Today's Mood: Up-beat. Today's Music: Ray LaMontagne--Till the Sun Turns Black. (Great smoky voice!) Today's Writing: Started I Feel For You. Today's Quote:
Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied,
writing columns for newspapers.-Jimmy Breslin
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How much of an outline do you do before you start the actual writing? Or if you write, say, poetry, do you jot all your ideas down first? Or do you just start in with the writing? Maybe with shorter pieces it is not as important to outline--but even the essays I write, I have to have some idea of where they are going--else how am I going to know if I get there?
I'm struggling with this right now because I want to start writing--but I know from past experience, that it is helpful to have an outline to refer back to when I get stuck and don't know what to do next. Besides, I have several different themes, subplots that need to be woven through the whole thing. I have a bad tendency to get going on one idea and forget about working in the other threads--then I have to try to go back and that's a bit like weaving a tapestry. Much easier to weave all the threads in from the beginning rather than go back later and have to loosen everything up enough to weave the new threads in.
I wonder if it's possible (read helpful) to write some each day--and also do some plotting (outlining) each day? I think this would move the whole process along. Besides, I don't always know before I start writing exactly how the characters are going to come out--express themselves.
Anyway, just curious to hear your thoughts on outlining/plotting. I know some people think it stifles creativity and some people swear by it. How about you?
