The year is new and I have a lot of new resolutions, that’s for sure! But what I did not expect was to be thrust all the way back to square one with my WIP.
Yup. That’s right.
A plot hole. A new idea. A different direction.
I’m back to doing the part I hate the most. . . OUTLINING. I’m a stereotypical Virgo in that I absolutely cannot stand pantsing a draft. I need to know exactly which direction I’m going at all times to avoid any possible overwriting or useless chapters/scenes. It might be fun to write as it comes to you and learn your characters as you go, but I can’t imagine wasting so much time re-writing my draft to fix holes and foreshadowing issues that shouldn’t have been issues in the first place.
I will be a diehard outliner till the day I die.
This time is like the first, though, since I’ve discovered a secret. Authortuber Katytastic showed me the light with her 3 act, 9 block, 27 chapter method. I would highly suggest checking it out! Seeing story structure broken down so gracefully has made this process much easier than I ever imagined it could be. A story is beginning, middle, and end. Each act should also have a beginning, middle, and end. This is just so obvious and brilliant.
I’ve gotten my vague outline finished in record time with this method. Today, I’ll be detailing my outline so I can–fingers crossed–move quickly into Draft 0.5.
Draft 0.5?! I’ll explain this at another time. : ) For now, please check out this method if you’re new or old to outlining. You will be as floored as I was, I promise!
So here’s a question: which method of outlining do you rely on?
Marnie Makes Words 
I’m on my first work in progress myself. I’m in an odd zone. I tend to overproduce and overanalyze, which lead to my outlining process being long, needlessly drawn out and chock full of information that was ultimately pointless.
I always think about the nature of my plot, themes, and characters but what I’ve settled on for this go round is clinging to those basics, write a rough draft of the first draft, plug and edit what I need as I hit stumbling blocks, and hopefully by the time I have a completed draft that I intend to go back and edit, I’ll have a clearer picture of the exact type of planning I need to be done for my next work in progress.
Not exactly ideal I admit, but as somebody that overthinks things to a fault, it is nice to see some sort of progress being made. They always say First drafts are supposed to be imperfect.
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