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Book outlines have saved the neck of many a bestselling writer — but the
process behind them is mysterious at best. In this post, we pull back the
curtain and show you (step-by-step) how to create a story outline. If you’re
looking for some additional inspiration, skip to the appropriate section
below to download a book outline template.
Time invested in a story outline is foresight gained for your novel. Imagine
you’re a rock climber looking up at a tall cliff, for instance. You could just
leap onto the rock and see what happens. You might reach the top this way
— but there’s a bigger chance that you’ll fall face-first or hit a dead-end
along the way. Or: you could stay on the ground a little longer to read the
route. This would enable you to climb faster, more fluidly, and with greater
confidence in the near future.
But aren’t story outlines creativity killers? Many bestselling authors would
beg to differ. (And we’ll give you examples of the outlines that J.K.
Rowling, Joseph Heller, and more created to plan their books later in this
post.) Your novel outline isn't a chain or a set of shackles (手铐): it’s a
map that will guide you to the end of your writing journey, and help you go
faster along the way. So let's see what equipment you need to get you going.
Got a map? A story outline can guide your writing to The End
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🗺️Mind Map
A visual approach to outlining that shows the spatial relationships between
your plot points, characters, themes, conflicts, chapters — you name it.
📄 Synopsis
A holistic story outline that gives a brief overview of the story’s plot,
characters, conflicts, and themes in a two- to three-page paper.
💀 The Skeleton
Constructs the spine of the novel, or the key plot points. Imagine a roadmap
with only big-name destinations marked in red — the road to get there is up
to you.
👥 Characters First
A character-led novel outline. Prioritizes character development, character
arcs, and character beats over planning of the plot.
When you have an idea of the novel outline that you want to produce, it's
time to arm yourself with the right tools to execute it.
The Gardener
In George R. R. Martin’s own words: “Gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed,
and water it. They kind of know what seed it is. But as the plant comes up
and they water it, they don't know how many branches it's going to have.
They find out as it grows.”
The Architect
Architects need to plan everything before they can get going. This kind of
writer will know how many rooms are going into the house, where the
sink’s going to be, and what kind of wallpaper they’re going to use.
The Designer
Designers are somewhere in-between: they have a pencil sketch in place and
like to have a good idea of what the painting will look like. However, they
might not yet know what precise colors they’re going to use. They’ll figure
that out as they work.
Though they might not rely on a strictly detailed novel outline, they may
want to sketch out a skeleton of plot points.
The Knitter
Knitters sit down and write scenes as they pop into their head. They’ll then
go back and “knit” the sequences together later. Since they might randomly
have Scenes 2, 10, 11, and 27 down on paper, it becomes a question of
“filling in the blanks.”
Now that you’re equipped, we can ask the million-dollar question: how do
you outline a novel?
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To make it easy for yourself, you can break the entire outlining process
down into three stages:
o Starting scenes
o Building scenes
If you’ve already made progress with your story, don’t hesitate to hop to
whichever step you need.
How to create a book outline (and more tips) in three easy steps
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Step 1: Setting the stage
Without groundwork, your scenes (and story) will collapse in on itself.
That’s why you first need to set the stage for your novel outline.
[Character] must [do something] to [story goal] or else [reason why the
audience should care]?
Once you’ve nailed all of this down, it’s time to throw your newly-created
characters off a cliff and see if they survive. Just kidding — we’re just going
to test the waters and drop your character in a couple of different scenarios.
Here are eight of the best character development exercises that you can use
to check your understanding of your book’s cast.
Don't fret about nitty-gritty stuff like chapter length yet. (Though if you are
curious, you can read this post on how long a chapter should be.) Instead,
think about the big picture. If you need some inspiration, here's one simple
way to kickstart your story structure. On a blank sheet of paper, draw a
horizontal line. On one side, mark B (for Beginning). Then on the opposite
end, mark E (for End).
Now turn to your central conflict and start visualizing its major turning
points on your line. Where does one “act” of your story segue into the next?
How does the action rise and fall? As the story escalates or de-escalates,
tweak the line accordingly. In the end, you might see something like this:
In other words, the start of a narrative arc.
Starting scenes
You can break any novel down into acts, sequences, and even chapters. But
at its core, a story is made up of one basic kind of unit: scenes.
How will a scene reveal your characters? How will it further the
character development?
How do your scenes fit into your narrative arc?
The Snowflake Method encourages you to start thinking about your scenes
from a granular point of view — and then build up from there. To learn
more, this post goes in-depth into the benefits of this particular kind of
outline.
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Everything you wanted to know about starting and building scenes in
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Building scenes
Unless you’re already happy with your present results, you will want to
flesh out these light scene sketches and organize them. Now it’s time to roll
up your sleeves and start constructing the actual novel outline.
First: if you haven’t already, decide on the format of your novel outline. Do
you want a mind map to visualize the spatial relationships? Or do you prefer
a beat sheet which will zero in on the finer points of your novel?
Then pick the variables that you want your story outline to track over the
course of your story. We’ve listed the common ones below:
Pick and structure your story outline based on what you think is key to your
storytelling. If you’re writing a story with a huge cast of characters, you may
want to include a column that tells you where each character is in every
scene. If you’re juggling a lot of subplots and character arcs, use your novel
outline to trace that.
Book Outline Template #1: A basic story outline that includes all of
the common variables.
Book Outline Template #2: A plot-oriented story outline that tracks
To troubleshoot your novel outline, first step back so that you can view your
story through fresh eyes. Then bring out your highlighter — and be ready to
be as ruthless as a cranky teacher wielding a red pen. Highlight wherever:
If you find yourself struggling while you plan your book, that might indicate
an underlying weakness in your story that you’ll want to address. To give
you an idea of what we mean, we’ve listed a couple of common symptoms
(and potential treatments) below.
Check out J.K. Rowling's book outline for Order of the Phoenix —
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As a parting gift, here are the three book outline templates again. Feel free to
change any particular book outline template to match your needs — and if
you have any suggestions or updates for them, please do feel free to drop us
your thoughts in the comments. We hope that they're useful.
Book Outline Template #1: A basic story outline that includes all of
the common variables.
Book Outline Template #2: A plot-oriented story outline that tracks
each scene’s relationship with your plots and subplots (inspired by
J.K. Rowling's novel outline).
Book Outline Template #3: A simple scene list.