Do you think scene cards for a novel is too restrictive when it comes to writing the novel?
I have a really hard time structuring and elongating a story, and I have tried jotting down scenes and ideas on index cards, but I am afraid as I go to write the novel, I would have the whole story already in my mind and writing it would be boring. I guess what I am looking for is a chapter-by-chapter outline. How do you make a chapter-by-chapter outline when usually one scene is about 1,000 words when a chapter is about 6,000 words. In order to fill in the gaps for that you would need to map out every single incident in the story, and like I said that would probably make the writing part boring. Any suggestions?
Thanks for your answer, but I really don’t know how much outline is “too much” and how much is “not enough”
- Carrie Sutherland
Tags: Chapter Outline, Index Cards, Map, Novel, Time Structuring
October 18th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Any organizational method that works for you is fine. Generally, index cards aren’t my favorite, but plenty of people use them. Or synopses, story boards, outlines.
It sounds to me as if you might be jumping the gun, knowing that a scene runs 1,000 words and a chapter 6,000. You can’t know those word counts unless you’re writing.
I’d recommend only a bare-bones synopsis (or outline, or set of index cards) which tells what event(s) transpire in each scene, i.e. “Jason confronts Dee about the cell phone” or “Jeremy and Dina fight. Each goes to a bar and drinks too much. Dina goes home with a guy, while Jeremy sleeps it off sprawled across her front door.”
This way, when you write each scene you know where it’s going but you’re writing it fresh and new.
Of course, since you’re likely to rewrite it several times before it’s ready to market, you may get bored with it later.