How to Outline Articles for Great Writing - Yes, Outlines Still Work!

One of the most rewarding things for me personally about working with AC has been the opportunity to meet dozens of other writers who are trying to make it freelance. The sheer variety of working styles, communication tactics, and all the little ways that personality creeps into our writing here really sets the articles produced apart. AC isn't just a place where you can find information on anything and everything (though it is that), it's a place where you can find information on anything and everything spiced with the flavor of a real personality behind the words.

So I cultivate writing friends the way a gardener cultivates rare breeds of flowers. I cherish and do whatever I can to nourish these friendships, including listening (more or less patiently, depending on the day) to long lines of frustration about the inability to stick to an article idea.

It's a common thing, really. We have these really brilliant ideas that just gleam and beg profusely to be worded into an article. Muse being a fickle thing, we race to our keyboard and start typing furiously away. Things are going brilliantly, every word practically writing itself ... when suddenly nothing makes sense anymore. What was I trying to say? Where was I going with this? Oh mannn now I've lost the gleaming brilliance of the original idea completely and I can't even remember what had me so excited to write this in the first place!

Relax. Take a deep breath. And get back to basics.

Benefits of the Outline

Most of us started learning the basics of outlines in grade school. In junior high they were given a little bit more importance, and in high school they were a common thing. During college, the outline became chapters.

As out-of-school adults, most writers avoid the outline like some kind of cliche. So before you roll your eyes thinking, "No - I will not be doing this!" ask yourself a quick question: Which more torturous, the outline or the loss of a brilliant idea?