*Guest Article* 4) Outline writing versus dynamic writing: A brief introduction /*Writing Prompt*/

Is good writing discovered or created? A simple question, perhaps, but one worthy of our time and consideration. I am of the belief that consciousness and intent are what separate the act of merely scribing words onto a page from true literary creation, “true writing” so to speak. Thus, it follows that to know yourself as a writer is to know your own process. How do you create a story? You would be surprised how often this quandary is so quickly glazed over. Today, we will explore just one of the many dimensions of story creation: outline writing versus discovery writing. While this is hardly the end-all-be-all of creation methodology, it will serve as a good base for figuring out how that word factory in your noggin operates, and by extension, help you know yourself as a writer better. In broad terms, everything can be broken down into what is planned versus what is inspired. First, we will take a look at outline writing. If nothing else, anyone who has gone to grade school has some experience with outline writing. It is the standard method that every K-12 school teaches as part of their English curriculum, and it applies to just about every writing process from kindergarten to corporate office. Essentially it involves planning out the course of your writing from beginning to middle to end, point by point. It is a static and calculated process that is thought out and set up, so when it eventually reaches the page there are no surprises. You know exactly what you are saying, how you are going to say it, and how it will be presented. It is the classic model of “intro-body-body-body-conclusion” that is generally used to teach paragraph and essay writing. You may have also seen it as it pertains to plot, in which it reads more as “exposition-rising action-climax-falling action-resolution.” The visual model you have probably seen before looks something like this:

In contrast, discovery writing is more dynamic and spontaneous. Some degree of prior planning can be involved, such as laying out the overarching topic or theme, but the main body of this style of creation is not thoroughly thought out like outline writing is. Rather, it is determined as it is being written; improvised, if you will. The specific points and structure of the writing is not pre-planned; the writing is allowed to take its own course and relies more on the on-the-spot thinking and creativity of the writer. It is a case of “the piece writing itself,” whereupon the writer acts merely as a vessel or physical expression of the idea unfolding and developing in the heat of the moment or within the spark of inspiration.

You can think of this process as those 5-minute “quickwrite/freewrite” exercises that most middle-school to college-level courses forced you to do when class started. So which one is more preferable? It’s a matter of taste, really. Do you operate better when you draw out a plan and figure out what you want to say before committing pen to page? Do you like brainstorming and researching and gathering information? If so, then outline writing is for you. Do you find that thinking on the fly and throwing yourself into the thick of things yields the best results for you? Do you like running with ideas and seeing where they go without confining yourself to a set form and or pre-determined content? If so, then discovery writing is more your forte. Of course, we’re merely scratching the surface with these two styles of writing. There is more, much more, we can learn about outline and discovery writing; we’ve merely introduced ourselves to each, and have taken the first of many steps towards becoming more informed. For now, the only thing you should concern yourself with is, in general, which category do you think you lean more towards? Maybe one, or both? Maybe different aspects of each?

Work those beautiful minds of yours! Go forth and forge your story!
Please feel free to comment below, and follow/share! Justin

Twitter: @LaTorreStory //
Website: LaTorreStory.blogspot.com

 ***Writing prompt***

Pick a point of view you don’t normally use in your writing, such as first-person limited or second person, and write a brief but complete scene using that point of view.