Yes and no. You must be
asking, "What kind of answer is that??" Well, to be honest, it
depends on the situation. When it comes to academic writing (such as an
on-demand paper or research paper), outlining can be a valuable asset. Time
constraints, at least in my case, make me very tense. I go through a writers'
block, conveniently enough, for the large majority of the time. After I started
outlining for occasions such as this, I found a new confidence in my writing. I
did not have as much trouble putting my thoughts on paper because I knew how to
structure each paragraph and what to discuss. This helped me to write faster
and more effectively; my words had meaning now.
On the other hand, I
think outlining is an awful idea when you are writing a creative piece. Creative
writing is supposed to be very free. If an author tries to plan it out, then
he/she is losing many opportunities to make something crazy happen. It’s almost
as if our brains are wired to follow an outline if it is written. As a result,
many authors follow the outline even if the story could flow better with
another plot twist. I agree with the author of the article (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/outlining-in-reverse/?ref=opinion)
when she says that it is better to outline after the writing is done. That will
help consolidate the writing, yet allow the creativity and whim to affect the
plot.
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