creative writing outline

How to Write a Story Outline

Sean Glatch | November 17, 2023 | 8 Comments

The story outline is a great bridge between your story idea and a polished work of fiction. When you’re not sure how to start writing a story idea you might have, working on an outline will save you time and frustration, while also generating new ideas.

Some writers balk at the idea of using a story outline, as they think the process constrains their creativity. If you approach story outlining properly, though, it won’t limit your creativity—quite the opposite. Let’s delve into how to write a story outline, and why learning to structure a short story or novel will actually unlock its creative potential.

What is a Story Outline?

A story outline is a way for writers to organize the events of their story before they actually write it. It’s possible to do both short story writing and novel writing without a story outline, but when you’re not sure where to begin or how to continue, outlining your ideas can help you put one word in front of another.

The story outline is a sturdy bridge between your story idea and a polished work of fiction.

Story outlining isn’t something you master right away. Like fiction writing itself, writing an outline is a skill that you master over time. This article will suggest four different ways to outline your story, but these are just suggestions—the best outline will adapt to your writing style and methods.

How to Write a Good Story Outline Step-by-Step

The story outline process is intended to build your story from idea to finished product. This process will help you expand the components of the story into a workable piece of fiction. While these steps are only a guideline, they will almost certainly help you structure a short story or novel.

1. Start With Your Story Premise

A good story outline starts with your story premise . The premise is a 1-3 sentence summary of what happens in the story. Story premises mention the protagonist, the setting, and the conflict, while also highlighting what makes the story interesting.

A great story premise will introduce the central conflict with your characters, while highlighting what makes the story interesting.

Let’s take a story that most people are familiar with: Romeo and Juliet. A great story premise will introduce the central conflict with these characters, while a poor premise offers little in the way of structure and storyline. Here’s an example of a successful premise:

“Two teens, Romeo and Juliet, pursue their forbidden love with each other—to the chagrin of their rival families. When Juliet must choose between her family and her heart, both lovers must find a way to stay united, even if fate won’t allow it.”

This story premise tells us who the characters are, what their conflict is, and that their story explores—the themes of love and fate. The makings of a legendary story are written in these two sentences, ready to take the stage!

2. Flesh Out Your Characters

Once you have a story premise, start thinking about the characters in your story. What are their needs and motivations, how do they dress, what are their backstories, how will they respond to the story’s central conflict?

Most stories are character-driven in one way or another. Your characters advance the plot, explore the story’s themes, and help you reach new conclusions about life and humanity. When you don’t know what to write next in your story, thinking back to your characters’ psychology can often provide the answer. Do the work of fleshing out your characters now, and your story will develop a life and pulse of its own.

3. Build Scenes Around Your Characters

The world of your story should be just as alive as your characters. Whether your premise takes place on Earth or in a distant universe, your next step is to craft the world your characters live in.

When developing your scenes, consider the smallest details to add layers of visual and sensory description. Tell us where the action of the story is happening, then zero in on information to ground the reader. Consider details like the temperature, the color of the sky or the walls, the time of day, etc. Include unique descriptions and objects to make the reader fully present.

The world of your story should be just as alive as your characters.

Most importantly, tell us how the character feels in each scene. These emotional responses help navigate the reader through the world itself, coloring the story and driving the plot forward.

Scene writing helps you move towards structuring a short story or novel. You can order each scene based on your tentative idea for a plot, then start plotting the story itself!

4. Start Writing Your Outline

Once you’ve considered your characters, scenes, and your intent for writing the story, it’s time to start writing the actual outline. We haven’t yet explained how to write a story outline, and that’s because there are many different ways to write one!

Your outline takes all of the above information about your scenes, characters, and ideas, and it organizes that information in a coherent, linear way. The intent of an outline is to generate plot points to refer to as you write your story, but it also helps ground your story idea in a meaningful way.

Your outline will organize your scenes, characters, and ideas in a coherent, linear way.

The following four methods of story outlining are popular ways of jumping from idea to writing, but play around with your own outlines to figure out what works best.

