just randomly wright
Your website isn't working @ShaelinWrites
I know, I cancelled my premium wix subscription so I don't have the URL anymore.
@@ShaelinWrites Is there anyway i could access your short stories still? As I was in the middle of reading one of them.
Right here: shaelinbishop.wixsite.com/shaelinwrites
Outlining doesn’t work for me. I just write the basic plot and see where it goes.
Are you Canadian or something?
How to write a book with no words?
Use pictures, I'd say
You are so adorable. lol
Vocal fry! Arg.
you r left handed, right??
nope :D right!
I think pantsing 2,000 words a day for 90 days is great. Then, actually plan the book and rewrite it using an outline.