How to Outline a Fantasy Novel
Today I'm taking on a doozy of a task, because outlining any book project is always a bit intimidating, but outlining a fantasy novel, particularly one that will be part of an ongoing series, is actually the Devil Incarnate! Or at least it seems like it!
However, after more than a decade of working on a fantasy series as well as many other fantasy stand-alones, I have a few go-tos that make the process much smoother and simpler. If you're in the same boat as me, struggling to make sense of multiple plot lines, dozens of characters, and help their stories thread through one another cohesively and coherently - try some of these tips below!
#1. START WITH THE CHARACTERS
Before I get my ACTUAL outline going, I always outline the individual journey for each POV character (of which there are many in my War of the Three Crowns series). I need to know the individual arcs of each person, as well as their physical locations from beginning to end, what I want to have happen to them, and how it all fits together with other characters in the story.
A great way to help visualize this is to use INDEX CARDS. Use a different color for each different character and write down each individual experience that they will be having in your book. Once you have everyone's entire arc on cards, you can start mixing them all together to see how you want the book to flow as a whole, and, because of the different colors, you will still be able to easily keep track of each character.
But before I even do this step, I like to get my notebook, write down each character and give enough room between each one to write a paragraph overview of what I want them to be dealing with and going through for this book or part of the book. Then I can break it down into specifics later. It's a good starting point, having an overview of each character so I can know where I want to be by the book's end.
#2. DO A CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER OUTLINE
For a major fantasy epic I think it is ALWAYS best to make your outline chapter-by-chapter. In my case, this is easy because each chapter is a different POV character, and so I make my chapter-by-chapter outline (which is my full outline) by drawing from my character overviews and index cards, which show me what the major experiences are that I need to include and what is the linear way to include them. I like to write a paragraph outline for each chapter which helps me SO MUCH in the first draft process because I know EXACTLYYYY what I'm doing next at all times. It absolutely crushes writer's block and keeps me moving through the initial writing process. Which is really important with this series because each book is 60 chapters! If you glean nothing else from this post, please remember that chapter-by-chapter outlines are literally the handiest thing in the world.
#3. BREAK UP YOUR SERIES INTO BOOKS, BREAK UP YOUR BOOK INTO PARTS
Similar to above, I find it very helpful to divide up the series into each book and outline them individually. But since each book is absolutely monstrous on its own (again, 60 whole chapters each, plus 2 "prologues" and "epilogues") I also divide them into parts. If this is confusing for you, let me break it down:
The War of the Three Crowns (the series title)
- The Awakening (is the first whole book of the series)
-Part One (first 30 chapters of The Awakening with its own prologue and epilogue)
-Part Two (next 30 chapters of The Awakening with its own prologue and epilogue)
- The Wandering (second book)
-Part One
-Part Two
- The Promise (third book)
-Part One
-Part Two
- The Revenge
-Part One
-Part Two
So each "Part" is still in one whole book, but each book is divided in half, it mentally helps me write but also helps keep the story neater and tidier. If you are also writing a behemoth of a story like me, this is a really helpful system!
#4. BE FLEXIBLE
It can be tempting when you've taken the literally hours and hours of time to outline your story to perfection to be super attached to the outline itself and not let the story and characters BREATHE. But remember that your creativity is always shifting, growing, and changing, and as long as we are writing, rewriting, or editing, we are always in the process of learning and understanding more about our story. Don't get so fixated on your outline that you aren't willing to move in a different direction if the story demands it. Remember, your outlines are only guides, and are only there to help you move in the right direction, they are not the whole story!
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LET'S TALK.
Outlining is definitely an overwhelming process. What tricks do you have to make it easier? How do you prefer to outline a fantasy novel in particular? Do you even outline or are you a pantser?? Let me know in the comments below!
I really like this post!! I always love learning more about how different authors outline books so I can pick up little bits and pieces for my own process! It was interesting to see how you break down your books into Part 1 and Part 2, as I haven't done that before.
ReplyDeleteI soooo agree with the chapter-by-chapter outline. It makes drafting so much easier for me because I'm not like "huh, I wonder what happens next?"
Thank you! It's always so neat to see other people's processes and pick out things to use yourself, like you say.
DeleteExactly! It is sooo much easier to write my books that have chapter-by-chapter outlines, which I really need to do all the time but mostly only do for this particular series - hence why the others are always a struggle. XD