Outlining Your Novel

Ok I am back to talking about writing on the correct day. Sadly I have not been working on my book at all. I find myself still very frustrated on what to do next. So I ordered this book.

I have been opposed to outlining from the start but thought maybe this is just what I need to do. I am what is called a pantser, I write by just sitting down and writing, not much pre planning, just begin.  I have never even wanted to outline but being stuck the way I am it seems that it might be the thing to try.

I am just a little ways into this book and I really love it. Outlining is not what I expected at all. I was stuck in this format.

 I.
    a.
    b.
    c.
II.
    a. and so forth.

You know way back in the dark ages when I was in school. I hated outlines then. Now I realize they don't have to be that way. They come in a ll shapes and sizes. I didn't know that character sheets were part of an outline and backstories and all your pre-story ideas are too. Silly me, I knew they were all things that you did but figured they were just filed away somewhere. So I have gotten a new notebook, and I plan to explore the ideas I want to keep from the initial nano and generate new ones. I now have a plan and that is way more exciting than being lost in the quagmire of indecision.

Have you ever been stuck on a project with no idea on what to do next? I often have to learn the hard way. I seem to get to this really frustrated point and then the universe sends me advice, either by someone's blog post or a book that I am drawn to, or maybe it is a conversation with a friend. Often it is a message to look at something different, or try a new technique or step out of the box in my thinking about the project. I may resist at first but eventually I go there and find the answer I have been looking for.