You’ll hear most writers advocating the use of an outline for any lengthy writing projects. I do, too. However, there’s a caveat: don’t stick to the outline.

I had an epiphany today while I was writing a business article. I had created a skeletal outline of the article, and I started to fill in the meat on the bones. The flow had all but stopped. The ideas weren’t coming out in the right sequence, and I just squashed them. Finally, frustrated, I stopped myself and took a look at the big picture. I asked myself a frank question: “Is this how I would write a book?”

In the last two books that I wrote, I used the same outlining process without even thinking about it. I created a set of chapters, drafted an outline for each chapter in bullet points, let it ferment for a day, then started doing the actual writing. I often noticed that the final draft would differ considerably from the bullet points I’d originally laid out, often because I just thought of a better idea later. I’d review my bullet points and make sure that I didn’t leave out anything important. Then, I’d move on.

What I observed today: trying to fit my ideas into a preconceived format will kill off the creative process. Outlining is good for fleshing out the ideas to be included, but it’s only a starting point. I’ve decided I’ll be using this process for everything now, so I’m glad to pass it along.