Warning: I picked a linear outline over a mind map for my novel and it killed my creativity for weeks

My writing group swears by mind maps for plotting but I forced myself to use a strict numbered outline for that fantasy series and ended up deleting 15 chapters after 6 months of work because the story felt dead on the page, has anyone else scrapped their whole plan and started over?

2 comments

2 Comments

lucas_johnson2d ago

Oh man, "the story felt dead on the page" hit me right in the gut. A buddy of mine, Chris, tried that strict outline method for his sci-fi novel and he wound up writing himself into a corner where every chapter felt like he was just checking off boxes. He'd spend weeks agonizing over plot points that looked good on paper but had zero spark when he actually wrote them. Eventually he trashed the whole outline and just started freewriting from the middle of his story, and that's when the characters finally started talking again. He told me the outline was like wearing shoes three sizes too small, sure they looked nice but he couldn't walk anywhere in them.

aaron_wilson172d ago

Did you try having him just write a list of scenes he wanted to happen instead of a full outline? That's what worked for me when I got stuck, just a bullet list of cool moments to hit. No order, no rules, just the fun stuff.