Benefits of Outlining
There is a growing debate among writers – both professional and amateurs about whether outlining is important before writing a novel. Well, outlining is important as it keeps you focused on the highlighted points. In other words, outlining gives a writer a sense of purpose when writing so as to avoid writer’s block. Below are some of the reasons you should outline your points before your start writing on a topic.
1. Improves writing speed
Knowing what to write is a surefire way to keep you focused on the task at hand. This helps save time because you know how to proceed. Outlining is therefore important since it helps structure your thoughts in an organized manner without drifting away from the main subject. This means you’ll require less time on editing.
2. Eliminates writer’s block
When you outline your ideas on paper, the likely hood of finding yourself in a corner is reduced. You can organize foreshadowing opportunities. When making an outline when writing a novel, it becomes easy to identify points that highlight foreshadowing opportunities.
3. Better research
Another reason you should outline your work is that it helps in research. An outline can alert you on areas than need research. This is important regardless of whether you are familiar to the topic or not. With that said, it is better to outline your points than make endless revisions when you are done writing. This way, you are certain you have the content to build on your ideas.
4. Development
An outline can help you fill any gaps that may affect the structure of your thoughts. For example, if more research is essential to support a certain point, you will notice this after outlining your ideas. Sure beats writing 1000 words before you realize the content is shallow.
The benefits of outlining are truly many therefore make a point of structuring your ideas before writing.
