Loading…
15
The 2011 survey that said most writers outline is built on 900 replies, and I think we quote it way too much
I saw a thread on r/writing last month quoting a survey that says 65 percent of writers outline before drafting, and everyone acted like that settled it. Then I clicked the link and it was a poll from one forum with under 900 replies, mostly fantasy writers, collected back in 2011. I write without an outline and constantly get told I am doing it backwards, but nobody can show me a bigger or newer number than that one poll. So before you tell a new writer they need an outline, where did your number actually come from? I want a real source, not a screenshot of a tweet.
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
ivan8215d ago
People treat that one poll like it's a law of nature when it's really just 900 fantasy writers from 14 years ago. Honestly I don't get why this gets people so worked up either way, because outlining or not is a personal thing and a survey never wrote anyone's book. The number is old and narrow and got passed around so many times that most people quoting it never even opened the link. If someone tells a new writer they have to outline, they should at least know they're leaning on one forum poll from 2011, which is pretty thin. Write however gets words on the page and stop acting like a poll settles it for everyone.
5