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08/23/2007: Deep Jots


Apologies for the break in the blogging, Gentle Readers, I was unavoidably away from the internet. By the way, we need a new joking way to refer to the internet, as both "internets" and "interweb" have gone clammy on us. Or perhaps the joke -- that some oldsters still struggle with the concept -- is simply outdated. Too bad; those were heady days.

I offer you a thought today about outlines and inspiration. One of the best things about writing an outline is that, as you visualize each scene in order to outline it, you sometimes start hearing the dialog, seeing all the actions you want to put in stage directions -- you start 'writing' it. This is what people are referring to, I think, when they say they don't like writing outlines, that instead they want to find it as they go. They mean that once they start thinking about a scene, and having ideas about the dialogue, they don't just want to write a quick summary of the scene and move on, without capturing that moment of inspiration.

Well, there's no reason not to do both. If you're struck by inspiration as you outline, just start jotting down dialog without punctuation or formatting. Don't take the time to polish it, or even indicate which characters have which lines if it's clear from context. Just jot! When you've captured the extent of your inspiration, cut 'n' paste those lines into another working document -- get them out of your outline -- and keep on outlining!

This is what I do, and I really think it gives me the best of both worlds. I get a complete outline, so that I'm not just off-roading through my story, but I also have a preliminary take on the dialogue and action for certain scenes before I even technically begin work on the draft.

If this fits your writing style, give it a try. It makes writing feel almost as fast and easy as viewing.

Lunch: cheddar on flaky slabs of dried haddock