Behind the Curtain - Writing Advice
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I've touched on this subject in a few different areas of Behind the Curtain, but I really feel like outlining deserves a page all of it's own. With every rule in writing there are a couple hundred exceptions, and I know of several very successful writers who work with absolutely no formal outlines, but for most of us they are absolutely indispensable.
I don't know that anyone gets everything spot on when they do their first draft. Generally there are different aspects that need tweaked in order to get things just right. The changes can be a simple as correcting grammar and spelling or as complex as stripping an entire character out of the book entirely.
Unfortunately, while the former can be accomplished with relatively time and effort, the latter represents a major undertaking that can eat up weeks or even months depending on how much free time you happen to actually have.
Generally speaking, plot related fixes are always the ones that are going to tear you up the most to make, but they're often the ones that just have to happen. How much better is it when you can catch them and fix them before you've invested scores of hours into writing the rough draft?
Enter the outline. Rather we realize it or not, when you put an outline down you're starting the revision process, albeit at a very high level. By reviewing your outline over the course of several days you can often catch areas that need corrected, ones that will give you problems, or even pieces that can be done away with altogether.
The benefits don't stop there. As you begin your first draft, you'll often find areas where your vision no longer matches up with your outline, and that is a type of revision as well as you fine-tune things.
My favorite portion of writing has always been the creation of the world and plot. Actually sitting down and putting that on paper in an outline can be an incredible chore even as it introduces interesting new twists, but it has saved me from chasing down a false trail on more than one occasion.
Possibly just as important, it has told me when it wasn't the right time to start a story. For me, the battle usually comes in finally getting my outline to a point where I'm comfortable with it. Some ideas have never reached that point, but once they do, it's pretty much all over but for the actual time investment to get it all down on paper.
Can you get by without an outline? Sure, people do it all the time, but I think that the generally successful writers usually put a fair amount of thought into a project before actually starting chapter 1. It may not be formalized, it may not even be primarily plot-driven. There are plenty of writers who start with their characters and get them so well defined that the plot is entirely shaped by what they think the characters would do.
However you do things the key takeaway point is that the more time you invest on the front end, the less re-writing you'll have to do to get things right.