Pros and Cons of Outlining: What Published Authors Think

Writing is not only a work of creativity; it’s a work of structure. Every writer will have a system to keep track of pieces to be sewed together, creating a storyline. One of those techniques is outlining.

An outline can be a detailed document containing every plot and decision you want to make. Or it can only be a quick sketch with ideas to keep close when writing. Even if you don’t write fiction, it can be helpful to organize what you will face during the construction of work. 

Outlining can help your writing process to be more smooth. However, it’s important to understand the best way to implement it in your routine.

Importance of the outline

A creative mind can be chaotic. Every time I start a new article, I will not get past word one if I don’t organize my ideas first. An outline comes in hand, not only for fiction writers. In any genre, the preparation phase will be necessary.

Outlining can speed your writing process and get you ready to jump into work knowing some steps in the path. The focus is not to restrict creativity but to set the basis for your writing. 

Outlining is the chance to test ideas on a scale before starting the hard work. It’s the occasion to see if the things you imagined will work in real life. Like training, your brain muscles will be more prepared for the action and familiarized with themes to develop. 

When to outline 

Usually, an outline will be made before the actual work of writing starts. It is a good approach, but every writer can adapt to what makes sense for them. 

You don’t need to create a detailed outline for your whole story. Maybe there’s a specific scene that’s difficult to develop or an article section that’s hard to put together. A little outline is useful in these moments.

The most important thing is to understand that the focus is to make your life easier. If creating an outline is a cause of stress or anxiety, this is proof that the technique is not for you. It needs to be natural in your practice, as this is the only way an outline will help you grow. Writers already have a no-ending list of rules we think we have to follow. The moment of outlining is to look at yourself and your work to see how to make it better, not add another worry. 

What published authors think

Besides deciding if the technique is for you, the thing about an outline is: there’s no consensus. Many authors spoke their opinions about the theme, some of them in a bad manner, like Stephen King.

“Outlines are the last resource of bad fiction writers who wish to God they were writing masters’ theses.”

Others showed their disagreement more reasonably, as Douglas Adams.

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

In a 2006 blog post, Meg Cabot talks only about outlining and her anger with writers who say that everyone needs to outline, and if they don’t, their book will be a flop. 

“I am not kidding about this. There are like OUTLINE POLICE out there, trying to make EVERYONE outline their books and screenplays before they allow them to start writing them. No one, according to the Outline Police, gets the choice NOT to outline.

And that’s just not right. Now, I would NEVER say that if you are a writer who likes to outline that there is anything wrong with that. Personally, I am a proponent of having the right to choose.”

On the other hand, some authors like JK Rowling and Sylvia Plath did detailed outlines for their famous novels. Sylvia’s sketch for The Bell Jar has the number of pages the book would have and detailed plot ideas. For Harry Potter and Order of Phoenix, JK made a timeline to keep track of book events.

There’s a lot of emotion around the choice of doing or not doing an outline. And one more time it’s necessary to say that this is only your choice. Every writer has a unique process, and you are the one to set the basis for your work. An outline can help your writing process only when you’re comfortable with the technique and its outcomes. 

If you decide to do it, use this process to experiment and look at your writing from different angles. Make this a space to test and approach your work with confidence.