I strongly believe that creative should outline their story. That is, that you have the whole plot worked out and written down in a brief headline type of form.
Having an outline not only forces a writer to work out the whole story, especially the climax!, but it is also an invaluable guide and prompt when drafting your script. For example, when drafting all writers need mental prompts or triggers to bring up material from their subconscious. This is vital when drafting. But a creative needs an organized, logical and controllable way to do this prompting to bring up the relevant story material. A writer doesn’t want a free-floating explosion from their subconscious of anything that just pops up. A writer only wants material logically and dramatically related to their story to come out. The best way to achieve this is to use an outline as a guide when drafting. An outline tells your mind what to bring up for the draft, and thus implicitly what not to bring up. Scott McConnell
Hey Scott. Thanks for this, how are you doing?
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Employers pay money in step deals. Never hand over a script draft before outline/treatment. Otherwise employers dont have to pay you twice
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A writing process, for me, is a format to facilitate a story's gestation. An outline is a blueprint or plan. It's not that the plan doesn't change as you develop the story. I outline my scripts meticulously, and no script follows the original outline exactly. I find that, the more detailed an outline is, the more playful and dynamic the writing is. I have a foundation for the idea to start from, but as I'm typing and following the scene, I'm free to play with the dialogue and action. The best way I can equate it to is jazz; it's not the music that's written, its what happens live as you play.
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Outlining best tells u who is a filmmaker and who a strayed poet...screenwriting is movie engineering, nothing else...you cannot construct a building outta a day-dream u had watching moon on a terrace with a glass of wine... u need a sober-head, all angles covered, detailed blueprint...
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There's this illusion that great artists create spontaneously and in one fluid, often perfect, expression. It's romanticised nonsense.
If you study any great artist at work in any medium, it's evident right from the start that they have a strict and highly refined process that they've developed either consciously or subconsciously over their lives. It's one of the reasons great artist's work tends to stand out while maintaining a highly recognisable style.
This all said, a process can be so deeply engrained and practiced that it comes across as natural to an outsider. I'm sure there are writers out there so experienced they can effectively outline in their heads and get straight into drafting.
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Scott McConnell I agree for my own writing. Otherwise my story meanders too much. I will say my outline can be as fluid as my drafts, and I'm often revising it as the writing process dictates.
It gives me a better idea when putting all the scenes together from my treatment. It also tells me when to "Enter Late Leave Early." During a scene. It's helpful you want to make a 100-130 page script as suppose to a 150-200 page script. I aim right for 125 to 130 based on length of film 60 min= 1 hour 60×2=120 (2 hours). The highest I would go 2 hours 30 min not any longer than that.
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I used to believe that there were two camps. People that outlined and people that didn’t. I then realised that they are forms. Some people can see a story in point form, like myself. While others needs more detail to see a story unfold.
I like outlining as it is a better use of my time.
But both are valid.
Dan MaxXx if some pays me to write a poem in blood I will do it. If they need an outline, they get an outline, or a treatment or a character bio etc…
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The only times I use an outline are on assignment work and on co-writing projects, the former because it's a deliverable and the latter because it helps mitigate the differences in style and work ethic. I don't do an outline or index cards or beat sheet with my specs. It works for me because I don't start writing until my internal cues tell me I'm ready to. That "process" is not for everybody, and I've heard all the arguments and opinions on why I'd do so much better with a more structured approach. But there is simply no absolute or only method to writing, and no one should dictate another's creative process. If outlines help you create better work, great for you. But they are not the be-all and end-all of starting a writing creation.
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As a general rule, almost always yes, but still the occasional no. Writing spontaneously should only be attempted when structure is so ingrained that it's instinctive.
Outlining is a left brained necessity. For those who skew right, however, it can feel restrictive and overly conforming. Typically, for me, it's far easier to outline Act I on through to the midpoint. From there, I may have loosely roadmapped structure points to hit in the second half. I also accept that the outline will change and discoveries revealed as character voices emerge. That means a lot of rewriting, of course. But it also reduces the number of drafts I'll knock out.
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I don't know how people cope without an outline. I have the greatest respect for those that can write successfully without one. I come from a computer programming / system design background, so I need to see things laid out in front of me to know what I'm aiming for.
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It's important to note that there is a difference between writing without an outline and 'winging it.' Some writers in the Don't Outline column are as structured as those who plan every scene on paper. They just have the plan in their heads; as somebody already said, it's possible that the process becomes so ingrained with experience that a written outline is unnecessary. I can't say that I've reached that point, but I do know that for me, outlining adds nothing to the creative outcome, so I just don't do it unless I'm working for or with someone else.
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I'm extremely right-brained, so have to combine free think with structure or I meander all over the place: write random ideas/details on notecards, order notecards into categories, write an outline from notecards, then the rough draft with alteration on notecards/outline as I go. It works best for me.