About Writing

I was talking with some college students yesterday about the value of outlining before you write. They were feeling overwhelmed by the formal outline their teacher (my friend) was insisting they write. I pointed out that even after many years working as a professional writer, I still create an outline before I write so much as a paragraph.
My outline isn’t as detailed or formal as the ones they need to create for their class, but it serves the same purposes. First, it helps me organize my thoughts and put them in a logical sequence. That means I’ll do a better job when I write, and I’ll avoid much rewriting.

But outlining, or even just creating a list of key words and phrases, does something else. That process triggers additional thoughts about the subject of the writing because seeing words on paper is different than thinking about words in the brain. Saying the words out loud is still another process.
The more parts of your brain you involve in writing–or preparing to write by creating an outline–the more complete your writing will be. So instead of resenting the outline stage of writing, linger over it. Your writing will be the better for the time you put into creating a great outline.