First, a quick (late) update on my goals. I am behind on TOI - but it is not a bad thing. I will explain why later in this post.
I am also behind on review the notes from my critiquers. However, since most of my critique partners are doing NaNoWriMo - and thus our meetings are suspended - I am complete caught up on my critiquing :)
Reading is going okay. I am currently re-reading Writing the Short Story - it is a great book and actually sparked the change in TOI. I have not decided what my other book will be for this month.
Now onto why I love outlining. Currently I am in the process of outlining TOI, my current WIP. Technically I already have an outline - so I am really re-outlining. So allow me to tell you a story. I was reading above mentioned book which has several gems of knowledge in it. Bickham talks about the story question and how it drives the plot of a story. That got me thinking about TOI's story questions was and - BAM! - I got this great idea for a first line. Then - BAM! - all the pieces started to fall into place for the plot. It was then that I realized that I need to change the outline for TOI.
Also, in my original outline I jumped around with view point characters. I am however re-evaluating that decision. The plan now is to map out the events of the story - then decide which POV to tell each scene from.
There are three reasons why I love the outlining phase of writing. First, the discovery. Stumbling on a brilliant scene that solves the problems you have been trying to work out. Change one simple world building decision that makes all the pieces come together like a puzzle - oh it is so exciting!
Second, organizing. I like order. I like making order out of chaos. So, when I have a plethora of disconnected flashes and ideas that I pull together to make a cohesive whole I get a sense of accomplishment.
And last but not least, flexibility. I love how pliable the story is in the outlining stage. I can change my mind about something at the snap of my fingers and then launch into a while new phase of discovery and organization.
So in short. I am really enjoying where I am in writing TOI. It feels great!
How are things going with your goals? What is your favorite phase of the writing process and why?
That's the wonderful thing about outlines, they're not made of stone but of rubber, so they can be reshaped whenever we want :-)
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