I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I don’t use full outlines until after I’ve written a complete draft. That’s not to say I don’t jot down notes about what’s going to happen in individual chapters, but I avoid planning the story’s beginning, middle and end until after I have a rough draft in my hands. This gives me a sense of freedom with the narrative and there’s more of a chance the story will still surprise me.

Usually when I’ve finished the rough draft of a novel or a short story, I stick it in a drawer for a couple weeks (figuratively speaking, the thing’s on my desktop). At this point the story feels like a tremendous pile of crap. A casual reader would think I’ve thrown random scenes against a wall just to see what sticks…and that’s kind of what I’ve done. When I return to the story I look it over and see what works and what needs to be changed or saved for other stories. Very often the basic skeleton needs to be rearranged. That’s when a full outline comes in.

A few months ago I returned to my new novel (the one I’ve written after The Night Highway.) I loved the story, the characters and the world I’d built, but the plot had some major structural problems. I started my revisions filled with enthusiasm, but my can-do attitude quickly dried up like a sponge left on a hot sidewalk. I kept hitting walls because the events of the story weren’t in the right order.

I took a step back (took a deep breath) and made a list of everything I wanted to include in the novel (and I mean EVERYTHING). I jotted down all the chapters, scenes and bits of conversations and wrote them on scraps of paper. Then I cleared off the ugly rug in the middle of our living room floor and arranged the story.

There were some events I knew from the start had to go in a certain order because of how they affected the characters . Those were easy. However, there were a lot of events that were still up in the air. By physically moving the story’s chapters around I could think outside the box and figure out an order I’d never considered before, one where much of the action and suspense is moved toward the front of the novel. Also, this technique helped me determine how much of the novel was unnecessary and could just be used for future stories. I had the whole novel before me, one I’d already written and one whose world and characters I knew so well, I simply needed to reconfigure how the story was told.

Outlines are fantastic tools for authors to have in their tool kits. Their biggest drawback is the risk of overusing them. Sure, make short outlines/notes at the beginning but utilize them as little as possible. Save the big, mega, FULL outline until after you’ve written a draft (or at least most of a draft). Wait until you know your characters, what they want/need and where the story is going and then create an outline that will give you the tightest, most intriguing story possible.