When I get an idea for a story, I usually write what I call an overview. Usually, an overview is a few sentences which explain the basic premise of the story (something you'd see on the back of the book or on a dust jacket). When I talk about writing an overview, it is quite different.
For me, a story overview is halfway between an outline and a first draft. I write out the whole story from beginning to end. Some parts I gloss over (making them more of key points, like an outline), and other parts I do very in depth (like a first draft). The reason for the nonparallel structure is that some parts are clearer than others and I am writing down what I see.
If, for example, I have a hero who is breaking into a fortress covertly so she could assassinate the head of the evil organization, the specifics of her route and techniques may not be of importance, so I would simply say that she breaks into the fortress, ending in the office of the head of the evil organization. However, the dialogue that occurs between the two of them may be very clear to me. In that case, I may write out the actual conversation in whole. If it isn't important, I would just say that they argued.
I like the overview, which is why I use it all the time. It is a great tool for discovering my story. I find all of the key points, discover relevant actions and consequences, and I get a solid skeleton to build on. During this process, I also get to fill in the parts that are already clear to me. This can also aid in creating the rest of the skeleton. If I end up writing a specific action or interchange between characters, this can help me figure out what I want them to do in the future. Small details can end up making very significant outcomes and a story overview allows me to put them in, neither ignoring them nor requiring them prematurely.
I may have no idea what color house a character lives in, but if I knew that the bathroom is next to the kitchen, it goes in my overview immediately. The color of the house gets added if it ends up mattering.
About Me
- Kevin Bahler
- I am a writer. A writer is one who writes. By the same logic, I am also a thinker, an observer, and a puzzle solver. I am a graduate from the State University of New York at Cortland with a degree in Professional Writing. The idea of the program is that one studies all three aspects of writing as a whole: Creative Writing, Technical Writing, and Rhetoric. The knowledge I have gained in those subjects is put to use in every aspect of my life. The worst thing a person can be is boring. I am most interested in people who can pique my interests. An example is people who can correctly use the word 'pique'.
No comments:
Post a Comment