J Alan Erwine is a prize winning SF writer. He is also an SF editor, and the co-designer of the Ephemeris Role Playing Game. He is also the creator of the Rocks on the Other Side RPG, as well as the Battle for Turtle Island RPG.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Over 10,000
I blew through the 10,000 word mark on the new novel today. At this rate, I'm pretty sure I'll have the rough draft done by the end of the year. I always love the creation part...it's the revision that seems to kick me in the butt.
Hi J, This week my buddy Charles and I after losing touch with each other through the years are each working on a novel. He's in the rough draft stage of his and has something like 15 Chapters over the course of 200k. I asked him if he works from an outline and he says no.
So, I'm asking around my writing buddies, outline or no outline?
Personally I work from an established outline. I like to know where I'm going in case I get stuck along the way, which brings me around to you J:
Do you work from an outline or like my pal Charles, just work with an idea and let the story unfold from there?
Jim-I guess the best way to answer that question is yes.
Sometimes I use an outline, and sometimes I don't. For The Opium of the People, I had a short story that was the basis for it. That worked as an outline for the main character, but for the other characters, their stories came about as I wrote.
For the book I finished a few months ago, I used an outline, but it was a very brief one...basically just telling what I needed to happen in each chapter, and there was a lot of variance from the outline by the time I was done.
For the book I'm currently working on...it was a novella, but I'm reworking it as I go, so parts of it work as an outline, but other parts are being tossed out completely.
Hi J, This week my buddy Charles and I after losing touch with each other through the years are each working on a novel. He's in the rough draft stage of his and has something like 15 Chapters over the course of 200k. I asked him if he works from an outline and he says no.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm asking around my writing buddies, outline or no outline?
Personally I work from an established outline. I like to know where I'm going in case I get stuck along the way, which brings me around to you J:
Do you work from an outline or like my pal Charles, just work with an idea and let the story unfold from there?
Just curious.
Thanks.
Jim-I guess the best way to answer that question is yes.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I use an outline, and sometimes I don't. For The Opium of the People, I had a short story that was the basis for it. That worked as an outline for the main character, but for the other characters, their stories came about as I wrote.
For the book I finished a few months ago, I used an outline, but it was a very brief one...basically just telling what I needed to happen in each chapter, and there was a lot of variance from the outline by the time I was done.
For the book I'm currently working on...it was a novella, but I'm reworking it as I go, so parts of it work as an outline, but other parts are being tossed out completely.
So, yes, I do and I don't work from an outline.