I've tried, I swear, I have bloody tried, to follow a special routine, to write an outline for my fics, especially if they are long. The thing with me, is that when I sit down and just think about where I want my story to go, what happens on page 5, how should my protoganist's initial reactions to certain situations be; I find myself unable to actually write the fic. I see the whole outline in front of me, I know what I want to do, my fingers are hovering over the keyboards, my Word doc is open, a blank page, waiting for me to type my first letter, word, sentence, paragraph, page, but it doesn't happen. I'm positive there is a logical reason for this reaction, for this blockage of writing, but I just can't seem to work well with outlines. I mean, I love making outlines. They're fun, they make you think, plot out reactions, personalities, scenes, romances, problems, etc. But it's when it gets down to actually writing down the words, intertwining them, making them into sentences and paragraphs, that is where I fail. Maybe that's why I am mostly familiar with writing one shots in fanfiction (Harry Potter). When it's a long story, with chapters, I know that I need to make an outline, because there's just too much happening, too much to say, too much to do. With one-shots, I have an idea, there is a simple beginning, middle, and end, I can write it down, there's no need for a lot of fleshing out of anything (when you think about it, there is, but this is if it's a long one-shot, and I haven't gotten to writing those as of yet).

Maybe it's because I'm spontanious. I love a mystery, I can live without knowing, I don't need to know. Maybe that's why I let my instinct lead me, why I let the ideas pour out as I type. Obviously I start out with a general idea, maybe a few specific scenes, but that's it. I don't know how I get from point A to point B. It's not preordained. Obviously that is what outlines or plotlines are for, but I just let the idea come to mind randomly. Sometimes it even comes to mind when I am least expencting it. I know of many writers that can sit down and think, think, think. I am not one of them (not saying you are either, lol). I also know there are a lot of writers that need to outline their work. Again, I'm not one of them, although I admit that I have done it before, with disasterous results. I instantly lose inspiration for the story. I have it all plotted out, why should I write it now? The idea is there, there's no need for words.

What I am wondering, and would appreciate your imput on, is, do you think stories with an outline are better than stories without an outline?

I would say it all depends on how the author cleans the story up when they are finished (if it has no outline). I know many writers, a few of my friends as well, just type it all out and then clean it up, etc. I'm too much of a perfectionist myself to do that. I may write one page or a scene, and then stop and re-read from the beginning and edit any mistakes, change words I don't like, clean out and re-order what I've written. It's a tedious progress, but I find myself settled down once I know that what I have written is perfect in my eyes, and then I continue. It's one of the reasons why I take so long to actually write a story, even if it's a short or long one-shot. Of course, this applies for outlined fics as well.

What I mean to ask, do you think, in your honest opinion, that there should be a solid, concrete rule for writing? I hear so many writers say that outlining is the key, and it is! I know it is, but in my opinion this applies for very long stories that have too much to tell, and most of the time have sub plots, etc. Do you think outlining should apply for one-shots?

And I know, I'm asking for too much opinion. lol...and wow, this reply has turned out to be quite long. Sorry for hogging! lol