If you're just organizing your thoughts, then the answer is whatever will help you write the first draft. But some writers thrive with structure so they can find ways of getting all "brilliant" with the details of the order of your story. I usually find I have two characters that I can combine into one to make a richer character and also cut storytime. I think ideally you should sense options about the path of your story when you have an outline, vs. scenes just floating around in your head. If you find they aren't helpful for you as a writer don't used them, but they should be pretty helpful.
I concur. It's rare that I'll write without some sort of Outline first otherwise I'll spend a year writing only to discover that I was trying to tell a completely different story. That might still be the case, but an outline lets me sift through the bull a little faster.
I start with a beat sheet -- inciting incident, act breaks, etc. Then I develop that into a 2-pg. narrative, with the act breaks hitting proportionally around where they should (ie act 2 should start about half way down the first page.) The narrative component helps me work out any story kinks before I start writing. And knowing that each 1/2 page needs to translate into roughly 25 screenplay pgs. helps me pace/plot out the first draft.
What goes in? For me, everything. I work in one document from initial outline to finished script. So I start with my act headings and write some narrative on what happens. I then keep building and building on this. Act headings become sequence headings and these eventually become scene headings. What's most important to me is the story and character journey/development. I have a set of questions or pointers that I copy and paste into my outline and then write ideas on how best to tackle them. I feel a good outline is there to document, guide, and inspire. It needs to be something that allows you get thoughts out of your head (so we have room for more), focuses our attention in the right areas (so we don't lose track), and asks us questions that spark our imagination (so we aren't paralyzed with trying fill a void).
Register / Log In
Good writing.
3 people like this
If you're just organizing your thoughts, then the answer is whatever will help you write the first draft. But some writers thrive with structure so they can find ways of getting all "brilliant" with the details of the order of your story. I usually find I have two characters that I can combine into one to make a richer character and also cut storytime. I think ideally you should sense options about the path of your story when you have an outline, vs. scenes just floating around in your head. If you find they aren't helpful for you as a writer don't used them, but they should be pretty helpful.
2 people like this
I agree with Zach but an outline is for you to help you write your story so you need to determine if what you have in it is good or not.
1 person likes this
I concur. It's rare that I'll write without some sort of Outline first otherwise I'll spend a year writing only to discover that I was trying to tell a completely different story. That might still be the case, but an outline lets me sift through the bull a little faster.
3 people like this
I start with a beat sheet -- inciting incident, act breaks, etc. Then I develop that into a 2-pg. narrative, with the act breaks hitting proportionally around where they should (ie act 2 should start about half way down the first page.) The narrative component helps me work out any story kinks before I start writing. And knowing that each 1/2 page needs to translate into roughly 25 screenplay pgs. helps me pace/plot out the first draft.
1 person likes this
What goes in? For me, everything. I work in one document from initial outline to finished script. So I start with my act headings and write some narrative on what happens. I then keep building and building on this. Act headings become sequence headings and these eventually become scene headings. What's most important to me is the story and character journey/development. I have a set of questions or pointers that I copy and paste into my outline and then write ideas on how best to tackle them. I feel a good outline is there to document, guide, and inspire. It needs to be something that allows you get thoughts out of your head (so we have room for more), focuses our attention in the right areas (so we don't lose track), and asks us questions that spark our imagination (so we aren't paralyzed with trying fill a void).