In my quest to continue improving the writing around here when I was approached by
Grammarly about a guest post I opened the door wide and said come on in. Hope you find the following as interesting as I did.
To
Outline or Not to Outline
Through
my research of how writers actually craft their work, I’ve noticed
there is no trend when it comes to outlining. Some writers love
outlining and believe they can’t start their work until they have a
good solid idea of where they’re characters are going, what their
motivations are, and what’s going to happen in the end. Other
writers believe that outlining stops the creative process and doesn’t
allow them to come to realizations naturally. Meaning they feel as if
they are forcing the story and characters to perform rather than come
to fruition through the circumstances of the story. Each writer has
their own process and choosing to heavily outline, lightly outline,
or fall somewhere in between, the only right way to create your story
is the way that works best for your creative process. However, there
are sites and sources that can aid in the writing and organizing of
your story and help strengthen your own set of skills. Whether you’re
fully committed to outlining or you hate it with a passion, there are
tons of resources to help you create your story, outline, or
streamline your ideas.
One
of the best resources to use is Grammarly due to its comprehensive
and adaptive tools, teaching elements, grammar check, plagiarism
checker, and large customer service base. The grammar
check in particular has over 250 points of grammar with which to
check your work. Its adaptive tools cater to your style and pick up
your most common mistakes while the teaching services can improve
your skills and adapt to your needs. Many writers I’ve talked to
like to use the context-optimized synonym generator when outlining.
They use it come up with tons of words to use to describe their main
characters, events, setting, weather, or other elements. It helps
diversify their descriptions and bring fresh words into their word
bank. If you’ve moved beyond just the outlining process,
Grammarly’s tools can also read through your work and identify
areas that need improvement instantly. If you’re one of those
writers who loves to write on the go, in a coffee shop, or at your
favorite inspiration park, Grammarly can follow you there. It can be
accessed from any device, therefore making it easy to type your next
paragraph on your tablet and check it for errors in a snap. Grammarly
can help any writer from start to finish, even if you’re not the
most graceful outliner.
Outlining
is a heavily debated topic on many writing forums, in books, and even
between famous authors. Some believe you can’t write a fleshed-out
story without planning every single detail beforehand. Others think
that outlining impedes the writing process and stops them from
starting on their story. On the one hand, outlining provides a stable
source to return to if writer’s block clogs your cogs. Outlines
show a clear motivation for characters, a picture of the landscape,
and why the events are taking place in the way they are. But are they
too controlling? Do they make you feel as if you are forced to write
whatever you wrote down three months ago? Do they take the fun
completely out of writing? That’s for writers to decide for
themselves. Both methods have their pluses and minuses, ups and
downs, and opportunities for creative breakthroughs. But regardless
of what your favorite writer suggested or what that article you read
last week claimed about successful writing processes, you have to do
what works best for your creative mind. For help along the way,
though, there are tons of online resources for grammar checks,
plagiarism detectors, synonym generators, and overall writing tools
like Grammarly to guide you to a successful manuscript.
------------------------------------------------------//-------------------------------------------------------------
Bio:
Nikolas
discovered his love for the written word in Elementary School, where
he started spending his afternoons sprawled across the living room
floor devouring one Marc Brown childrens’ novel after the other and
writing short stories about daring pirate adventures. After acquiring
some experience in various marketing, business development, and
hiring roles at internet startups in a few different countries, he
decided to re-unite his professional life with his childhood passions
by joining Grammarly’s marketing team in San Francisco. He has the
pleasure of being tasked with talking to writers, bloggers, teachers,
and others about how they use Grammarly’s online proofreading
application to improve their writing. His free time is spent biking,
travelling, and reading.
