Outlining Through Fantasy

I’ve said previously that although I recognize how necessary outlining is to me in order to create a coherent piece of writing, I’ve also talked about not liking outlining since it can be tedious(and I far prefer actually writing).  However, there is a form of outlining that I enjoy, even if it’s unconventional, and that’s outlining through fantasy.

This type of outlining does not involve me sitting in a chair with a notebook and a pen.  Instead, it involves me walking my dog, mowing my lawn, or trying to fall asleep.  In short, it’s done through me doing a tedious task that let’s my mind play things out as an intellectual exercise.

I’ve done this with several of my novels.  I think I spoke before about how the long walks with my dog in Kansas and Hawaii produced Salvation Day.  I had to eventually write it down so I could remember both the substance and its structure, but the thinking itself was free flow and fun.  It let’s me become part of a different world and acts as an escape from the normal routine of life.  I often go to bed thinking about some small tidbit that I think will be fun, never intending it to be a story, and it just evolves.  Homecoming started out that way(actually, it was the backstory of Homecoming that started that way, and it got me wondering about what happened down the road).  It helps me fall asleep and I don’t get frustrated my lying there awake for an hour.

Someday, I hope someone will come up with a way to transfer my thoughts directly to an outline or page of writing, but until that happens, I’m stuck with this two-phase approach to outlining(fantasy, then writing it down).  The first is fun; the other is a grind sometimes.  But both are necessary to producing a coherent story.