I have to create an outline for a book before I start writing. Without it I don't put in the little tidbits at the beginning that help tie the story together in the end. Without it I tend to meander through great scenes that don't really propel the story to the end.
Several of the agents I intend to query on Avarice's Hoard indicate that they will ask for a synopsis if they are interested. I figured it would be a simple process to convert my original 15 page outline into a nice 3-4 page synopsis.
Not so fast.
Wow, I amazed at how much the story has changed since that original outline. The original outline produced a 60K word manuscript with 26 chapters. The latest version is 84K words with 20 chapters and is a much richer, more engaging story.
That isn't to say the outline wasn't absolutely critical in creating the story. I highly recommend creating one for anyone who is trying to write a novel. It gives you a way to evaluate the implications for the rest of your story when your character says or does something unexpected. But that doesn't mean the outline is cast in stone. Most of chapter 1 from my original outline was scrapped in favor of starting where the action began. There were plenty of scenes that moved from one chapter to another, just to keep the flow working right. As I got to know my characters better, some things had to get cut while new revelations were introduced.
In the end, the outline was a huge help, just not for writing the synopsis.
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