The Pros and Cons of Outlining Your Novel

Outlining is an age-old conundrum for writers. Are you a pantser of plotter? How much do you need to plan before you can jump into writing the first draft of your book?

The degree of outlining will change for every writer and every project. I have written multiple novels with varying levels of outlining and it has had a huge impact on how I work and the quality of my books.

So, let's get into the pros and cons of outlining and what you should consider before starting your next project.

Pros:

1. Organisation

Writing a book can be one messy tangle of inspiration and ideas which is great but also means that you can get lost in it all quite easily. Whether you've got a complex plot, large cast of characters, or subplots for days, an outline will help you track everything that is happening in your story and prevent any loose ends.

2. Time-saving

As much as outlining might feel like an unnecessarily time-wasting task, preventing you from jumping straight into the fun stuff, it can actually save you time in the long run.

By creating a detailed outline, you'll be able to spot plot holes and issues before you even write the first word! Which means the editing stage will be so much quicker. You can avoid the significant changes that make you want to bang your head against the wall later on in the process.

3. Improved plot

You know when I said an outline will help you pick out plot holes before they become major problems? Well, I'm hammering that point home.

By delving into the plot during the outlining phase, you'll be able to make your story the best it can be. You get to explore every single character arc and subplot with a fine tooth comb and enhance it where possible.

Cons

1. Restrictive

While an outline can be super helpful to keep writers on track, it can also hold many back. A lot of writers love the freedom of being creative and spontaneous and an outline can kill that for them. Writing can become a chore and it's easy to watch your motivation disappear down the drain.

2. Inflexible

With an outline, it can be hard to make changes once the story is in place. A lot of the time, you'll learn more about your characters and your world and your story whilst you're writing them. You may get half way through your first draft and realise that certain subplots or journeys feel inauthentic to your characters and maybe a different route would be better.

So that shiny and detailed outline you created? It needs to be set aside. It needs to be reworked. And that can be really difficult when you've spent so long getting every puzzle piece in place, only to realise that the resulting picture doesn't look quite right.

Personally, I have a complicated relationship with outlining. It's not something I particularly enjoy - planning out every single detail and tripping over plot holes every two seconds isn't my idea of fun. Not when I just want to get stuck in and start writing.

I've written books without an outline and I've written books with an outline. Unfortunately for me, the books I've outlined have surpassed the others in quality. By a lot. The outline has also saved me a lot of editing time so it's swings and roundabouts, really.

Outlines can be a great tool to help you structure your novel but they're not for everyone and that's okay! One of the best parts of writing is that everyone has a different process and you can only discover your own through trial and error! It is one of the many joys, and many pains, of being a writer.