G. Grey asked K.M. Weiland:

I'm a by the seat of my pants writer. I know I should outline and I will save a lot of time. I have Outlining Your Novel, but I having a heck of a time trying to switch. I know you started without a outline and you were able to change. Do you have a magic pill? I have tried mind mapping and outlining and I stop and just start writing. All I am doing is causing more work for myself. How do I get out of this mindset?

K.M. Weiland The first thing to realize is that everyone's process is different. Discipline is certainly a major part of writing, but you also want to find a process that more or less "flows" for you. So don't put *too* much pressure on yourself to conform to an outline. Maybe go for a middle-of-the-road approach in which you outline a little, write a little, outline a little more.

I do encourage authors to know their major plot points, but other than that, how in-depth you want your outline to be is totally up to you. You might find this post helpful: http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthor...

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