I very rarely do anything that resembles an outline. Most of my stories ideas stem from a few sentence plot synopsis. Or I have a few scenes in mind that I'd like to see and so, I invent a story to go with them.
I have found that the longer the story, the more likely it is that it will 'find it's own course'. Often scenes and bits that I have envisioned originally, don't work when it comes to those points in the story. Other times, a 'plot pathway' will open up suddenly and away the story goes.
So, after all this rambling I guess what I'm trying to say is... it depends
Tank (who had to search his memory since, except for a few vignettes is back to his retirement)
