For a novice, unpublished author, writing to formula and outline may mean writing to someone else's formula. I think an author, not a TV/movie hack, to make his mark ought to allow as much "organic" growing of his work as possible. Certainly, the advantage of putting things down in notes and very rough drafts is to enhance retention in memory those great ideas that can flash before him in a moment of inspiration but then as easily flash out of existence.
Looking back, my first draft was absolute garbage. I bought several books on writing, from which I learned a lot of what a typical book entails (story arcs, character arcs, hero's journey, outlining, etc.). I tossed v1 without ever finishing it, although I still borrow from it. I'm treating v2 as my figure-out-how-to-write draft, including some significant, unplanned detours that weren't in my outline. I'm overdue to reorganize the outline to ensure I haven't written myself into a corner.
It's a balancing act between the amount of structure a new writer needs vs. the ability to write based on inspiration. There are good authors on both ends of the spectrum.
Dirk
