5 Benefits of writing without a plan
Whenever I sit down to write a new short story, I usually have some sort of rough outline (even if it’s just a few bullet points of the main events). In other words, I have a plan. This is especially useful when it comes to writing the always-difficult endings. And it helps to prevent writers block.
But what about writing without any sort of plan, not even an outline? Well I decided to find out how my writing would be affected if I just sat down and started writing a short story with nothing but a basic idea. I’m writing the story in my notebook that I use for more experimental works, which I detailed in this earlier post.
Even though the story is nowhere close to being finished, I’m already seeing the benefits of losing the outline. Here are a few of those benefits I’ve found so far:
1. Your writing flows more naturally and may seem less contrived.
2. The plot takes its own course and you’re not tethered to an outline.
3. Writing without a plan forces you to just write, realizing you can go back and edit later.
4. Allows you to be more experimental.
5. You don’t run the risk of "over thinking" the story and driving yourself crazy over the smallest details.
All of the above reasons are inter-connected and it might seem like there’s a lot of overlap between them. It goes without saying that changing how you approach a writing project will drastically affect the outcome of the project. That appears to be what is happening here.
Do you use an outline when writing fiction? Explain why or why not. Leave a comment below with your answer. I always love reading how others write!
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