When the subject of discussion wanders onto how to write a book outline, writers can be quite divided on the matter – when, how, where or even if to use them. Whether or not you felt your eye twitch a little upon reading the title of this article might be an indicator of where your own opinion falls!
This is usually because outlines can be liberating for some, yet confining for others. Some writers like to generate meticulous lists, detailing each event in their story in chronological order before they even lay the first word on the page. Others like to fly by the seat of their pants.
No matter how you personally prefer to approach your craft, there’s no denying that outlining can help prevent saggy middles, dead ends and flat character arcs – so they’re worth a try if you’re amongst the uninitiated.
Discovering how to write a book outline is actually quite a fluid process – because to get the most out of outlining your book, you need a process that’s both flexible and dependable; one that lets you discover the narrative paths that feel right for you.
Think of a good outline as a road map: you have a start point and a destination, but not what you’ll see out of the window along the way. Detours are also perfectly fine!
The outlining method detailed below is a common one used by many authors, but bear in mind that there is no definitively right or wrong way to do it. You just need to find one that works for you – so if you’ve never done it before, give these steps a try and then tweak and refine your process later down the road.
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Nail down the basic premise
Your premise is the elevator pitch, the basic idea for your story; something broad enough to give the story breathing space, but solid enough to keep you on track. Start by answering the following questions:
Who is the protagonist?
Who are they at the start of the story?
How are they going to change throughout (how do you want their arc to develop)?
What is their main goal?
What – or who – is preventing them from achieving that goal?
When you begin to write a book outline, it only makes sense that the foundation you start with is the high-level view of your narrative.
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Write down any scene ideas you have
You probably carry a notebook, or some kind of recording device, around with you most of the time (and if you don’t, it would be a good idea to start), so now’s the time to go through your notes and sort out the ones that may have potential for inclusion in your story.
If you’re looking to write an outline for a totally new idea, start brainstorming some cool scenes you’d like to write about, even if you have no idea how they’ll fit into the plot yet. After a bit of work, they will.
Once you’ve finished, read through your list and write down any questions raised by each idea in the context of your story. If your character has to fight a monster, what is it? If the villain has a change of heart, why is that?
Answer these questions for yourself, being sure to write everything down alongside the action of the scene. The more you answer, the more you’ll start to tie each scene into the broader framework of your story – breathing life into what appeared to be disparate elements, and adding narrative points you didn’t think of before.
It’ll also help you to see, early on, the emergence of plot holes, which will save you a ton of work later on – one of the primary benefits you get when you write a book outline.
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Interview your characters
Now’s the time to get to know your cast. Some writers like to create character sheets listing personal attributes such as age, race, eye color, physical build and so on. Alongside those, you may list social and familial background such as parents’ names, your character’s home town, academic status, and job role(s) – even the first make of car they ever owned.
At this point, some writers like to imagine they’re having conversations with the character, asking questions about their life, their world view, their likes and dislikes, and imagining how they react to certain questions throughout the interview.
There can be a hefty amount of role play involved here – after all, you’re ‘talking’ to an imaginary person in your mind – but doing this can really get you prepared to let the characters guide your hand as you place them in certain situations.
Figuring out how they react (not just to events, but to each other) and move the story forward is much easier – and often leads to fewer contrived moments – when you can let yourself be more of an overseer than a puppeteer.
Whatever your preferred method, it’s time to discover who you need in your story and what makes them tick.
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Flesh out the locations
A well-written location can be a character in itself. Draw from real life memories, scout locations on Google Maps, or even look at movies for inspiration. Do certain events have to happen somewhere specific? Do you need a small town complete with sawmill, diner, auto shop, and library?
If you can find very similar real-world examples of your location, grab a collection of photos to give you a visual sense of place as you write. You might even want to quickly sketch your more fantastical locations out – or have a more artistically-inclined friend do it for you if you aren’t too gifted on the visual side of things.
If parts of your story take place within buildings or complexes, now’s the time to map those out on paper (or even digitally, these days). Draw the floor plans and consider how the action might unfold. Would there be an opportunity to add tension if you were to shift a certain room down to the end of that corridor, allowing for a short chase or a race against time?
Knowing the places and spaces within which your scenes will unfold will help you immeasurably when it comes time to write the action – whether a character moves left or right, looks up or down, and takes minutes or mere moments to go from one place to another will be an effortless decision when it’s time to bring the scene to life.
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Write the outline, start to finish
You now have enough detail to create an outline and start your story. Work through the events scene by scene, arranging the details you outlined in the previous steps, until the shape of a story emerges with a beginning, middle, end, and all the necessary paths in between.
How comprehensive you want to be is your call: outlining is very personal to each writer. You can write just one sentence for each scene, or dive straight into a more detailed “rush” draft.
Either way, pay attention to how your story flows, but feel free to add in as many strokes of imagination and innovation as you please.
Once you’re done, read over your outline to ensure it flows well as a story – that events lead into each other as expected and you can definitely get an understanding of the core story movement from beginning to end.
If everything fits, now it’s time to go back to the start and – with your outline beside you – get cracking on the first draft of your novel!
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