5 Benefits of Outlining Your Novel
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
If you’re a pantser, or recovering one, like me, then this is for you. These are the five benefits of outlining your novel that I learned as a former pantser.
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What are the 5 benefits of outlining your novel?
Half-written manuscripts won’t collect dust in your digital attic.
Learning storytelling fundamentals
Character development
Consistency
Inspiration
Have you ever been five to seven thousand words into your manuscript and one day, you just completely stopped writing?
Maybe your mind went blank and the story fell flat. Then, you grew so frustrated that you tucked it away onto your computer and never touched it again. Yeah, we’ve all been there. But, don't worry. I’m sharing some poignant advice that I wish I knew earlier in my writing career.
Why I shifted from pantsing to plotting.
I say this from experience: going into a story blind leaves it vulnerable and it’s time to stop squandering your creativity.
Before I plotted a story, that scenario above— was me. I couldn’t complete a whole story. When I finally did, it was like pulling teeth to get through. And editing was a NIGHTMARE. Never will I put myself or another story through such misery. That’s why I’m here to share why outlining is crucial to the craft through my experience.
The secret to completing a successful first draft is creating an outline.
Outlining forces you to question if your idea is worth sharing and helps you dig into the details. It forces you to ask why. Asking why is the most important question before writing a story.
Let’s face it—we all have bad ideas from time to time. Outlining helps you uncover if your idea is worth following through on, or letting go of. That’s the first step to writing.
Are you ready to take your craft to the next level? Then read this list before wasting any more precious creative energy and stick to the end to receive valuable recourses for outlining your next novel.
The 5 Benefits of Outlining Your Novel
Half-written manuscripts won’t collect dust in your digital attic
Plotting a novel gives every writer a roadmap to their destination. Without it, you will write your way into oblivion. This is how pantsing often looked for me: the initial idea came to me, it was vivid, fluid, and raw. Then five days later, I stared at my cursor without a clue as to where the story lead. This was because I never set up the why: why does this story need to be told (the theme)? Why are my characters important (hero’s journey)?
2. Learning Storytelling fundamentals
When forced to follow story beats in an outline, you will naturally learn how to tell a story. Outlining helps you gain tools that you will carry in your writer’s belt for future projects. This will include learning how to execute the hero’s journey, the 3 act-story structure, and more.
3. Character Development
Building and outline helps you understand your characters motivations, actions, and personality. Character-driven stories are (in my opinion) the best to read. Why? Because we love watching a protagonist overcoming their inner and outer demons; we learn a little more about life through their trials and errors. When you know your character's psychology, you will never get stuck writing about them. Their internal conflict molds with the theme and keeps the world unique and dynamic. Everything falls into place when the theme is clear.
4. Consistency
It’s vital to plot out major key points in your story. You don’t have to write every detail, but you need to know where you’re going. So many people believe that plotting takes out the creativity, when in fact, it does the opposite. Having an outline guides you; it keeps your characters, plot, and world consistent. How many times have you (as a pantser) written about your characters green eyes when they are actually brown? Consistency is vital on a small scale—from appearance to a much larger one—a character's actions.
5. Inspiration
When it comes to sitting down and actually writing, the outline helps you pick up where you left off. You get plunged back into a world with characters you care about, and a message you want to share with the world. It gives you the will to write one word at a time until the first draft is finally finished.
There you have it! The 5 benefits of outlining your novel (especially for a pantser). You won’t regret adding an outline to your writing routine. It will save you so much time and frustration when it’s time to actually write the first draft.
Bonus Tip:
As I’ve evolved, there are a few things I’ve learned about myself as an outlining writer. For starters, I need to know each beat of my book within the 3-act-story structure before I start drafting. Second, when I feel like there’s nothing left to know, write. And finally, for you pantsers—or former pantsers, there’s part of you that will still crave the freedom, so here's the balance I’ve found.
After I know enough about my characters, theme, and plot. I write a brief summary of what I believe needs to happen for each chapter (often this simply includes each beat of the 3-act-story structure). Then, I draft knowing where I’m going. I don’t plot out each scene—that is where the freedom lives. My outline is there to guide the character and plot arcs that must happen and within those chapters, I freely create how it unfolds.
Other ideas will arise while writing and that’s natural. You can adjust. Don’t hold yourself to an outline if you have better ideas. Writing is a constant evolution. However, chapter outlines changed the game for my creative writing; it helps with writer’s block and gives me enough freedom to finally write.
RESOURCES:
Check out these valuable resources that helped me TREMENDOUSLY as a fiction writer.
First, check out Abbie Emmons’ everything; she's a writing coach on YouTube with valuable videos about storytelling. Second, please devour her 3-Act Story Structure template (it’s FREE). And finally, read Lisa Crons novel, Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel. This book has transformed my outlining process—especially with her scene cards. These two resources are pivotal to the writing process, and you won’t regret it.
Let me know in the comments below if you are a pantser or a plotter.
And if you were a pantser—has this list opened your mind to plotting?
Thank you for reading and happy writing!
