Short Story Writing Tip: Have an Outline

Yes, writing outlines is boring. It forces you to think ahead instead of meticulously writing down everything about a scenario, or what the characters feel, or the atmosphere of the scene.

Do you want to know why you feel that way? Because you don't want to advance your story. Or at least not yet. You want to dwell on the mundane details first: maybe put some flowers on the table of a restaurant? Maybe describe a largely unnecessary character a little bit more?



There's no problem with that. However, on the first draft, plot advancement is what you should be working on. Don't worry about the details yet, do it on the second draft.

But even before the first draft, you should absolutely create an outline first. Why? It helps you: a, break down the story into little, more writable pieces and b, set mini goals to keep your readers reading.

Consider the following example:

I. Introduce Main Character
  A. Car chase
  B. Problem! (Don't know what yet)
II. Introduce Villain
  A. Large, Evil Corporation
  B. Explosion!
III. Conflict
  A. Karate Fight Scene
  B. Dramatic Scene
IV. Conflict Resolution
  A. Big fight scene over a volcano
...

and so on.

You can almost picture the story. As a writer, it is important that you don't lose track of your storyline. Writing an outline, even something as basic as the one above, will help you immensely in writing your story in as far as keeping the readers reading and evoking emotions from them. An outline gets you out when you are stuck in a story, and thus, an invaluable part of writing one.