To outline or not to outline?

[Jabrosky]

What does seem to work for me is what I did in my first NaNoWriMo: make a list of basic things I wanted to have happen in the story.

I'm trying this approach right now by writing a list of all the subject matter and tropes I want to use in my story. It will probably be challenging to link them together with a coherent storyline, but at least the final outline would have everything I wanted in it.