My View on Outlining

Hello everyone. It's great to be back on my blog and I'm sorry that I've taken a longer break than I expected. But here I am! :)
So, what have I been up to? Outlining, of course! Well, how could you have known that? I've been on a wishy-washy journey trying to find the right course for my novel. Originally, I started writing my novel originally titled "Pharador" but for some reason, I felt stuck. Now why would that happen? Why would little LaVel with all of his passion and desire for writing feel dead in the water? Because I wasn't prepared for the novel. Sure, I wrote a few pages of notes for the novel, but I wasn't prepared for everything that comes with adequate OUTLINING, some research, and good advice.
What I've learned is that I can place writers into two categories: a "seat of the pants" writer or an outliner. "Seat of the Pants" writers prefer to just write whatever comes to mind for their novel without any concrete outline. Sure, they may jot a couple of things down, but they take an idea and run with it by writing as much of their story as they can. Outliners on the other hand feel the need to sit down and give some sort of structure to the plot of their novel. Usually, these writers list what will happen in certain chapters and as much character background as they can.
For myself, I learned that I have to outline. Yes, some plot points and details to the story may come later down the road and it's exciting to have spontaneity. Some scene that you weren't thinking about before may come a day or so before you write another chapter for example. However, if you know what destination you're trying to head to, you can finagle the routes to get there through outlining. I sometimes think of writing as problem solving because there are times when I outline and think "Hmm..how do I get to this point? How does so-and-so obtain these magical objects or what relationship does so-and-so have with this person?" These are questions writers have to ask themselves, and if you write the answers down in an outline, it won't be as hard as trying to make it up as you go.
So I will leave you with a quick tip. For my book, I started with a "rough outline." I took about three blank sheets of computer paper and wrote down approximately 26 chapter titles for my book. Then in bullets, I wrote what will happen in each chapter. Afterward, I gathered 26 sheets of paper for my "chapter sketches" and wrote in more detail what will happen in each chapter. I think it's better to elaborate on what will happen in each chapter so it's not as difficult as looking at a few bullets and wondering where to go from there. So, don't feel discouraged. Outlining takes some time, but it's rewarding in the end. I will definitely write more on outlining so stay posted.
If you have to know the new title for my book, I will share it with you. Here it is...the title for my book is called "Dragon Earth" and I'm every excited about it! So, get out your pen or computer and start outlining! :-)