I wasn't fond of creating an outline for all the years that I was on and off sa Wattpad world. (This isn't my first Wattpad account.) I did finish two stories na pinaghirapan ko talaga noong high school ako but they had shallow flows because I didn't do an outline. I would always use fillers, lol.
After that, ang dami ko nang ginawang kwentong hindi matapos-tapos. Believe me, I lost count. Ang bilis kong nawawalan ng gana noon. I always wondered why. Kamakailan ko lang na-realize kung bakit when I started joining Facebook pages for aspiring writers.
It was because I didn't do an outline.
Trust me, once you write an outline, ikaw mismo ang manghihinayang kapag hindi mo matapos-tapos ang kwento mo. Why? Kasi sa outline mo, nandiyan na ang simula ng kwento eh. Nandiyan ang journey ng characters mo. Nandiyan ang character development nila. Nandiyan ang struggles nila. Nandiyan ang success and failures nila. Nandiyan ang lessons na matututunan nila together with your readers. Nandiyan ang exposition, conflict, climax, falling action, until denouement.
Buong buhay ang nandiyan, at kapag hindi mo isinulat yang kwentong yan, wala nang ibang writer na makakapagsulat niyan, because no pair of brains are exactly the same. (I actually have a thought about this one, about cliches daw. We'll talk about that in the next chapter, yay!) Sobrang manghihinayang ka kapag hindi mo natapos yan.
Mumultuhin ka ng outline mo. Awooooo!
Another thing is let's face it, most of us, busy ang buhay. Sometimes we get caught up with our studies, job, family problems, self-healing, etc. Kapag tumagal na hindi ka nakapagsulat, without an outline, pagbalik mo ay lost ka na sa kwento mo, hanggang sa wala ka nang ganang ipagpatuloy pa. Ang mangyayari is isisipin mong "Ah, gagawa na lang ulit ako ng ibang kwento." Kaya wala ka nang matapos-tapos.
When you have an outline, pwede mong silipin yun, at i-review until you remember how you pictured the story in your head, and you're back on your track again. Much simpler, diba? You can save time pa in the long run, because every time you write a chapter you know kung anong goal mo na abutin, kaysa sa parati mong hindi alam kung anong dapat mong isulat.
I know that most of us ay iniisip na hindi nila kailangan ng outline. I used to be like that. Pero pag-isipan mo na rin.
Bonus tip: Every time a scene or whatever enters your head sa pinapanood mo, habang naliligo ka, o sa napagkwentuhan niyo ng mga kaibigan niyo, isulat mo na agad sa notes mo, sa papel, sa pader, ikaw ang bahala. Wag mong isiping "Hindi ko naman makakalimutan yan." Genius ka, gorl? Charot. Para naman kapag wala kang maisip kasi lutang na lutang ka, pwede kang maghanap ng idea sa lahat ng naipon mo.
But then again, don't write that as another filler. We tackled that already sa previous chapter. Piliin mo rin ang tama at pwedeng idagdag sa kwento mo in the right timing that would help your plot keep its flow.
Kaya mo yan, manunulat! 🌼✍🏻
BINABASA MO ANG
Writing Thoughts
Random"We writers write our own pain even if that means piercing our own feet by walking on the same broken pieces again." -Krisu-rin Just my realizations, thoughts, and learnings, through my writing journey and exploration that I'd like to share with you...