Four Approaches to Writing a Story Outline

Good story outlines come in all shapes and sizes. If you’ve got the ingredients above, but you’re still not sure how to write a story outline that will work for you, here are four approaches you can try. Feel free to mix-and-match, and so on—these are not ironclad rules, but guidelines designed to support you.

1. The Plot-Based Approach

The most common way to outline your story is to create a bulleted or numbered list of plot points. Each bullet details the events that happen in each scene. Let’s use Romeo and Juliet as our example again; the following would be the first few bullet points in a plot-based outline:

Members of the Montague and Capulet families are fighting in the streets.
The Prince interrupts the fighting to warn that the next person who starts a fight will be executed.
Later, the Capulets host a dinner to introduce their daughter, Juliet, to Paris, her arranged husband.
Romeo, a Montague, sneaks into the party to see his current love Rosaline, but ends up falling in love with Juliet.

Each bullet point summarizes a basic plot element that will later be filled in with details. Obviously, Shakespeare’s story is filled with many more details than what the bullet provides, but this way of scaffolding a story allows you to build details around the basic plot.

2. The Scene-Based Approach

The scene-based approach adapts a plot-based outline to focus specifically on the scenes and world-building of the story. This is a great way to structure a short story—or even a novel!—if world-building and setting are central elements of your fiction. This is how you might take a scene-based approach to Romeo and Juliet:

Verona is an independent city-state with its own Prince and monarchy.
Verona emulates certain “Italian” traits like love and passion.
The Capulets are a wealthy family and represent a caring, feminine household.
The Montagues are also wealthy, but much more brash and masculine.

This approach uses world-building details to advance the story, letting Verona take charge of the tale. Of course, Verona is not the focus of Romeo and Juliet, so a scene-based approach probably wouldn’t have helped Shakespeare as much as it might help writers in fantasy, sci-fi, and magical realism.

3. The Themes-Based Approach

To write a short story or novel outline with a themes-based approach, you want to consider how the events of the story advance its ideas and themes . This approach works best if you have an idea of what you want your story to explore, though some writers need to figure it out as they write.

Consider how the events of the story advance its ideas and themes.

Here’s a themes-based approach to Romeo and Juliet:

The story’s preface explores themes of love and fate, insinuating the story’s tragedy of a romance destined to fail.
The tension between the Capulets and Montagues are explored, introducing the story’s masculine/feminine dichotomy.
Romeo and Juliet complicate this dichotomy: Romeo is tender, delicate, and heartfelt, while Juliet is full of banter and says “un-ladylike” things.

This approach is certainly more conceptual and ideas focused, focusing less on the story itself and more on what the story offers. While it might not work for every story, you a themes-based approach will certainly benefit you if you know what you want to say, but not how to say it.

4. Freytag’s Pyramid

A last possible approach to take is to chart the story based on Freytag’s Pyramid . This approach will work best for writers who want a basic structure for their story, but don’t want to feel so confined that they lose their creative edge. All you need to do is write down the basic plot elements that correspond with Freytag’s pyramid, and you’re welcome to use as many or as few details as you like.

A writer can take the five basic elements of a story and craft a heart-wrenching tale of love and disaster.

The following is a simplified pyramid that corresponds to Romeo and Juliet.

Inciting incident : Romeo and Juliet meet at the Capulet’s dinner party.
Romeo and Juliet meet again after Juliet learns she is to marry Paris.
Romeo and Juliet marry in secret.
Juliet must find a way to escape Verona with Romeo before she is betrothed to Paris.
Climax: Romeo kills Paris, and then himself, when he wrongfully believes Juliet to be dead. When Juliet finds that both men have died, she also kills herself.
Falling Action: The two warring families agree to settle their disputes.
Resolution: A brief exploration of the value and hardship of youth, love, and the cruelness of fate.

Freytag’s pyramid is the most summaristic of the above outlining strategies. Romeo and Juliet bears much more complexity than what this outline offers, but a writer can certainty take these basic elements and craft a heart-wrenching tale of love and disaster.

