Outlining as an Important Editing Tool

There is a book that I consider my current magnum opus. Mainly because I've been trying to get it right for five long years. The concept itself has existed a lot longer–its life is ten years older than the words that make it up. 

This novel used to be both the bane and light of my life. 

It has had approximately seven different openings. It's been written in third person and in first. It's been written in past tense and in present, and from different points of view. It's been rewritten from top to bottom so many times that I'm beginning to lose count.

Why? Is it a bad book? Too complicated a concept? A project that, really, should be shelved?

To all of the above, no. It's simply that one book that will take over your life completely until you get. it. right. We all have one of those, don't we?

Every time it came to edits on this particular novel, there would be a few elements—sometimes even simply one element—that wasn't working. And edits would require an overhaul, or major edits which I would need to weave through the entire book.

This is where outlining comes in handy. For those writers out there who are major potter/planners, this will be a no-brainer. For us more pantster types, well, sometimes the obvious needs restating.

It is a lot easier to edit a detailed outline than to rewrite the entire novel. An outline does not have to predate the existence of the novel. I'm finishing up the outline to this novel after five years. But getting the outline into shape will ensure that this edit will be THE edit. The last one, at last.

So give the outline a good go, it could save a lot of time! :)

Happy trails everyone!
D