Step Outlines For the Win!

Totally purloined the image off some poor website in google images. Thanks ::checks link:: GlobalNerdy.com It's cute though, and I wanted it.

So, Step Outlines.

As I found in the last short screenplay I wrote, they can be a very helpful little monster, these outlines, and not just for screenplays. If you know what they are and haven't been using them, give them a whirl and see how it influences your work. I'm one to skive off of a lot of prep work, and generally think I don't need it, but boy howdy step outlines helped my mediocre "writing it because I need something to turn in" short.

If you do know and do use, well, I dunno, it's up to you whether or not you want to read this post (versus the rest of you who are supernaturally compelled, apparently, because only those who presently use step outlines are given the choice). However, before you click away from my page, I don't know how you do step outlines, but in the brief internet search I did, people's how to's (I don't think the apostrophe in the "to" of "how to" is appropriate, but it's easier to read) were different than the method I use, so you may want to stick around regardless. For those who do not know what a step outline is or how it might help you...

This is how they work:


You have an idea for a story, or maybe you even have a rough draft of a story. If one has only the idea, start with some bones for your outline, beginning, middle, and end, before gradually fleshing the rest out. If you start it this way, you may want to go back after you've more meat on your story's bones even if you've begun writing to help see if scenes are necessary and/or cement the reason for their existence in your head and/or see, in the outlines simplicity, how you may discover they should affect another scene or whatever. It's helpful, believe me, I've done the step outline before and after method and they both have their great uses.

Now, in the how to's, they seem to be relatively uniform in the "break the story down into events in the story, keeping these breakdowns short, a sentence or two at most" area. So do this. Not into scenes, those are a bit too large. It's more like:

1. Aberforth sees a goat and approaches it.

2. He pets and feeds it.

rather than

1.Aberforth sees a goat and goes to pet it before feeding it and kidnapping it because he thinks it's so pretty. The farmers chase him.

See, what I mean?

So, in the online bits I saw, they kind of end there, thinking all the help one needs is one's order of events and perhaps seeing where there are holes one needs to fill or where there is too much filler. This is helpful, but the method I know is more helpful, I think.

For each step, also detail what's going on internally with the character.

1.Aberforth sees a goat and approaches it.
He's attracted to the goat.

2.He pets and feeds it.
He tries to keep his socially unacceptable attraction in check with the conventional method of care.

Now, perhaps if an event happens and one cannot find any internal reason for the event the event needs to be reevaluated, no? Whether it's needed or not? Also, totally helps you understand your character better. Even if you know the reason they're doing everything, it still helps to see it on paper and be reminded. Like I kind of said earlier, it might make you go "yeah, and they feel this way so what about here, wouldn't they react like this?" It helps seeing things in print. Sometimes one can get muddled keeping all the character's internal bits in their head. I realize in fiction writing one can put internal struggles on paper within the story but still, the simplicity of the outline can help guide you and strengthen your story.

I've also done each with a scene heading.

EXT. FARM - NIGHT
Aberforth sees a goat and approaches it.
He's attracted to the goat.

But I don't think that's necessarily best. Still, experiment. Every method and variation has its own uses. If you do the step outline with the scene headings and find it would be silly to do each one as they all surround a smallish event, you could do

INT. HOUSE/ EXT. FARM - NIGHT
Aberforth sees a goat and appproaches it.
He's attracted to the goat.

So... Step Outlines. Not just for screenplays. I'm off to use it in a short story I'm writing that lacks direction.

If I wasn't clear feel free to ask questions in the comments. Or, tell me how awesome they are. Or tell me I'm stupid and everyone knows what they are. Whatever.

By the way, unrelated, but the Glee Cast Album is fun and most of the songs on the first album are songs that have been used in the show already. I'm listening to it right now. Too much auto-tune with *cough* certain characters *cough* though.

I'm pretty sure Artie's Dancing With Myself is my favorite. It's adorable and a totally different style than all the other songs on the album.