Outline or No Outline?

In writing, there is a bit of controversy regarding the importance of an outline when writing a story. Famous writers can attest to success using either method. It really is a personal decision, but it is important to know the pros and cons of each method.

An outline can contribute to the cohesiveness of your story. It can establish character development, plot sequence, and flow. Pre-planning your story from beginning to end will prevent you from veering off of the chosen track. It gives you an end goal to aspire to, and a certain path to get to that goal. It can also help you if you get stuck at some point along the way because you can go back and look over plotlines and sequence to more easily find where the problem lies.

Proponents of no out line will tell you that outlines are too restrictive. Having no outline will allow you to think outside of the box and tap into your creativity along the way. When an idea comes into your mind during the writing process, rather than squelching it because it is not a part of your outline, you can experiment with it. This leads to a free-flow of ideas that can take your story to places you had not before imagined. The problem, however, is that you may eventually get to a place where the story has nowhere to go and you find yourself stuck. This occurs because there was no plan and no logical ending to aspire to.

Deciding on whether to outline or not is a personal decision, and much of it may come from your own particular style of writing, as well as what you are writing. Some people may even choose to incorporate a little of both methods into their process, which tends to work for some people. Whatever you decide to do, it is important to explore both methods to see which one works the best for you.