Diana Gabaldon doesn’t write Outlander with an outline

Diana Gabaldon follows where her Outlander characters take her

It’s always interesting to learn how authors write their books. Some will outline and others won’t. Diana Gabaldon is one of the latter.

During a Twitter conversation, she shared again that she doesn’t work from an outline. From the beginning of writing Outlander, she’s followed the characters and listened to where they’re going.

Admittedly, she has an idea where each book is going to go. She knows that she needs characters for certain things or that some individuals from real life will need to show up. However, a breakdown of what will happen in each chapter or part isn’t something she has written out.

Not all authors will do this. R.L. Stein works with 20-page-per-chapter outlines so he knows what he’s doing. Many other authors do, and Diana Gabaldon has mentioned that it could lead to her writing faster if she did have it. But, of course, that doesn’t mean the characters will want to go in that direction.

https://twitter.com/Writer_DG/status/1291537904095776768

There’s no wrong or right way to do fiction

When you’re writing fiction, it’s easy to think that you need to plan everything out. However, there’s nothing wrong with going with the flow.

Many successful authors have proven that there are different ways to write novels. The important thing is to write. You need to be willing to spend time to put words to paper, regardless of how you do it.

There have been a lot of comments in the Twitter thread to say that teachers have been teaching their students wrong. That really isn’t the case. An outline really is going to work for some, and if you’re that type of writer, run with it! Going along with the characters is better for others, and there’s no shame in admitting that!

You do you!

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