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.