I finished my outline for the new story today.  It took me a couple of weeks, but I’m satisfied that writing it was a good idea.

I have mixed feelings, not about the outline itself, but about knowing so much about the plot.  The less you know about your journey the more exciting it is. But, as any veteran traveller can tell you, there is a danger in not knowing what’s ahead. 

There are two good things about this outline:

Firstly, I won’t end up retreating from blind alleys having forgotten important aspects that must be brought forward.  No stranger to this behavior, I’ve spent many days reworking the messes I’ve gotten myself into.

Secondly, with plot in hand, I can concentrate on the richer characters that a solid story can support.   Hopefully I will be able delve deeper into the circumstance, behavior and dialog of each.    Laborious and difficult as a writing an outline can be, these three-thousand words may save this writer the frustration and indignation of the dreaded page-one rewrite.