Outlining vs. Organic Writing

Finding your path when you're starting a novel is important.  The ways is fraught with danger (weak sub-plots, unnecessary detours).  Determining how to avoid these pitfalls is critical to good story telling. 

When I started getting serious about my writing, I wrote strictly from outlines.  Since I have a day-job, I didn't have time to go meandering a long on some whimsical stroll only to find myself in a dark alley with no clue where to go next.

To add a little context to that, I did start out writing mysteries.  I've always felt like they needed a little more structure.  I needed that safety zone.

I do know of authors who swear by the outline, saying its a must for writers.  But I also know writers who write solely from character and situation.  Stephen King is one of those writers.  He says his stories always start there, be it a bestselling author's car crash in the mountains or a world-wide deadly virus outbreak.  

I tend to be in the outliner's camp, but I see myself trending to write more organically, starting with a character and a situation along with having a general outline mapped out.  I tend to break from the outline in the middle of the story a great deal, letting characters do their "own thing." It seems more spontaneous. 

What about you?  Do you outline or just have at it?