I decided to outline my paper by first outlining my outline. I know my brain works better when I have an outline that is thorough and clear, so the difficult part for me has always been starting and getting it to that point of clarity and organizational cohesion. So instead of going immediately to typing on a document that I would constantly have to restructure and revise, I mind mapped my outline on Microsoft OneNote. I was able to draw and use shapes and arrows to create a whole picture of all I would want to say. Then, I looked it over and gradually transferred it over to a typed document to organize topics and points in a way which I felt made sense and progressed properly. I found that mind mapping gave me a lot more ideas than I initially had, and once I began organizing them, the clear points of transition made it even easier to see new connections and points of interest I wanted to touch on. Most importantly, I was able to create a clear progression in discussion topics, where each section clearly builds in scale from the first.
Doing this outline also helped me realize that I might be missing some important information that will help me make more connections between zombies and Beloved. Despite all the information on zombies I already have, I think I will have to spend a little time looking for maybe one or two journal articles that strictly explore the rules, ritual, and mythology surrounding Haitian zonbis, as there is much more to work with in this area that I imagined. I would particularly like to focus in on the nuances between a captured zonbi and one risen from the dead via magic, as there is an apparent distinction between the two zonbis, and each of their implications could provide valuable context and pieces for my metaphors.
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