If you hate writing outlines it's because of how they're taught in school. Toss out indentation and Roman numerals and map out your writing how you want to. Outlines are your FRIEND, dammit.
This goes for everything, from political essays to fanfiction. If it's written you need an outline because the outline is for you. It can be general, vague, or a mixture of both! Be as informal as you want, who cares. They're to keep you on track and keep your writing flowing, so don't disregard them even if you dreaded making them in grade school.
My outlines by chapter tend to look like this:
1. Character "P" goes to the diner to meet character "Q."
2. "P" tells "Q" about how the confrontation went. (dialogue I thought up on a bus ride) That's when shit goes DOWN. They're yelling, they're drawing attention to themselves, but before they can take it outside, "P" says (dialogue I thought up in the shower).
3. THEN "Q" SAYS THAT ONE LINE THAT "R" SAYS TO HIM IN CHAPTER FIVE BECAUSE THAT'S CALLED COHESION WOOOOO
4. idk they both leave??? you'll figure it out later
5. Self-reflection for "P." Keep your main point on how his moral compass goes to extremes and hurts others. He finally is realizing that HE is the PROBLEM
6. "P" drives to "Q's" house to apologize but GUESS WHO ANSWERS THE DOOR it's "R" and then just end the chapter there
This is coming from someone who didn't write with outlines for years. Now I don't write anything longer than 400 words without one! Make them your own, make them so that they're useful to you. That's their purpose, so accept the help!
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Wait wait wait BLIND ZUKO?!?!?! Why is this the first time hearing about it??????????? This obviously a major error on my part…but I am little confused…what is a sensitivity reader? are they like a beta reader, but someone who belongs to the blind community(is even calling it a community OK I don’t know how else to refer to it😅)? someone to make sure that what your writing is accurate??? Please educate me!!!
Basically that, yep. Sensitivity readers are a reasonably common practice in Serious Face fiction (...among writers and publishers who care about getting things right), but definitely not common in fanfiction, so it's no surprise if you haven't heard the term before--they're people from whatever group who are good at helping writers spot and correct when they're using harmful tropes related to the group(s) they're a part of (and offering suggestions to make things read more authentically).
Since people tend to spin off AUs of my fics (which is awesome and continues up be encouraged), I am putting in an effort to not totally screw up the Blind Zuko rep. Of all fandoms, Avatar should absolutely be a place blind fans can find themselves represented in and welcomed by.
On a related note, insert PSA here encouraging all Avatar artists and rebloggers of Avatar art to write alt text/image IDs. They're quick to write and they mean the world to the people who need them. Do it for Toph.
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I swear there is no better high than writing; even just frantically outlining a novel concept that I feel really excited about has left me with a lasting like "omg I am a genius I am such a good writer the best to ever do it" even though I know full well that once this honeymoon period wears off I'm obviously going to have frustrations/writer's block like we all do, but like for now AHAHAHA I AM GOD
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write EVERY DAY. here's how.
where inspiration fails, habit will always have your back. this is why it's important to build writing into your life as a habit, if you ever want to finish a project or improve your skills.
back in 2018, i (nat) was a college student without much going for me. i was feeling creatively stifled and insecure and like i didn't have TIME to write good. and i was right. i didn't have time to write GOOD. but i did have time to write SOMETHING. so that january, i built the habit. i wrote every single day in 2018, and almost every single day since.
because once you establish the habit, it becomes safer to skip a day (or three days) here and there. you will at least THINK about writing every day, even if you go straight from work to social plans to bed, or you're on vacation, or you're too sick to write. and that thinking is part of the habit!
here are the tips i followed to make this happen.
-pick a reasonable goal. starting off, mine was 300 words. now, i don't follow a goal, because the habit is so solid i don't need to. but 300 words is easy and quick. and if you give a pig a pancake, they'll probably have days where they write 500, 1000, even 3k words.
-log your word count. this is interesting to look back on every new year's eve, and it provides accountability. do this however you like; a spreadsheet, a physical notebook, a note in your phone, each day's section in your planner, whatever works for you. i have a channel in my personal discord server where i log mine.
-do NOT edit as you go. just write write write. if you feel like something you wrote needs work, yeah, it probably does-- everything needs to be edited, but that's a problem for later. highlight sentences you can't get right or make note of them to edit LATER. but do not edit as you go!
-write self-indulgent crap. fanfiction, shitty poetry, manifestos, rants, self insert fantasy romance, whatever floats your boat. having a shitty self-indulgent backup story to work on when i didn't feel like writing for the projects i cared about really helped get me in the habit. write for an audience of one!
-journal if you can't write. this may not necessarily build your skill as much as writing regular prose would, but it does help you maintain the habit and it can be useful in lots of other ways.
-think outside the box. write trivia questions. write a list of your favorite childhood toys. write a review of the book you're reading. i'm writing this post, that's going toward my word count for the day. again, this is still writing, and it helps maintain the habit.
-get comfortable writing on your phone. this took me a long time, but making it over this hurdle has saved my habit so many times.
you'll be surprised at the cool shit you end up writing on those days when you swore you weren't inspired enough. and you'll be delighted with how much progress you will make honing your craft!
happy writing! if you have any questions about how to implement any of these tips, our ask box is always open.
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-WIP-
𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈
𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈
Trying to expand my skills by greyscaling before coloring, including outlines (beloathed).
The lyrics to Sleep Token's "Is it really you?" fit the two for obvious (choice word) reasons ^^
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