![]() I fill up at least a notebook or two up with my scrawlings, and over the years, I’ve developed a handful of steps. #Scapple solid lines instead of dotted full#Outlines take many forms-some of them a few sentences scrawled on a Post-It Note, some of them notebooks full of ramblings. The only difference is that the outliner’s process takes maybe a quarter of the time. Outliners and seat-of-the-pantsters alike go through this process. It’s the “mistake” draft, the dry-eraser board where we all throw out our ideas and see how they line up on the page. They feel that if they already know what happens in the story, why should they bother writing that first draft? In a way, however, an extensive outline is a first draft. Many writers feel outlining stifles their creativity. When all I have to do to know where I’m going is look at my map, I rarely have to waste valuable time and brain cells staring slack-jawed at the blinking cursor.Īdmittedly, as perfect as outlining is for me, it’s not perfect for everyone. It’s also a sure-fire antidote for writer’s block. When I’m already familiar with each pit stop along the road of my novel-thanks to my road map-it’s much easier for me to visualize the big picture and to realize what each scene must do to play its part. It’s much easier to spend a few weeks to outline your novel than it is to spend a few months to a year rewriting an entire draft. I’d much rather know where I’m going from the beginning, rather than try to force my foreshadowing and plot twists into the text somewhere in my second draft. I hate rewriting I hate watching my burst of pride and relief at the end of a novel dissipate in a realization of a hole-riddled plot. Generally speaking, writers fall into two different categories: outliners and non-outliners (or, as my critique partner Linda Yezak has dubbed them, “seat-of-the-pantsters”). ![]()
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