As I have started my revision I have struggled over this whole outlining thing. The truth is that I have never outlined. It’s not that I don’t know where my book is going - it’s just that I find it impossible to be creative in an outline. I can only think out of the box while I’m writing (or chatting on the phone).
I have great friends, like Shelli, who are incredible outliners and are able to get way creative during that process, but me? 'Fraid not.
Those short sentences feel like jail bars. I can’t do it. I just can’t!
BUT, by God’s grace, I picked up On Writing, By Stephen King, this week. This book has been sitting on my bedside table in a big stack of books for over a year. I was hesitant to read it because the truth is that I can not read horror books - or watch horror movies. They scare the crap out of me and I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to relate to his book. But boy was I wrong!
It’s a book about process. It's not scary at all! In fact, it's rather fascinating.
And guess what? He doesn’t outline either, so I’m a new fan.
Therefore Dear Readers, I give you the FREEDOM to be the creative souls that God made you and write however it flows out. Perhaps I am a strange breed of savant, whose creative process defies logic like Chris Martin’s. And perhaps so are you! (His "process" is about 7 minutes in and it's almost exactly like mine - fragmented and random - but the whole interview is great.)
I wonder what else lies in wait on my bedside table?
Katie
PS. Speaking of “FREEDOM”, I use this now and love it! But you have to have a Mac to use it - sorry. (Did I punctuate that sentence wrong?)
