When I post my P.O.V. series, I look at Angharad's series and let the character speak through me. When I did the M.I.B.D. fan-fiction Artemis The Hunter, I sent Tina Michelle Smith an outline and she gave me permission and advice on the story. My short stories basically write themselves as I let my muse wander in my mind during the day. I hope that I have helped you in some way. I have truly enjoyed both of your series here and your new one at Fictioneer.
May Your Light Forever Shine

... on what you're writing. How long is it going to be? Who is it written for, the writer or the audience? That obvious bit aside, I'm assuming that you're writing a fairly long story to please an audience.

The first thing you need is a story, which means a good idea of where you're starting from, a set of more or less defined characters, a solid end, and a fairly good idea of how to get there. I don't mean that you have have to know everything, but you do have to feel the characters, understand the tension, and know where you're going. Without that, unless you're writing mainly for yourself, I see little reason to start. Use your imagination until it becomes a story that you can be excited about.

The next step is outlining. The pros do it because it's more efficient, and the longer the story, the more efficient it is. I'm no expert at it, but there are a few things that are helpful to keep in mind when making an outline -- or, for that matter, when writing classical dramatic fiction.

The Jarvis method has a neat way to concentrate the author's efforts. It directs the author to think of a key word, like "revenge" or "transformation," whatever the main thrust of the plot is. If what you're writing doesn't contribute towards that word, the concept goes, then maybe you shouldn't write what you're writing. It's not a bad thought.

Closely related is the principle that a story should have a premise, which some call a theme. A premise is tricky to define, but it's basically the argument that a story is proving with its characters, tension, and resolution. The concept that a story without a premise is less effective goes back to the days before Aristotle. A story without a premise, or one with more than one premise, means that a story is rudderless or "mushy" to the average reader. From How To Write A Damn Good Novel, a few examples of good premises:

In The Godfather, Puzo shows us a reluctant son becoming a Mafia don because he loves and respects his family. The premise: family loyalty leads to a life of crime. In the book, it sure did.

In the Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway sets out to prove the premise that courage leads to redemption. In the case of the old man, it does.

Dickens, in A Christmas Carol, shows us a miserly old man who is confronted with his misdeeds by the spirits of Christmas, and who is transformed into a kind of Santa Claus. The premise: forced examination leads to generosity.

A few bad premises because they're too general:

Strangers are not trustworthy.
War kills people.
Poverty is bad.
Life is good.

Better versions of the above:

Trust of a stranger leads to disillusionment.
War brutalizes even the most noble.
Unbridled greed (caused by being brought up in poverty) leads to alienation.
Love leads to happiness.

It's not that one should create a premise and then write a story. It works the other way around. The story is created, and then the premise is defined, understood, and incorporated to keep it on track.

You should probably use way points, as a few people have mentioned, where the characters and the plot will be here, at a given point, then there, and so forth, until the end. That's not bad. It's a good way to define the beginning and end points of chapters, too. In one story I wrote, I tried to brainstorm three different ways of getting from point A to B, then chose the one that I liked best. Before you start start writing the story, if you do that, you'll have a pretty good, well thought out outline. Change it whenever you want, but make sure that the rest of the outline is adjusted to fit.

Another helpful way of constructing an outline is through a step chart. Think of it this way: way points can be action driven, producing places in the story where things are thus and thus (way points aren't necessarily that way, but they often are). Step points are like way points, except they concentrate more on the effect the story has on the characters -- the changes or growth that they encounter as as result of the story. Character development is very important to a story, and so keeping track of where your character's head is at is important, too. Scenes should be written with character development in mind. Some scenes, obviously, have very little character development, but some have a great deal. A few loose examples of a few step points in a story I'm writing:

***

Step Chart:

Scene before the battle:

Establish that Rass and Hys are friends from birth, young warriors before a battle, as mercenaries. The mood is tense as they know they are about to fight, but they are brave. They both worry that they might not see each other, and form a bond.

Establishes the status quo, and sets up a small amount of foreshadowing.

Scene during the battle:

They ride over the hill into a column of warriors and levies, reinforcements for the main enemy force.

Fierce fighting going on. Rass and Hys are separated. After the battle, the enemy leaves the field. Rass can't find Hys anywhere among the injured or dead. Rass wants to go after him, but his commander tells him to leave it alone. He is either dead and they wanted his body armor, or they might hold him for ransom. Rass doesn't believe it. The enemy withdraws raggedly. The battle in won and the mercenaries will move on to the bridge at Mirl in a few days.

Establishes that they are both brave warriors.

Scene in the commander's tent after Rass discovers that Hys (and others) are missing:

Rass tells his commander that he must find out what happened to Hys. Commander grants him permission to scout the force and report back at Mirl. If he doesn't, he'll assume that he's dead. Won't get paid.

Rass departs, and scouts party from the woods. Determines that they are alive and in a cage – maybe five or six. Rides ahead and waits in a camping site. Kills sentry. Watches and waits. Then moves, killing guard with keys silently, then taking his keys, sliding to the cage, now covered by a tarpaulin. There is a party going on outside, with cries about using the wenches. Rass whispers, “Hys.” A woman answers. Opens cage with keys and unlocks manacles of Hys and two other women who want to leave. The other two are terrified of being whipped again, and think trying to escape is suicide. They leave, Rass and Hys on horse, and the other two women on foot in the garb of the dead warriors. The alarm is given, and Rass and Hys barely escape.

Establishes that Rass is a brave and loyal man to his friend.

Scene on the road going to the mercenary camp.

Hys is crying, furious that she is a serum girl. They ride away, but by morning, they have a discussion. Hys must find clothes. She chooses freewoman's clothes because wearing a man's clothes is ridiculous, and everyone would know. She is terribly lost and alone. Rass promises her that they will always be friends, and that he will protect her. Hys doesn't want anyone to know her name at the camp, fearing shunning. Rass agrees. This makes her feel much better.

Establishes the bond between them again, and fixes Rass' oath to protect her.

***

Another way to organize your story is to see how the masters do it. This is the checklist at the end of a chapter of the transformation plot from 20 Master Plots and how to build them:

1. The plot of transformation should deal with the process of change as the
protagonist journeys through one of the many stages of life.

2. The plot should isolate a portion of the protagonist's life that
represents the period of change, moving from one significant character state
to another.

3. The story should concentrate on the nature of change and how it affects
the protagonist from the start to the end of the experience.

4. The first dramatic phase should relate the transforming incident that
propels the antagonist (I think this is a mistake. I think the author meant
protagonist) into crisis, which starts the process of change.

5. The second dramatic phase generally should depict the effects of the
transformation. Since this plot is about character, the story will
concentrate on the protagonist's self-examination.

6. The third dramatic phase should contain a clarifying incident, which
represents the final stage of the transformation. The character understands
the true nature of his experience and how it has affected him. Generally,
this is the point in the story at which true growth and understanding occur.

7. Often the price of wisdom is a certain sadness.

***

As the author of the book explains, it doesn't mean that you have to follow any specific guidelines, or should, if your story doesn't fit. The book's purpose is to show that certain genres have certain basic established plots which have stood the test of time. They are worthy of examination. If nothing else, studying time-tested plots is an interesting way of seeing how the human mind is satisfied.

Aardvark

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

Mahatma Gandhi