How to Write a Story Outline: Keep Experimenting!

Though you can’t completely write your short story or novel step by step using the frameworks above, you absolutely can set up a strong story by investing the time into creating an effective outline. Just like your writing, your story outlines will improve with practice, so play around with different formats and ideas! What’s important is that you explore the elements of fiction and expand upon your ideas.

Want to learn more about how to write a good story, or how to write a story outline? Take a look at our upcoming fiction courses , and let one of our award-winning instructors guide you through the novel and short story writing process. Reserve your spot in one of our courses today!

Sean Glatch

I will like to know if you offer free online beginning courses

Hi Jessie! We do not offer any free writing courses, but our Writing Tips section has tons of useful advice for beginning writers, and you’re also free to join our Facebook group for community and inspiration. Many thanks, and happy writing!

What kinds of outlines would you recommend for a poem?

I was having great difficulties on understanding what an outline is and how to make a good outline. This has really clarified me. Thank you

This helped me a lot, I was blank on outlines.

I wait to learn about it.

this was great! I have part of my story written, but not sure if its the beginning or the end of the beginning lol. This was a big help! Thank you for making it available for free! Happy Holidays

Creating the outline helped me navigate how I was going to build a story around a point I want to make (purpose of the story).

How to Make a Novel Outline

by N. Strauss

A novel outline is a plan for a novel. If you're outlining for yourself and not for an editor, then the good news is there are no rights or wrongs. You can type up your outline with Roman numerals, or you can paint it on the carpet in lipstick if that works for you. Every author has their own system.

Skip to topic Why outline a novel? A simple outlining technique Other tools for planning a novel Tips for your novel outline Using an outline Templates and worksheets

Why outline a novel?

One of the great things about a novel outline is that it lets you test ideas before you commit to them. It lets make sure your novel will work BEFORE you start writing.

Sometimes, you'll discover that your novel idea isn't going to work. For example:

Your idea might not translate into enough scenes to fill a novel (though it might have potential for a short story).
You might not have a strong enough story conflict, so the action ends up feeling flat.
There might not be enough of a central thread tying things together. Your scenes feel like a series of episodes, not like a story.

If you discover one of these problems, you can either find a way to fix it, or move on to the next idea. Either way, figuring it out ahead of time can save you a lot of time and heartache.

Other benefits of a novel outline:

It can make it less intimidating to start writing.
You have a roadmap as you're writing your novel. You know what you have to write next.
You can avoid writing yourself into a dead end. You can solve story problems before you've wasted a lot of time writing scenes that you would only change or cut later.
You can set up your ending because you know what is coming. You can prepare the reader for scenes that are coming later in the book. For certain kinds of novels such as mysteries, some kind of outline or plan is almost necessary because there are many small details that have to fit together at the end.

There are authors who never outline at all. They just sit down and write. But then they usually rewrite the whole book again afterwards. Instead of planning their novels, they prefer to write a lot of drafts, discovering new aspects of the story each time.

This is a fine approach, but keep in mind that the less planning you put in ahead of time, the more rewriting you will likely need to do.

Outlining a novel in 5 steps

man and woman following map through forest

Here's an easy approach you can try. (Remember, there's no RIGHT way to make a novel outline—this is just one option!)

1. Brainstorm.

Before you start your actual novel outline, spend some time brainstorming freely, letting your imagination run, generating ideas and writing them down. Carry a notebook around with you.

