Tried two different approaches to writing my fantasy novel outline and one was way better

I spent about 3 months last summer using the Save the Cat beat sheet method for my fantasy book. It felt super structured and like I was making progress. But when I actually sat down to write, the scenes felt flat and forced. Then a friend in my writing group suggested just doing a simple timeline of events with bullet points. No fancy structure, just what happens when. I finished the whole outline in 2 weeks and the writing flows so much better now. Has anyone else found that simpler planning works better for their genre?

2 comments

2 Comments

henderson.wesley11d ago

Tbh my buddy spent six months mapping out his D&D campaign with this massive wiki system and it was a disaster, but when he just sketched it on a napkin the game ran perfect. Simple stuff just works better for creative things.

troy83210d ago

Man I read this great article from some old game designer about how overplanning kills creativity. He talked about how the brain gets stuck when you try to account for every possibility. Your buddy's napkin method is exactly right. @henderson.wesley the beauty of simple planning is it leaves room for the players to surprise you and for the game to breathe. All that wiki stuff just becomes this huge weight that makes you afraid to deviate from the script.