Organic writers don't start by writing an outline first, so it may seem that organic writers never need to outline. But that isn't the case. Outlining can be a valuable tool, even for organic writers -- when used appropriately.
Used appropriately, any tool will make the work easier. Used wrongly, it creates frustration, extra effort, and often failure.
So, when and why should an organic writer ever use an outline? Let's start with why organic writers tend to resist the whole idea of outlining.
The typical advice most other sources give about the best way to write a great novel is to start with an outline, then systematically follow that outline to build the first draft of the story.
Outlining first works very well for left-brained, system-oriented writers -- and there are a lot of such writers out there.
But there are also a lot of us who are right-brained, intuition-oriented writers.
Organic novel writers like us may or may not be able to produce an outline before we begin writing. And if we do, trying to follow it is far more likely to block our ability to write the novel than to help us find our way through the process.
In fact, for me (a highly organic writer) there is no better way to prevent me from writing a story than to outline it first.
Despite the typical advice, outlining first is not essential to writing a great novel.
Great novels are created from other factors, not from an outline.
Factors like:
The greatness of any story is built by taking the time and putting in the care and effort and artistry that factors like these imply. It takes skill and work to shape your initial ideas into a novel that both truly embodies your message, and touches your readers deeply.
Outlines and many other tools can assist writers when doing the extensive mechanical work of writing a great novel, but outlines cannot substitute for the passion and energy and sense of mission that can only come from each writer's own core being.
Greatness comes from what you put into creating the story, not from the tools you use along the way.
Planners usually write an outline before they start writing the first draft. Organics are usually better off avoiding that step.
But that doesn't mean outlining for organic writers is never a good idea.
There are lots of moving parts in a novel, spread over a lot of story territory. All of them need to be tracked and coordinated. But, novels are too big to keep everything in mind at the same time.
So, at some point in the writing process -- and often at many different points -- all writers need some sort of overview of all or part of the whole story.
We need to:
Outlines shine for all of that, and much more.
An outline is like a map. You don't need one if you already know exactly where you're going -- or if you don't mind where you end up.
While writing the rough draft, organics are usually in the latter state, and having an outline would be superfluous.
But, there's a lot more to writing a good story than flowing through the rough draft. For many parts of the process, having a map at hand can be useful.
When you find a need for an outline, you're allowed to create one -- even during your first draft. Doing so doesn't make you any less of an organic writer over all.
Although organics rarely write the first draft from an outline, we can, should, and do use this powerful story tool in other parts of our writing process.
No matter how organic you are, you'll likely create several different working outlines through the course of revising your story. Each one will give you a different view of the material. Each one is meant to help you with a particular aspect of the work.
Targeted outlining for organic writers can help organize and clarify your efforts.
Index card outlines can give you very high level views of the whole story, so you can check for logic and overall flow, and keep track of where various scenes are placed in the story.
In depth outlines show more detailed levels of the story. They often cover only certain parts of the story, or only certain angles on the material. They let you focus on those more detailed views, without getting distracted into just reading the story.
Other outline-like tools such as timelines and character sketches help you pin down details that you don't want to accidentally drift into becoming embarrassing or confusing inconsistencies.
And so on. There are any number of ways to write an outline, and any number of ways to use an outline that don't involve outlining first.
In general, organic writers don't have a need to outline first. But that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't when an exception presents itself.
Some projects have sticky bits, and even the most highly organic writer may resort to outlining during first draft to find their way through.
Commonly, we'll outline all or part of the story we've written so far in order to gather into mind the threads the current scene depends on.
Sometimes we find there's backstory we need to know to make the story work, but which really doesn't need to be included. Often we'll just write it out anyway, but sometimes we don't care about all the details and outlining the backstory instead is good enough.
Occasionally, we may even outline parts of the story yet to come in order to test possible alternatives. These are often vague and incomplete outlines. We use them to explore "what if" scenarios that are a little too complicated to figure out in our heads. These outlines tend to get abandoned as soon as we decide whether a particular possibility is worth pursuing in the rough draft.
Just because you wrote an outline does not mean you have to stick to it.
As an organic writer, every outline you write is going to reflect only a single moment in the process of writing your novel. It's a snapshot.
This means that what the story evolves into might quickly and drastically vary from the outline. This is fine. It's okay to let the story grow away from your outline.
Snapshot outlines will almost immediately become obsolete. This is fine, too. Outlining for organic writers is usually about understanding the story as it stands, rather than guide-railing what it might become.
Don't force yourself to follow an outline that no longer represents what you're trying to say or how the story is exploring it.
Like paper towels, outlines are disposable. Use them to clean up the part of the story you're working on, then toss them in the trash.