2. Answer some questions...

When you feel that you're getting ready to move beyond the brainstorming phase, then write down answers to these questions:

Who will be your main character? Write some information about them. (It's possible to have more than one main character, but this will make your novel more complicated to write. If you plan to have several main characters, write information about each one.)
Normally, your novel will be about an important problem that your main character has to solve, or an important goal that they want to achieve. What is this problem or goal? Write it down. Why is it the most important thing in the world to your character right now? (If it isn't that important to your character, look for another problem or goal to give them. If your character doesn't care a lot about resolving their problem, your readers won't either.)
What terrible difficulties are there between the character and their goal or the solution to their problem? (If it's too easy for your character to get out of trouble or get what they wants, then there will be less of a story). Make a list of difficulties.
Where and when (in general) will your story take place? In Miami in the early 1980's? On the planet Fiz in the year 3000?
In general, what genre or type of novel are you writing? Is it mainly comedy? Drama? A thriller? Read more about types of novels here.
Write a summary in 1-2 sentences of your novel's main idea. You can imagine that you're writing the blurb for the book jacket. This summary should include a character or characters and an important problem or goal. If you find that you can't pin your novel down to just 1-2 sentences, then your idea probably isn't focused enough yet, and you should keep working on it.
What are the main events that will move your character toward (or away from) solving the novel's central problem or achieving the central goal? Make a list.

3. Come up with scene ideas.

man writing a novel with a scene from a Western in the background

For each of the main events in the list you've just made, imagine a scene or scenes. Think about:

What characters are in the scene?
Who is the viewpoint character (the character through whose eyes the readers will see the scene)?
Where does the scene happen?
What happens?
What does the scene accomplish in the novel? Does it move the character forward toward their objective or further away from it?

Every scene should have a purpose. It should either move the character forward or backward toward or away from their goal or solving the novel's central problem (novels are more exciting if you play with the reader’s emotions by moving the character back and forth a bit), or else it should deepen the reader's understanding of the characters or situation in the novel.

Make a list of scene ideas, summarizing each one in just a few words. For example:

Maria argues with her parents about going to Dana's party.
Aliens abduct everyone at Dana's party and take over her house.
That night, Maria sneaks out of her bedroom and heads to the party.

4. Check if your plot's focused enough.

man standing at crossroads holding roadmap, surrounded by fantasy and science fiction imagery.

Write a one-sentence summary of novel's main plot idea. You can imagine that you're writing the blurb for the book jacket. This summary should include a character or characters and an important problem or goal. If you find that you can't boil down the plot to a single sentence, then your idea probably isn't focused enough yet, and you should keep working on it.

Boy learns he is actually a wizard and is sent to a wizarding school, where he has to battle the most evil dark wizard of all time.
Detective has to solve a series of brutal murders in a convent.
Woman discovers that her husband has a second family and has to choose whether to leave him.

(Tip: Save this 1-sentence – can use be helpful later when it comes time to pitch your novel to agents and editors!)

5. Organize your scene ideas.

Look at the scene ideas you planned in Step 3. Are they in the right order? What other scenes are needed to tell the story of your character's battle with the problem or their work toward the goal? Fill in the missing pieces. Take out any scenes that don't belong.

Put everything into the best order for telling the story. This is your novel outline! Use it to help you, but don't hesitate to keep changing and improving it as you write. The story might take you in unexpected directions, so stay open to surprises!

Other tools for planning a novel

Index cards

You can write each scene idea on a separate index card. Then play around with the order, adding new cards and removing cards that don't belong.

Once you've got a sequence you're happy with, take a photo of the cards arranged in order, and/or number the cards to save your work. If you have enough space, you might like to pin the cards to a cork board or tape them to the wall for easy reference you're working.

Mind-mapping is a great brainstorming technique, especially at the early stages of planning a novel. Here's an example of a mind map.

There's no right or wrong way to make mind map. One approach is to write a word in the center of a page, then surround it by words and phrases that are related to it. Use lines to show how ideas are connected. You can use colors and pictures to add dimension to your visual map.

Charts and graphs

Some authors create timelines and charts of their plots, or specific plot elements. For example, here's a hand-drawn graph J.K. Rowling used for one of her novels. Character profiles

Many writers create profiles of the main characters they're going to write about. They take notes on a character's physical appearance and personal history, their good and bad qualities, likes and dislikes, habits, interests, hopes and fears.

Click here for a questionnaire you can use to make character profiles.

