Writer's Fallout Shelter

Good points, Joe.

Speaking of "planned out," I think many people are scared off of outlinesbecause they think they have to have the entire book mapped out. Not so. An outline is as simple or as complicated as people make them. In the purest form, an outline gives us a benchmark for three points in our stories; beginning, middle, and end. As more of the story comes to us, we begin filling in the open spaces. The one important fact that many of us forget is that the outline is flexible. We can change the middle or ending in mid stream. Heck, I've finished novels and gone back to change the beginning! Outlines are and should be fluid and flexible.

Many writers start start stories with no idea of the ending. I've done this. It makes the writing more spontaneous and exciting, and sometimes the ending comes to me well before it's time to begin the climax. Other times, I'm within sight of where the finish line should be, and still have no idea of what's coming next. That's usually the point in which I start playing the "what if" game.

Experiment. Play with ideas. Bounce potential plot archs off your ideal readers, betas, or trusted peers. If you think you need a few days of seperation from the story in order to collect your thoughts, take them. We're all hardwired a little differently. Eventually, we just have to find what works for us and...do it.

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http://LiamJackson.com

"Have you ever been caught hiding bodies in your closet? No? Good place to hide them, uh?"

Proud member of the Horror Writers Association, International Thriller Writers, and the Authors Guild