As you can see from my scattered posting schedule this week, I have a hard time outlining my life--much less my novel.
That's why I'm always looking for more advice from writers about outlining. I usually ask all my guests for their strategies, and I comb the web for more advice. The Internets are a very distracting place for writers, and the only thing that will really help your writing improve is practical advice from real writers.
Today, The Urban Muse interviews Michelle Wildgen (an editor at Tin House), the author of You're Not You.
She breaks her novel into bite-sized pieces, not letting the idea of the whole overwhelm the initial writing process: "Figure out your overall game plan as well as you can ahead of time--for me this was not a detailed outline but a general storyline--and then think maybe not to the end of the book as you first sit down to write, but the end of the chapter."
Earlier this year, novelist Lance Olsen told me something completely different:
"Unlike many writers, I outline vigorously before launching a novel. I simply couldn't keep the symphonic structures of the sorts of texts I produce straight without doing so...I can't speak highly enough about the rewards of outlining, but I'm also the first to admit it isn't and shouldn't be for everyone."
Don't be confused. The goal here is to keep writing and don't stop. Choose the outlining method that works best for you, and start writing tonight...