It's always easier to get things done if you have an idea of what you're trying to do!

There are a lot of writers that write by the "seat of their pants"--called "pantsers" or "gardeners". They have a rough idea of where they want the story to go, and they let the story tell itself. They see themselves as the "conduit" through which the story flows.

While I can respect that, it just doesn’t work for me. To write a proper story, I need to have a layout of where I want things to go. I don’t have to have everything figured out, but at least a rough structure of events to get me started. This helps me figure out where I'm headed, and it makes it possible for me to come up with the rest of the book as I write. Before I'm a third of the way into the writing, I know how it ends.

That is something that I've learned to translate into every other area of my life!

If I need to do something, I'll break it down into individual tasks that need to get accomplished. One by one, the items are checked off the list until I've completed the task.

If I need to make a big decision, I'll list the pros and cons clearly and concisely. Then, using the intuition that I have developed over the course of my career as a writer, I'll follow my gut and my head to make the decision I think is right.

Being prepared is a VERY important part of success, not just as a writer, but in everything. You can't go through life without a general plan, and making things up as you go may not always lead to success. You don't have to plan every aspect of your life to a T, but it sure helps to have a rough "outline" of where you want it to lead.

As Alexander Graham Bell said, "Before anything else, preparation is the key to success!"