So I get my laptop set up, a giant cup of green tea, some grapes (my writing munchies, red grapes only), and Petunia is at page uno.
And then it hits me. I am actually outlining this.
And.
It.
Is.
Hard.
I know what I want the outcome to be. I know the intro, I know the middle, I know the characters. But how do I get there?
I spent all day outlining, I'm on Chapter 16, aka, not even halfway there. I'm ripping my hair out at this point! I just want to write it already!
But listen, gather round. Outlining is important for a writer like me. Some people can write a whole book without outlining, some can write the intro and go from there and have the perfect novel. I'm not that kind of gal.Here is why outlining is for this gal *points to herself*:
- I have the memory of a fish. I can hear or see something and minutes later forget what I heard or saw. If I thought of a genius idea and then didn't write it down in my outline, I know I will forget.
- In writing the outline I never get stuck when writing my first draft. I will never say "what now?" because it is right there in my outline where to go next.
- I have an idea of how the pacing goes before I even start. If there is so much detail in the outline in one chapter, I might reconsider taking some of it out to make the pacing stay at a steady pace.
Another reason I like to outline is when I get a final draft done, I can look back and see how it all original went down. And laugh. And nod. And think "oh yeah that's how it originally went." It's cooler than you think, trust me.
So...I'm going to work on the outline again tomorrow. I'm going to work on it the next day too if I have to. I may want to scream, and cry, and throw my grapes on the wall for something to look at other than my laptop screen, but it will be worth it.
What about you? Do you outline? Why or why not?
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