The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Outline Editor: Dawn Embers 
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
Outlines are useful tools and a friend for someone who likes to prepare before writing a story. They can also come on handy for someone who is more of a pantser when it comes to writing. This is true for a single novel but also for a long series. A writer can create an outline for either one and this newsletter looks into some details between these two options (single novel or series). |
I will admit that outlines are not my area of expertise. I've done several but for the most part, I am a pantser who tends to just write a story with little work done instead of preparing things first. The exception has always been October Prep Challenge. While I haven't taken part in the challenge every year, there have been many times where I have used the prep in order to get ready for Novel Writing Month (preciously known as NaNoWriMo). In the challenge, there are a few days dedicated to the outline, which means I had to write outlines. Most years, I've prepared more than one novel. This has included fantasy stories and even a couple that are series instead of single books. There have also been times where I have stopped mid-story, or been stuck, and have created a small outline to prepare myself for writing what comes next. So, while it's not my most favorite thing to do, the outline can be quite helpful when creating speculative fiction stories.
Single Book vs. Series
Are you writing one fantasy story or is it a series of three or five books? Either one can use an outline. With the novel prep month coming up, this is going to be something to consider or you might even already be working on it. Depends when you read this newsletter as October is coming up very soon and this comes out at the very end of the month.
Doing an outline for a single book might seem easier. And in some ways it can be less difficult considering the whole story gets done with that outline. But there are different ways to go about it. You can be as detailed as you want, going into depth about setting, charaacters and all sorts of other aspects that get involved in the genres involved. The potential problem of that is the general problem with world building in the background, instead of writing, that can take time away from writing. Prep work for a challenge that has a time limit because there are other prompts and things that need done on certain days will help keep the outline or prep work from taking too much time.
There are resources available that will help, including links to a few different outline options that can help if you are not sure how you want to structure that outline. If you are taking part in Base Camp, then you will have access to these resources during the October Base Camp. "La Bene Vita" Open in new Window. [18+] is an example of outline examples that will help if you are trying to create one for fiction writing. There are different ways you can create an outline too, which is helpful whether you are a fan of them or not.
For a single story, the outline can help give you a pathway from the inciting incident all of the way to the very end. It can work liike a roadmap where if you aren't certain what goes next while writing, you can always go back to check. This also can work as a way to avoid going off in a direction that wasn't part of the plan. It can work to keep you a little more on track because it is very easy in these genres to get distracted or to create a tangled web of a first draft.
Can you outline a series?
The answer is yes. At least, I have been able to outline a series during Prep Challenge month in the past. It's not that much different than writing for a single story, just a little longer. I often start with first deciding on the order the books need to go in. For the romance series, it's a matter of picking the order of who happens to be the main character. With the epic fantasy series, it's putting the order of things for the main conflict that goes over the whole series, then breaking it down to a big event in each book. In fact, you can outline the individual novels and also do an outline for the overall series. I've done this during October Novel Prep Challenge, where the first outline was book 1 in the series. The next draft of an outline, I did the overall series, making notes of specific characters and plot points within each. Not everything for each, but major points so each one had its own conflict but also the series itself had an arch with the conflict building up to the very end. This also works for series that don't have that plot flow because some romance series follow different main characters but are connected in different ways. You can also put "I don't know" in some spots, if they are blank. This might help you as things progress to see where holes exist and you never know when the inspiration will fix that problem.
I would imagine that it will be quite helpful to have an outline with a series considering how much gets involved and all of the details that will get added later. And you can add as much detail as you want. Just be careful about not getting so detailed that you nearly write a novel in outline notes. Have to get to the novel writing at some point or the series will only be in your head.
While not my favorite thing to do, when it comes to fantasy and science fiction stories, there are some benefits to creating an outline. It's even helpful if you are a fly by the seat of your pants style of writer. Whether it's for one book or a 15 book series, this is a useful activity, even if it's a chapter or just a scene. Outlines work for many settings and length range. How you go about it, that will depend on which resource you pick to use or whatever you create from your own ideas. There isn't just one way to write an outline. And we are going to have the chance to write a couple of them soon, for anyone taking part in Base Camp. I will see you by the campfire.  |
| |  | The Cat's Shadow. (E) Without a thought, Ingrid was left at an orphage. It took her 18 years to feel wanted. |
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How do you outline your speculative fiction stories, novels or epic series?
Last month, I discussed ways to find names for characters. Here are a couple of comments sent about that topic:
Comment by TJ-becoming a werewoodchuck!  :
Another good place to find/create names is in the credits of movies and television shows; there are some interesting names.
Comment by BIG BAD WOLF is Hungry!!!!  :
Honestly, depending on the theme, I might just look something up online. For instance, I might say, for one search, "Common Ancient Egyptian Names" and another for "Names of Fox-like creatures in Mythology". If the search has both, that's a keeper.
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Fantasy: September 30, 2026 Issue [#13977]
