A fairy who refuses to be fazed
She likes her presence felt, heard and seen
She likes her foes dead, defeated or dazed.
And a character can be such fun
When for her, hypocrisy, there is none!
I like to think of Eileen as standing behind me as I write making sure I give her all the best lines! And those who feel hypocrisy is something that only happens to others (hypocritical in itself) can be monsters, clowns, are never short of things to say and are in the thick of the action. Eileen certainly is! But characters like her I think stand out because of their faults and they are far more interesting to read about! They're huge fun to write for.
Ideas can be fleshed out in outlines
Which can save many an author’s whines
As it helps you stay on tangent
You write what you originally meant.
I use an outline for most of what I write now. I find an outline helps me not to repeat myself and if I get a “brilliant” idea while writing, I can look at my outline and see if it can fit in or improve this section and add it in accordingly. I do tend to overwrite and the outline helps me stick to the point. I don’t go into minute details but give myself enough information to get started, to see where the story is heading and what the ending will be, giving me room to expand ideas. It’s also nice being able to see yourself work through an outline as you write your story and see how you’re making progress.