Starting an Outline

I had a chance to meet one of my heroes, best selling author AJ Jacobs, in Toronto earlier this year.

I asked him, “How do you get all your ideas together? Do you have a system?”

His answer was simple “You have to start with an outline.”

What??? An outline? I was disappointed to hear that the advice was the same advice I had received from my freshman English teacher in High School. How could this be? I was counting on AJ to give me the ultimate secret… the keys to the kingdom.

The disappointment quickly subsided as I questioned him further.

You see, AJ practices total immersion when he writes. He often spends an entire year on a project, see The Year of Living Biblically, and like many of us, he sometimes has to deal with having too much to write about, rather than too little. His practice of the fundamental rule of writing helps him keep focused and manage his content.

There is no magic bullet when it comes to writing. Sure, text may flow through you easier at some times than others, but when it comes down to it, you have to practice fundamentals and you have to have an outline.

Like most things that are important in life, starting an outline can be difficult. I’ve found that using mind-mapping software is a great way to get started.

Try mindmeister’s trial version, first, to see if mind-mapping is right for you. Mindgenius is also a great software, but you’ll have to pay for a license.

Mind-mapping software gives you the flexibility to develop your ideas in the form of a brainstorm and see them all on one sheet of paper.

You then have total flexibility to change, rearrange or delete your topics until you are comfortable with the flow of the outline. This visual aid can be particularly helpful as you determine which areas of your work need to be developed further.