Existence Quote by Karen Robards

I do not outline. There are writers I know and count as my friends who certainly do it the other way, but for me,…

— Joyce Maynard

Characters are incredibly important, but I tend to build them around the plot during the outline stage. However, once I'm writing the manuscript, the…

— Aimee Carter

Outlining is like putting on training wheels. It gives me the courage to write, but we always go off the outline.

— Hallie Ephron

I always have a basic plot outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.

— J. K. Rowling

I plot as I go. Many novelists write an outline that has almost as many pages as their ultimate book. Others knock out a…

— Clive Cussler

The way that I write novels in particular is I don't usually outline; I just write. Part of the fun is discovering what's happening…

— John Scalzi

At the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much…

— Elmore Leonard

I make extensive outlines before I write a book. I usually know what will happen. I know the characters, and I know what they…

— Amor Towles

I have a number of writers I work with regularly. I write an outline for a book. The outlines are very specific about what…

— James Patterson

I know very few writers who outline fully before they start. It just doesn't seem possible to do, because so many things don't come…

— Tom Perrotta

My [story] outlines are usually about 5-6 pages long. I'm essentially telling myself the story in short form. I try to make it clear…

— Chevy Stevens

A lot of people think that they are really cool because they don't outline. In my writing group, they would say, "I will never…

— Matt de la Pena