Writing Fast Requires Loose Outlines
When I outline a full book, I generally keep things loose. I outline beats, not scenes. When I start writing each chapter, I'll write an outline for that chapter, but I'll still keep it loose. I'll show you an example of what my outline looks like vs. what the chapter looks like. CONTENT WARNING: It gets weirdly explicit about frog mating. The Outline: Carmen screams at her to stop. She does, but in the moment she'd touched him, she'd felt his pain and panic, his desire to be a frog and his hijacked system still trying to be a man...for her. SHe knows what she has to do, but she doesn't know if she can do it. DenBear and Carmen are brainstorming, DenBear thinks she should try again, Carmen is explaining that it could kill Thurston. Meanwhile, Tanisha is trying very hard to turn into a frog. Nothing happens at first, then it happens all at once. Next thing she knows, the edge of the tank is several feet above her head. She has a momen of doubt, then sees the mutilated Thurston and jumps. Carmen catches her mid-air & her instincts tell her she's about to be eaten. She pees on Carmen, who releases her after DenBear tells her to. As a frog, she goes to Thurston and imagines very hard that she wants to mate with him. She has his attention and he's not screaming. She turns around and kicks in his direction, then posts herself up on a rock, ribbiting that she's ready for him. *Margin note: female frogs don't ribbit, adjust.* He reaches for her but his human arm is heavy & clumsy in the water. He struggles for a while, clearly contending with the sedative as well as his betwixt form. He eventually grabs her with his froggy arm and she gets a rush of informaiton about his intentions. He slowly transforms into a frog and clings to her so tightly she doesn't know if she can dislodge him. He starts to cum down her back & she starts to panic, thinking she'll kill him if he goes too far. *Margin note: why isn't she panicking about getting pregnant?* He loosens his grip and she gets away. He shakes himself and chases her but he's clumsy and slow. She remembers that he's sedated and gets out of the tank pond as fast as she can.