This post first ran here on January 1, 2009. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the last two days, I’ve been filling in the details of my outline, working out the timeline, and crafting a sizzling ending that brings it all together. I’m already 50 pages into writing Thrilled to Death , and it felt like to time to solidify some plot points. I know many writers don’t do this; they prefer to wing it and see where the story takes them. ( Stephen King , for example) I rather envy that style. But I write complex mystery/suspense novels, and the outline/timeline has become more critical with each novel. In a police procedural, so much happens in the first few days of a murder investigation that a timeline is essential. For complex, parallel plots with multiple points of view, mapping the story in detail is the best way to avoid writing yourself into a dead end or writing 48 hours worth of activity into a 10-hour time frame. I speak from experience. Then yesterday for the first time, I put in writing...