Kagome Yuki Niwa wrote:
For me, I just start writing. I've never written an outline, I just know where my story begins and where it ends and then I go from there.
Oh thank god I'm not the only one. :'D Same for me, when I'm starting out the story, I usually know how I want to end it, or at least what the climax is going to be and then work towards it, coming up with the rest more or less as I go. So I have never written an outline either.
Here are some posts about outlines, hope that's some help.
As for people to bounce ideas off of, beta readers can do much more than just proofread your story. So finding a beta might be a place to start. If a beta reader isn't enough, maybe once you start posting your story you could put in an author's note saying you're looking for people to bounce ideas off of?