This outlining as I go isn’t working.
For one reason, I find myself filled with doubt each time I sit down to write. I’m constantly wondering if what I’m writing is going to work for the story or not, and getting started on a chapter is just grueling.
Now, I don’t mind discovery writing. But I like to have some markers in place letting me know when I getting close to straying away from one of my story goals. And I’ve also found that discovery writing works best when I have an end in mind. If I know the purpose of a scene or chapter, it’s much, much easier for me to scrap though it.
So maybe I haven’t been outlining after all. Or maybe I have, by some standards, but my outline is far more loose than I would prefer.
At any rate, I think it’s time to stop drafting and starting thinking about where this novel is going.
