The Messy Art of Backwards Outlining

                Does a story ever truly come to us fully formed?

It can certainly feel that way. As if you’re pulling a yarn that weaves itself into a grand tapestry that was somehow always there, hanging in the back of your mind. It may come to you in a wave, or you can hear it coming over the hills, and all you have to do is catch it and write it down as quickly as possible. Then once it’s passed, you’re left with this pile of thousands of words. Then what?

                In another article, I go into why writing episodically has worked for me – but this is more of the how rather than why. When you want to write quickly, the last thing you want to do is overanalyze as you go. From plot holes to spelling, all sense needs to go out the window. So of course what you’re left with may be a little less…desirable than you first imagined. It’s rough, baby, and that’s okay. We’ve just got to mine the gold out.

                Here’s how my top-down “write first, outline later” process works for me:

1.       Write First

We’ve gone over this – just get the words out.

2.       How Many Episodes?

This is where the outlining starts. I decide how many parts I want to break the story into, usually 9 or 12. I do this first to create a framework that the story must fit into so that I’m not letting the breadth of the story control the length. Brevity is the soul of wit and all that. Each of these parts have four acts apiece, and have a beginning and ending scene that anchors it to the overall story flow (like an episode of a tv show). I scan through my manuscript and find these natural peaks and valleys, and split up my episodes where it make sense thematically, regardless of how long they are compared to one another.

3.       Clean Up Your Acts

Next, the episodes are divided into their four acts, and those acts are divided into scenes. I focus on one episode at a time. Each episode has its own theme, buildup, mini conclusion and ends in a cliffhanger. Which means that every scene must be able to hold its own, and must follow proper scene structure (setup, conflict, setback). This is where I’m really breaking up that stream of thought and analyzing what fits and what doesn’t. If a piece of info flows better in another episode, I’ll move it there. If it’s too light on one character, I’ll know that I need to even it out. If it’s too plot-heavy, then I may interject a cutaway to a subplot character to keep things interesting.

4.       Find the Holes

At this point, I can take a step back and actually see where my story needs work. I can plant seeds earlier in the story if I need them to blossom by the end, or move actions from the end of the book and put them more in the middle if the final episodes are too chaotic. Subplots thicken up a book, and when the outline of what I already have written shows some bare spots, I know exactly where to put some extra plot.

5.       Edit Away

Using this process, I end up with a completely thorough guide to the work that I’ve created with a detailed list of what’s missing from it and wide-scoped top-down view of my story and how it unfolds. I can make it a more complex, intriguing, tighter story by rearranging the best parts and dispersing the necessary ones.

This has been my way to get the best of both worlds – having that spontaneous, balls to the wall, fast writing experience while also analytically dissecting the story for maximum storytelling efficiency. I have a lot of refining to do to this process yet, but for now it’s been a great tool for me. If you’re stuck on a manuscript, it can’t hurt to try it!

Let me know what you think & happy writing!