T
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My whole second act just fell apart because I tried to outline it in Scrivener for the first time (which was a mistake, I think).

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3 Comments
terry_thomas
Ever try to outline something that was already working in your head? I used to swear by outlining in Scrivener, but it killed a project for me once too. I got so tangled in the index cards and folders that I lost the actual story. Now I just use it for notes and write the messy first draft in a basic text file.
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xena_brown50
Ugh, that's the worst feeling! It reminds me of when you over-plan a trip and the schedule just sucks all the fun out of it. @terry_thomas is totally right about getting lost in the tools. Sometimes you just need to let the story be messy for a while. The fancy software makes it feel like everything has to be perfect and organized right away, which kills the creative flow. I've learned the hard way that some ideas need to stay loose until they're ready to be pinned down.
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robin_bennett78
My outlines look like a toddler's art project sometimes.
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