Writers: All You Really Need to Know About Outlining

Question: When do you outline?

Answer: When you need to.

Question: Before, during or after writing?

Answer: When you need to.

Question: When do you need to outline?

Answer: When you have a problem you can’t otherwise solve.

As simplistic as the above is, it works for me. Outlining is a necessary skill for writers. It is not a skill that must constantly used. It’s use is more often to be observed in theory, than in fact.

What is most important about outlining is the experience. I have done hundreds of them. Highly detailed, word for word outlines. I have done many kinds of outlines. What is important is the discipline. It is the ordering of your thoughts. It is the sequencing of your arguments. These build to an ending, a conclusion. The conclusion is the ultimate, the maximum value.

Outlining was a required part of my collegiate training. I mostly hated doing them. At first, it was only a drudgery to be endured. Over time, I began to stand away from the mechanics. I learned to observe. Oversight of the process allowed me to begin to see.

I could see the thought and the planning that went into writing. At that point, you also see, not errors, but judgment calls. These are places where your judgment might have been different. You would have emphasized a different idea. You would have taken a different path.

Outlining forces you to think about what you are going to say. Outlining allows you to set out ideas quickly. You can do this without much loss of seemingly insignificant ideas. I call these ephemerals, the firefly flights of ideas.

Have you ever walked into a test situation and gone blank? That is a terror to strike a frozen sword through a heroes heart. When it happened to me, I knew what to do. I started outlining. First by free association, then more formally. During this process my brain warmed up, blood flow accelerated, and soon I was at full stride.

This simple tool is almost never taught in any level of school. It should be. It takes away the terror. Oh, it can’t help if you’ve never studied. You do have to put something into the brain first. This is just a way to remove the mental clog of fear. It lets the brain drain onto the paper.

I have always found this helpful. When beginning a project, to allow my mind to float. Float freely in the pool of ideas that circulates around a subject. Ideas, like minnows, leap free into the air of free association. I jot them down on a separate page.

When enough minnows have been gathered, I start fishing. I fish by beginning a sentence outline. As I work, new, additional minnows will burst forth like flying fish. These must also be quickly netted. Otherwise they fly over the boat and are irretrievably lost forever. Jot them quickly. This keeps them alive.

By this time you have at least two pages. Likely they are a complete mess. It is time to start anew. Or, your bait bucket is full. It is time to be serious. There are big fish in these waters to be caught. Spear you bait fish on hooks and drag them into position. Start your outline anew. It could be a phrase outline (my personal favorite), or a sentence outline.

When your bait bucket is empty, your outline should be nearing completion.

Examine your result critically. Have you covered all the important points? Are your sections balanced? Did you make a continuous line of thought or story? No gaps? Did you arrive at a conclusion?

Does your story make sense? Is the order and sequence logical, clearly moving from one point to the next?

Now, write the real story. This is the pay off for the hard work already done.

Almost any, and perhaps all writings can be outlined. Perhaps more should be outlined. We might experience a better result. This process can be used almost anywhere.

A day ago my wife and I were on our way to town. I’d become sleepy behind the wheel, so she had taken over. Of course, I immediately lost all desire to sleep. I started thinking about a new article I wanted to write.

The process began. I grabbed a small yellow pad. The following are the actual notes I wrote while bouncing along at 55 MPH.

(typed for clarity, even I had trouble reading them)
Hemingway -ahead of his time, basically illiterates, poorer readers, less educated readers, immature, know your audience, created by TV, action, appeal to immature emotions, immediate response, immediate gratification, 15 sec sound bite, no nuances, solve major problems in 30 min, magic pill, 5th grade reading level, short sentences, short Paragraphs, pithy, risqué, brusque

From this list of ideas, I created a 600 word article. I’ve tentatively entitled it, “Needed: New Writers for the New Readers”.

As I used ideas, I drew a line through them. When all were gone, I concluded the article. My free association list of ideas was my outline. I organized it as I wrote the article. I may not be really good at this. It is something else that I learned to do in college. I learned to do it to save time. Most exams only last an hour.

Granted, this is not exactly the process I described earlier. It is, however, the next logical step. The procedure that I’ve laid out for you to use should work for you. You will modify it to fit your needs. It is a process that is easy to start and difficult to stick with.

In my book, I relate a former student’s story of how she used outlining to save her college career. Outlining is a powerful tool, if used correctly.

For detailed issues, technological innovations, or a “study” of outlining, go to a bookstore. Find a book on outlining. Buy one. After you read it, re-read my article. You’ll see just where it fits, at the end of the book.

Bottom line, your outline is exactly as valuable as you make it. It is, after all, yours. Outline, or not to outline? That is the question. The answer is that it has to be of value to you. Otherwise you will not use it.

Outlining must, to your definite knowledge, improve your work. Otherwise you will not use it. It should remain one of your tools, ready to be brought forth when needed. Outlining is like a sledgehammer. Very useful when you need to batter down a stubborn door.

(c) Copyright 2006: George Wallace recently published a book on religion which lashes out at nearly all of the comfortable ideas about God, the trappings of organized religion, and the priesthood. His pithy comments and suggestions for a return to a God-centered personal religion will interest everyone. This article may be freely reprinted so long as all copyright attributions, and the full content of this resource box are included. www.OhGodIsThatYou.com

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