Writing Free Style vs Outlining
Writing is a personal process. I ran into someone today who was so excited to meet a published author. It’s her dream to write a book and become an author. She had several questions for me about writing. The question that stuck in my mind was when she asked if I write free style. It confused me for a moment. Questions that aren’t relevant to me often confuse me for a moment as I try to register what they mean by their question. Free style. Is there any other way? I guessed that she must have meant to ask if I write an outline first. Nope. Sure, I have a general idea where the story line is headed. I normally think of the beginning first, then the general plot line, and definitely the end. Of course, all too often, the characters dictate the direction of the story. New characters sometimes highjack the story line. The main characters might resist the direction I am taking them and do their own thing that requires revising the direction I intended. Sometimes it’s a strugg...