Outlining: The Happy Medium?

Lots of great comments on the "Writers About Town" post from a week or so ago. Dan and I have been discussing the age-old question of outlining. Some authors swear by it, while others vehemently reject the practice. Personally, I'm an outliner, but I'm a planner by nature. So whether you like to outline your short stories, novels, children's books, etc., probably depends on your own personal style.

As you can see, Dan's comments really got me thinking about this topic, so I'm going to keep going...I'd love to hear your own preferences about outlining vs. not outlining.

I definitely see his point about outlining seeming restrictive, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Remember that, since you're the author, you are the "master" of the outline, so you can stray from it as much as you like and then go back and rework or adjust it to match what you've done and where the story's going. I would suggest that the happy medium is a "loose" outline. That's how I tend to approach it. That way, I know what's coming up (and, as I'm writing, what's already happened). It provides a guide, a structure for the story so that I don't get "lost" or feel like the story's not going anywhere, but it doesn't hem me in. Plus, it can help you to see the "arc" of the story -- that kind of thing. Outlines can also be motivating the closer you get to THE END.

May I also suggest: if you're planning to attend the Writers Workshop Author Series on 2/27 (I know, I know -- that's ALL I talk about!), you could pose a question about outlining and plotting to our featured author...it's always interesting to hear the different approaches out there.

See you next week (2/16)!