Reverse Outlining for Fiction Writers

The notion of outlining creative work is enough to give many writers the heebie-jeebies. Fiction writer Aaron Hamburger says in The New York Times that it seemed like a good way to destroy any creative impulse until he learned that it works if he tries it after he writes a draft:

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I’ve come to prefer a more organic approach to creation, first laying out my raw material on the page, then searching for possible patterns that might emerge. But now, after I’ve completed a first draft, I compose an outline. I’ve found that this is the surest way to make sense of the work. I originally thought I was a genius for having invented reverse outlining, but I’ve since learned that many writers do this in some form or another.