So I took a couple minutes today and put the outline that was in my head down on paper. Gina knows me well. She went to buy school supplies the other day and she picked up a journal and some new pens for me. I am using the journal as an idea book for my series of stories in the Filthy Lucre universe.
First thing in there is the outline to Chasing Filthy Lucre. It's exciting to see where I am going and that we have an ending. But it's also a little disheartening to have so much left to go. I've broken the story into four parts. And each of those parts has four parts. So, of the 16 total parts to the story only seven are done. We are about to move into the eighth part tonight and, I suppose, that makes me feel a little better. Halfway home.
Like I said, it's exciting to have the map to follow now, and I may need to use a light outline from now on. But it's also disappointing to see how far I have left to go since the original story in my head was nearly complete. I know I have a much better story to tell now. It's more involved with more at stake for the characters. And it will make the big break at the end that much more believable, but still. Nine more bits to write. Ugh.
Congrats on the outline. :-) Now that you have an outline, you don't need to look at it as a whole. Not yet anyway. Just concentrate on each piece of the outline and write that bit, and fill in the puzzle that is your story. :-)
ReplyDeleteI want to write the ending of my WIP soon because once you have a destination point, you can map your route there instead of meandering down endless roads to nowhere.
I've always been a modified seat-of-my-pants writer. I knew the beginning. I knew the end. I might have known some of the middle. But I never had it laid out like this, with this much detail. I'll admit that it's nice to have the rungs of the ladder in front of me. All I have to do now is climb them.
ReplyDeleteIt is great knowing the ending. You're right. Once you know where you are going it is easier to write yourself there. I most recently did that with a short story for my writers group. It still needs some polish, but I knew the detailed ending before I started writing so all I had to do was make sure that my characters were in a position to make the ending happen.