To Outline or Not...you know the rest.

I never realized how much work it is to be a writer...of any kind. I write Romantic Suspense. I thought it was a matter of sitting down at your computer with a piping hot cup of coffee and punching out words by the thousands. Someone told me once to just puke on the page and sort it out later. Sounds easy, right?

Not quite. Before you can allow your fingers to run rampant on your keyboard, your mind has to consider important aspects of writing like:

• Is it necessary to use an outline? 
  • If you asked me that question 10 years ago, I would have said "no." I was one of those "puke on the page" people. I'd get a great story idea and I'd be off and running. I have written quite a few stories like that...wait, let me rephrase that; I've started​ quite a few stories like that. I say started because I could never finish them. I'd get 25 pages into the story and I was finished. I didn't know where my story was going, what the characters were trying to accomplish, or what the ending was. Now, I'm finding myself re-writing those same stories, but outlining them first.
  • One of the best things I've done for myself is join a writing group. Once a month I drive 245 miles (RT) to attend our group meetings. Every meeting we discuss different aspects of the craft of writing. Outlining was one of those sessions. Since joining this group, I find myself doing just as much reading and learning as I do writing. 

Writing is a craft, just like anything you want to do well. Learn the basics, like outlining, then you can start moving forward slowly...baby steps, remember?

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