How to Use Your Outline Efficiently and Effectively
Working on your next writing task? Well, you might have been very busy dealing with it lately. Especially if you already have lots of ideas flowing out of your mind and all you need to do is to write it all down so that you won’t miss any single detail just to define your topic further.
That can be truly amazing in your part as you don’t find it hard to think what comes next. As long as certain ideas that are related to your topic starts flowing, then you will surely find yourself writing continuously not knowing how fast the time goes by.
Well, that is a good sign for most creative writers especially if they are working under certain writing pressures. When you are in this kind of a situation and suddenly your head started to stop working creatively, you will surely end up staring at your work and trying to figure things out on what to do next.
That’s totally disappointing and you can barely proceed to the next step since you don’t know what to do. Feels like stuck in the middle of writing? if you want to write and finish your work right away without any interruptions, then you should write an outline first before you will start your writing task later on.
So, you know how to outline. Congratulations, you’ve managed to put the lock down on one of the most important aspects of writing. The next step should proceed after that, right?
Well, hopefully it does. Here are a few tips to make sure you put that outline to good use.
1. Write piece by piece. You’ve already got an outline which lays out how you will present your ideas, so you can let any worries about organization go during drafting. Write whichever part feels easier first to give yourself momentum. Focusing on the parts that are ready to be written allows you to work in a more efficient manner. You can check actual coherence of the resulting piece later on.
2. Be willing to modify. Think of the outline as a map leading you to your destination. It’s accurate to a degree, but be willing to change course if you notice a better path. Think of it like the woman who used a GPS that told her to cross a highway. Just because the software pointed that way doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
3. Be willing to start over. Sometimes, you realize your outline is just plain wrong. Be willing to start over from scratch, instead of trying to force the whole thing to fit. With major changes, going back is often a more efficient solution than trying to fit in a plethora of changes.
4. Use your outline to cross-check the last draft. After you’ve finished the final revision, don’t run the proofreading software yet. Before giving it the last touches, use the outline as a reference to double-check your organization and structure. Did you do it as planned or did you stray accidentally?
"How to Use Your Outline Efficiently and Effectively", was submitted 01/28/2012 under category Writing.
