>> Trouble is, I write the outline, start writing the body text, and then
>> discover that this is actually a bad order, due to some dependency I
>> hadn't thought of.
>
> Then you stop writing and you go back and fix the outline. It means your
> outline wasn't detailed enough to start with.

OK. But once you change the outline, you have to rewrite the entire 
document. (Because otherwise you'll have chapter 3 thinking that X has 
already been explained, when now it's actually in chapter 7 instead...)

>> Not really. I mean, if you write something that doesn't completely
>> make sense until two paragraphs later, most people will accept that.
>> If you write something in chapter 2 that doesn't really make sense
>> until chapter 17... not good.
>
> Memento. Inception. Any suspense movie you care to name. ;-)

I don't generally watch that kind of movie. (Although... has anyone seen 
Inception? Is it any good?)

> What you need to learn is what's called "lies to children."

Yeah, Knuth did a lot of this in The TeX Book...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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