You can collect pictures to help you imagine the people and places you will be writing about. You can go through magazines and do a "casting" for your characters. You can create a scrapbook if you like. Or you can search for pictures online (for example, doing image searches on Flickr.com and Google), then use Pinterest.com to create a virtual scrapbook. You can also draw your own pictures. J.K. Rowling drew sketches of the characters in her Harry Potter novels. Many writers draw maps and floorplans of the places they'll be writing about.

Writer's journal

Many writers like to keep a notebook where they write down ideas, descriptive details, scraps of dialogue, etc., as they come to mind.

Novel-writing software

There are many software options with tools for outlining your novel and mapping different aspects of your story such as timelines, character relationships, subplots, etc. One advantage of using software is it makes it easy to keep all of your planning in one place and to search for what you need.

Tips for outlining a novel

man drawing a map while surrounded by woods

Know yourself, and figure out the method that works best for you.
Don't waste time choosing the perfect words for your outline or color-coding your note cards in seventy-two colors. The outline is just for you. What the reader cares about is the novel, so put the loving attention there instead.
HAVE FUN! Ultimately, outlining a novel is a process of experimentation. Sometimes it can feel like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. At other times, it's like a structured form of daydreaming.
Don't become a prisoner of your outline. I know one author who spent a whole year trying to get from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7 of her book because the outline said a certain event was supposed to happen. And she couldn't find a way to make it work. In the end, she removed this event from her outline, and the problem was solved.

Using a novel outline

Not all novelists like to outline. It's not a requirement. But an outline gives you security.

You never have to wonder what to write. You don't have to worry about running out of ideas.

And once you have a solid outline, the writing will normally go faster and more easily.

When you sit down to write, you can take the next plot point on your outline and let your imagination run with it, daydreaming the scene, playing it in your mind like a movie. Then write down what you see and hear, what the characters say, what everything looks and sounds and smells like.

As you do that, new ideas will occur to you, ideas that weren't in your original outline. That's great! Explore them! You're not locked in to the outline. It's just there in case you need it.

That's important to remember: the outline is NOT a limitation. You can always add things that aren't in the outline (or ignore things that are).

Imagine a path through the wilderness. As you're crossing that wilderness, you might wander off the path wade in a stream or pick berries that are growing nearby. But as long as you keep the path in sight, you always know where you're headed.

Templates and worksheets

Click here to get the Novel Outline Summary Worksheet. Click here to get the Character Outline Worksheet. Click here to get the Scene Outline Worksheet.

How to Outline a Novel - Next Steps

man and woman examining a map in a mysterious city

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About the author

N. Strauss taught creative and expository writing at the University of Michigan before moving to the Czech Republic and then Spain. She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in English from Oberlin College. In 2009, she founded Creative Writing Now in collaboration with the author Linda Leopold Strauss, who has taught writing courses for the Institute of Children's Literature and published children's books with Scholastic, Holiday House, Houghton Mifflin, and others.

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When You Write

How to Outline a Short Story [Template Included]

When most people decide to write a short story, they usually assume that it’s going to be duck soup.

They just grab a pen and paper or their laptop and get straight to it.

No outline. No sketch. Nothing!

If you’re “most people,” you probably have a lot of unfinished short stories that you abandoned after getting completely stuck halfway.

Or you’re just an aspiring author who’s got no idea that an outline is like a treasure map that can lead you to that great short literary piece.

Why Should You Outline a Short Story?

Clichés, anyone? Alright, here we go!

“Failing to plan, is planning to?”

Outlining is both timesaving and enables you to have some sort of a road map—it gives you the freedom to unleash your artistic genius rather than focus on trivial crinkles of the story itself.

Although short story writing is narrower in terms of scope than a novel, it still includes many elements that wordsmiths input into a full-size novel.

It needs a multidimensional main character, a clear character arc, a comprehensive plot, and a gripping closing set of events. This somehow makes writing a short a bit laborious.

An outline can save a lot of the stress by helping you put together the jigsaw puzzle before the writing process really starts.

Outlining a short story

Key elements of a good short story outline.

