Hello Fellow Wordsmiths,

I’ve written several posts that talk about how to outline. I’ve listed and given information on a few different ways to outline your novel.

This post is going to briefly talk about the benefits and possible setbacks to outlining.

Why You SHOULD Outline Your Novel

• You’ll always know what you need to write
• It helps avoid writer’s block
• You’ll speed up the writing process
• It helps you keep track of your plots and characters
• It helps to avoid the usual dull middle of the novel

Why You SHOULDN’T Outline Your Novel

• It limits your creativity- if you outline the entire book thoroughly, then how can you let creativity and ideas, twists, turns happen throughout the book?
• It takes away the thrill of the ride, so to speak. If it’s too planned out, it doesn’t leave any room for surprises, and a change in course
• It can not only limit creativity, but it can also shut it down all together and bore you for the remainder of the novel, or worse, make you want to abandon it altogether

So, Should I Outline or Not Outline?

My answer is, yes!

Huh, you say? Here’s what I mean by that. This is what I do. I’m in no way saying this is the way someone SHOULD do it. I’m simply giving you another idea. This is what works for me and it came with a LOT of trial and error and changes throughout my books.

Here’s What I do Regarding Outlining

• Once I have an idea for a novel and I’m ready to begin, I write down a paragraph or two describing the book, as if I were telling someone else the plot
• When I’m finished THOROUGHLY creating the characters and their role in the story, I am then ready to do a simple outline
• I write down what happens throughout the story on index cards. Once I have about 40 or so “things” that need to happen in the book, I put the cards in order of happenings
• I then type or write the most important happenings on a different color of cards, that way I can decide where to make those things happen throughout the story. Doing it this way helps me keep good pacing
• Once I begin writing the story, for each chapter I’m ready to begin, I read over my stack of index cards and choose the ones that fit that chapter and make changes to it if necessary before I write. I continue doing it this way throughout the whole novel
• By having a basic outline (done on the index cards), I can then go chapter by chapter, card by card, with a basic outline, some structure, but still leave room for my ideas to change, expand, and grow.
• To me, this is the best marriage of outlining and being a pantser

So, my take-away for you is to consider doing a bit of both. By having an outline, you’re able to keep the structure, get all your ideas into some kind of order, and helps you pace the story by including all your major plot points on the second stack of cards I mentioned.

By re-evaluating what you’ve written on the cards initially before you write each chapter, it’ll leave room to change your mind, add or subtract ideas, and to see where things need to change.

I have my own little routine now and people are telling me my writing has improved by leaps and bounds. I am certain that is because I’ve found my own personal groove and found the perfect marriage of plotting and pantsing. My books have good flow because of the outlining part and I can keep my creativity growing and changing because I’m free to alter the cards before each chapter.

I hope you find this helpful. REMEMBER….. I’m available as a Writing Life Coach, so if you feel you need some personal guidance, send me a message and we’ll set up a meeting. The consultations are always FREE.

Have a wonderful holiday and make sure you look at the latest contest on the Facebook Group, The Ins and Outs of Novel Writing. Enter and maybe win a cute prize.

Happy Writing! Gina