reading response for week 3

In Jon Franklins chapter "The Outline" in Writing for Story, he provides an outstanding analogy of a story not being "a line of dominoes, but a web, and tugging on any filaments causes the whole thing to vibrate" (p. 113). This stood out to me particularly because of problems I've had with my own writing, and frequently experiencing the feeling that some of the pieces I've written, even if they do have smooth transitions, aren't quite cohesive as a whole.

And I too, had a phobia of outlines. In fact, one could even go as far as saying I was prejudiced against outlines, considering them as too technical, rigid or "science-y," not allowing writers to "think outside the box" with writing style, and being incapable of capturing any poetic elements in the writing itself. Kind of like a research paper: "Thesis, supporting evidence, more supporting evidence, even more supporting evidence, conclusion."

However, the way Franklin presents successful writing outlines as needing to be "as simple as possible," really does leave enough room for creativity and style. His advice in outlining in the non-traditional way gives me hope for attaining clarity in the ideas I attempt to express and avoiding the mistakes that have hindered my writing from fulfilling its potential in the future.