As a writer’s roadmap, a short story outline is supposed to include details you can utilize to track character arcs, storylines, thematic content, and logical consistency.

Therefore, a good short story outline must address the following elements:

1. A Situation and Conflict: the state of affairs—the beginning of the story—that either changes for the better or takes a very bad turn (usually, it’s the latter). As the story progresses, it has to have a conflict. The conflict arises from the interaction between the protagonist (who has an objective) and the antagonist (who stands in the way of the protagonist and his objective).

2. The Solution to the Conflict: some creative writers like to start writing a story without knowing the ending themselves. Writing this way keeps the intrigue alive for the writer but having a predetermined solution to your story’s main conflict gives you a clear direction of the narrative.

3. Character Development: Characters are what bring the action in your story to life. When making notes for your story, make sure you define the protagonist and antagonist and give them more dimensions. Add backstories to the characters too, even though some of the backstories won’t make it to the final draft of the story—due to the limited scope of a short story.

4. Other Critical Points : The conflict and the solution that I have covered in (1) and (2) are some of the critical plot points that an outline has to cover. A story starts from an exposition; then the conflict arises; there’s rising action; then comes the climax; after that, is the falling action; and finally, the resolution concludes the tale.

The Short Story Outlining Process: Tips and Template

Now that we’ve seen some of the key elements of a short story, let’s take a look at the actual short story outlining process.

The process always starts with crafting your story’s premise and going all the way through to a full list of scenes.

One thing you ought to know about outlining methods is that there is no objectively correct or incorrect way of doing things. Most writers that I have encountered have personalized their outlining methods to a format that works for them.

If by chance this technique fails to do the job for you, you can adjust the process and find a method that works for you.

Having gotten that out of the way, let’s take a look at the outlining method that has worked for me and a couple of other writers in my writing circles, starting with tips on how you can approach the outlining process to churn out top-notch outlines.

1. Start Simplistic

To give your short story outline a good structure, you have to start from the bones.

You can utilize a technique called the Snowflake Method. Using this method of writing, a wordsmith begins with a simplistic deep theme and gradually adds meat to the story, making it more complex over time.

What you actually do is begin with an arrow-shaped idea and build on it afterwards. It’s exactly like what I said, start from the bones and add meat until the sentence becomes a matured story.

2.Create a Quasi Outline

This quasi outline is like a draft outline—a freestyled guideline for the final outline. When you write this draft, focus on the general ideas and major plotline events: the inciting action, the climax, the resolution.

You may leave holes whilst you write the quasi outline. You’ll patch them later; for now, focus on completing the panoramic view of the whole of your short fiction.

3. Use Unpredictability and Conflict to Spice Up the Plot

If a reader is able to predict—more than once—a set of events before they happen, they’re likely going to be discouraged from reading your story any further.

A good story uses unanticipated twists and conflict to sustain the much-needed tension.

This technique is effective in every genre, whether it’s romance (break someone’s heart unexpectedly) or horror (slash a baby’s throat, out of the blue).

4. Utilize the Protagonist’s Internal Monologue

One of the attributes of a good story is its ability to suck the reader into its world or settings.

One way of achieving this is the main character’s thoughts and mumblings to make the reader understand the protagonist’s mind and empathize with them.

Craft natural persona, needs, and character arc to absorb the reader slowly. Of course, this is harder to achieve with the limited scope of a short story but, that’s why the outline is indispensable.

5. Use Software to Outline Your Story

Regular word processing software—MS Word and co.—come with features that writers can utilize to outline a short story or larger types of prose.

However, there is sophisticated and dedicated software that has been designed to help you build a clean and comprehensible outline.

One such software that I would recommend is Plottr —an easy-to-use visual outlining and book planning tool. With this software, you can take your story from a simple synopsis to a book series.

Once you start “creating a book,” you can create a timeline, a list of characters and character arcs, plots and subplots, construct chapters, and put scenes inside the chapters (tuck characters and locations in the scene cards), et cetera.

