Jeffery Deaver's Ode to Outlining

Posted on May 15, 2008

To outline or not to outline, that is the question. Bestselling author Jeffery Deaver has some pretty strong feelings on the subject. He's firmly in the pro-outline camp. Deaver thinks authors need to be diligent in their writing. He says "my stories have at least three or four plots running simultaneously."

Just hearing him talk about his intense writing technique exhausts us: we think we need a nap. However, some writers may do very well with detailed outlining of every element of the store. He says once he has the outlining done he is ready to write and it goes smoothly because he has it all laid outline. After he is finished then comes the editing and rewriting. Jeffery's next Lincoln Rhyme book -- which has great buzz -- is Broken Window. Take a look: