The Quest for Plot, Part 1: My New Obsession

I have been driving myself crazy recently questing for something that for years I felt was either impossible or, maybe, just wasn’t mentally possible for me:

Outlining novels quickly, efficiently, and relatively accurately — while still leaving enough breathing room to develop the novel.

Plotting has always been a weakness of mine. I have tons of beautiful, brilliant opening scenes that have been discarded because they go nowhere. I have a tendency to wander around in my fiction, exploring fasc...