The Listmaker's Dilemma

I make lists for everything - from the ordinary (list of books I want to read) to the peculiar (list of every Whole Foods I have ever visited) to the unpleasant (list of things-I-must-do-now-so-I-don't-have-to-think-about-them-one-minute-longer).

Yes, I even keep a list of all the lists I have made, just in case.

Not all my lists are on paper or securely lodged in my iPhone - some lists I keep only inside my head, although I see them in real list "format," lines and numbers and all.

That is the organized me, the analythical thinker, the lawyer, the mom.  The person inside the box.

Thus, when I first began to write fiction I thought I would need to cast aside my lists and my tendencies to organize, seeing these as traits of the "boxed-in" me, as cages that would only hold back my imagination.

I wrote my first draft and re-draft without a list of plot locations, a list of family members and names, a chronological order, and so on, and just let it flow.

But my approach did not work.

Holes in the plot, characters devoid of depth, and time zones out of order screamed at me as I worked my way through the pages.  During that process I realized that while some writers may not require lists or charts or concrete ideas, I do.  It is part of who I am and it is how I function well.  Thus, the fourth draft is like a whole new novel.

How about you?  Do you use lists when writing?  Do you become a different person when you are in "creative mode?"