Outlining or winging it? What’s your process?

I’m not a fan of outlines, but I’ve noticed that outlines start forming on their own in my first draft stage.

I’m currently procrastinating on a first draft of my own (which is why you’re seeing so much of me around here lately!), and today I managed to dump out all the junk in my brain to the page (freewriting). It is no more and no less than utter crap. It’s disconnected, there’s no meaning to half the stuff I’ve written and there are way too many observations that are useless (the woman in the green sari had a pointy nose, etc).

However, now that I have something to work with, I’m feeling a bit more confident. Especially since the disconnected pieces are making me think about why the piece is important, and what thought I want the reader to leave with. And there’s a sentence or two that I could actually keep.

The first draft for me is done when I’m clear about the format or the shape the piece will take. Basically, the structure. The second draft is when I have the information and the shape, and need to put it creatively into words–this is the time I’ll worry about leads and ending in a poignant manner or whatever. Everything after that is revision– misplaced commas, better sentence structure, last-minute thoughts, grammar, spelling, etc. Of course, each of the phases has sub-phases.

And finally, if I still have time, I’ll send it to my online critique group. Those people always have something of value to add, so I’ll make those changes if I agree with them.