Everything Wrong With VAMPIRE DIARIES Fanfictions

* Outlining

Really, most of you writers hate outlining and I can completely understand why. But that doesn't mean you are going to neglect it's significance altogether.

Because no matter what you say, outlining is hella important.

It is the Outline which gives your story a certain foundation for it to expand on And if you don't consider outlining beforehand, then the foundation for your story is going to be weak and sooner or later it's going to cause problems.

One of the biggest problems it can cause is Writer's Block and another problem is Deviation.

If you haven't got the main things planned for your story, then you don't have a specific destination set out in front of you as a goal. And then obviously how can you be expected to reach a destination without even knowing one?

When this happens, your story either goes down track or you lose the inspiration to write. And both these aspects are rather damaging for your writing as well as your stories.

Writers get many ideas everyday but that doesn't mean we would just start copying them down and trying to make a blockbuster story out of each one. Why? Because it is not effective to just get an idea and start writing on it.

First you have to gauge the idea for it's qualities and if the idea actually fits all the aspects I am stating below then you can be sure to turn it into a story.

Not getting it yet? Don't worry, you will. Soon.

The first thing you do when you get an idea that you are motivated to write is to simply note it down as it is, without any alterations.

Then, there is a list of questions you are going to ask yourself.

1. Why do I think this idea will be great and unique?

2. Does it have the tendency to be expanded into a full size book / novella?

3. Why does this story need to be told? Or in simple words, why should I tell this story?

4. Will the readers be interested?

5. If it is fanfiction, will it stand out from the other many stories written of the same genre? That is, whether it is cliche or not.

After you answer these first five questions and are quite satisfied with it, then begins the task of outlining.

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First and foremost, there are three major branches of your story when it comes to outlining.

The Beginning, the Middle and the End.

You don't necessarily have to think much about the scenes that will connect these three just when you have begun writing the idea out, but do consider these three main parts.

The Beginning:

The beginning is most important because that is quite the first impression which you are going to give to the reader. You must think out where the beginning of you story is set, the time, the place and if it is a fanfiction then you should also determine from which part of the book / TV show it starts.

After thinking out the setting, you have to decide which characters are you going to introduce first to the reader. Mainly, authors tend to introduce the protagonist in the first chapter because it is a widely accepted notion that readers tend to form a deep connection with the person they are introduced to first in the book.

When that too is sorted out, you have thought out a beginning. Now all you have to do is think out an appropriate scene which is able to hook your readers. Remember, it is the Establishing scene so it has to be strong, as previously discussed in Creating Scenes chapter. 

Usually, authors use a tragedy or some intense event like a killing, or a disappearance depending on the genre of your story. And that too is a challenge because not only are such scenes difficult to write but also they show exactly how much potential the writer has. And then, these scenes also create a suspense in the reader to find out more; who got killed, why, who did it etc. For example, in Vampire Diaries stories, usually such scenes are of someone getting bitten by Vampire / werewolf, or some disappearance in Mystic Falls or mysterious events leading to a massacre etc.

If you are able to evoke questions into your reader's mind, then you must congratulate yourself because it's the first milestone of your writing achievement. But you shouldn't leave a reader too confused either so make sure that whatever is happening in the beginning is in itself independent of a lot of other scenes clotting in. Because that would leave a reader suffocated and not able to comprehend what exactly you want to say.

So make sure your beginning has one clear scene and then you're ready to move ahead.

The Middle:

This point is from where you have reached the peak of your story. It is the highest point where a lot of things are going on. The reader must have a clear insight on all your characters by then so the middle is really important for ensuring that.

Usually, in the middle people think it's where all the action begins. But that's not necessary. You can have a smooth middle point of your story if you want or you can have it action packed. But make sure that the middle of your story is not too boring such that the reader would click out of your book.

For this, many writers set plot twists in the middle. For example, this person who was shown as murdered / disappeared / injured severely in the beginning returns and the immediate effect it produces on the readers is Oh I wasn't expecting that! But also that way the readers can get a few of their initial questions answered. And that keeps them satisfied so you can be sure that they will most probably continue with the story along with new questions in their minds; how did he / she survive, why did he / she come back etc.

The End:

Theoretically, this is the most important part of your book. The end is where you wrap up everything and the whole story reaches a conclusion. And the most important thing is that it should make sense. 

Your ending must be logical, it can be unexpected but don't make it too out of the blue. 

In the end, make sure that you have tied all the loose ends of your book, whatever action was going on in the middle has reached a conclusion and your characters are well placed where they should be. It depends on you whether you choose a tragic ending or a happy one. But whatever the ending is, it should satisfy the readers and fit your story perfectly.

Usually in the stories which begin with some murder, they end up on that murderer being caught or penalized for their acts etc. If the story is a  love story then they usually end up on the reconciliation of the lovers, or if it is tragic then on the death of either hero, heroine or both.

The ending should be thought out beforehand always because that way you get a clear destination for you to work towards throughout the story. You have got an end point and you just have to move towards it step by step through each chapter of your story. You won't get the trouble of deviating and you won't get stuck on a story for long if you have thought it all out beforehand.

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Hope this chapter helped. Sorry for the late updates but I just can't update that often and then obviously all of this needs to be typed as well and that too requires time.

I wish my laptop had an advanced speech to text function so I could  just dictate everything and it wouldn't cause me the trouble of typing and a great deal of time would be consumed that way.

Anyhow, see you soon with the next update.