I’m a pretty bad writer—both in the techniques used, and the results they yield.  I tend to dive into a project without more than a vague idea of where it’s headed, which usually makes things difficult as I go on.  Organization just isn’t one of my best qualities.

Surprisingly, such was not the case with my NaNoWriMo novel of two years ago, a fantasy/allegory that’s been under construction ever since.  Because of the allegorical elements, I always had a clear idea of where it was supposed to be going—the problem came with all the stuff in between “Chapter One” and “The End.”  As more and more plotlines and characters came on board, it became more and more difficult to keep things straight in my mind.  In the end, it’s almost as difficult to write a story with a clear purpose in mind as it is to write something from nothing.

So at long last, Beth, the stubborn writer, has buckled down and written an outline.

To my knowledge, there’s two types of fiction writers: those who are disciplined enough to place a priority on outlining, to whatever extent that my be, and those who would rather insist that outlining stifles the story and they’re better off without it.  (That’s me.)

Firsthand experience: write the outline, and everything will be better.

I don’t know.  Maybe there’s brilliant writers out there who can carry an outline in their heads, but I’m not one of them.  The purpose isn’t to lay out everything exactly as it will be written; just give yourself a roadmap of how the story develops.  Once you’ve got it down, deviating will be easier, because you have the backbone firmly in place and you can backtrack if needed.  Be as detailed or as vague as you like (somewhere in between works for me).

So there you have it…confessions of a writer wannabe.  (Cherise, you are now entitled to a big “I told you so.“)