Software like Plottr are time savers and make the entire outlining process smoother. Authors have been using these tools for short stories and larger texts like Novels (which—I think—is the type of prose that people mostly associate the tools with).

Story Outline Template

Once more, I would like to stress that you can write your outline whichever way you deem suitable.

But if you are not sure about it, I have made a condensed and downloadable template for you. Download it here or just study the thorough step-by-step outline method below.

Feel free to add extra elements to the ones that I have come up with.

Step 1. Create the Premise: A premise is basically the idea from which your story springs. Make sure that your premise is well defined and more than the basic idea; add condiments to the idea to make it provide a satisfying story guidance.

Your outline needs to be introduced by a condensed but creamy premise sentence that carries insights into the following things:

Step 2. Describe Setting: in this part, describe the environment within which your story takes place. Before writing a complete outline, you need to have a firm idea of where your story is taking place.

Is it happening in a mars-bound spaceship? Is the story about a kid in the projects? Perhaps the setting is an apartment complex in the Cayman Islands?

In a play or a movie, I think they call this a mises en scène. It covers things like:

ü Place/Location

ü Atmosphere/aura/mood

Step 3. Come up with the Main Character: Who is the protagonist? Come up with the persona that is going to be your main character. You can also—optionally—decide on the antagonist. Since the antagonist is antipathetic to the MCs’ objectives, they’re easy to come up with if you’ve already created the MC—a writer just needs to feed off the polarity between the personas to create the adversary.

Cover all these questions (maybe more), then condense them into one or two sentences that unwraps the core of the whole story.

Step 4. Objective, conflict, and resolution: this part is where the story is given the meat—it’s where you develop the story. There are a couple of questions that your outline needs to answer in this sections, questions like:

i. What’s the protagonist’s goal or objective?

ii. What conflict arises as a result of the MCs’ quest to attain the goal?

iii. What scenarios and effects are going to get thrown in to tense up the conflict?

iv. What and how will the story’s climax be? Will the protagonist be successful? Will he fail to attain his goal?

v. How will the conflict end? What will the resolution be?

Step 5. Character Development: lastly, give each important character in your story a life. The next step involves bringing some of the characters to life—i.e., developing the protagonist’s persona, needs, and character arc.

There are crucial details that need to be added to your characters, whether or not they appear in the story.

To do this, you need to ask yourself some questions or immerse yourself in the story and interview the characters.

What led to the character’s current situation? What events happened in their past, and how can it affect the way they resolve the conflict? What other unsolved issues could affect the protagonist’s objective and conflict resolution?

You have to dig deep, where and how is a matter of personal preference.

You may choose to use a pre-set list of questions shared by numerous published authors, or you may tweak some details and ask your protagonist a series of questions to find out the heart and soul of your character.

Step 6. Sketch the Plotline and fill it with Scenes: With the premise polished up, you can now set about to develop your ideas for this story.

Before outlining, you usually have sketchy ideas about the story. Write down all those sketchy ideas you have about your story.

What you want to do is record all the details so that you don’t forget anything. Add even the scenes that you are not sure about. Most of the time, things just fall in place—organically—once the story starts going.

This is the part of your creative process that involves a ‘no holds barred’ mentality. During this writing stage, you must focus on emptying your ideas and letting your thoughts out without sweating about any of the tenets of the Queen’s language— punctuation, grammar, or spelling. You need to keep plucking your most creative ideas and thoughts and adding depth to your story’s potential.

One thing that sets a good storyline apart from the basic ones is unpredictability. If you think a scene feels too familiar or predictable for readers, reconstruct it or throw it away altogether.

How to Start a Short Story?

Of course, I’m not going to ramble about the whole process of writing a short story, but the least I can do is to give you some insights on how to start a captivating short story.

You might be saying to yourself, “Yeah, I know how to outline a short story, right? But how do I start writing a scintillating story?”

The secret formula involves getting the reader’s attention quicker they expect and getting them settling into the story as it unfolds in its infancy.

To drive the point home, I’m going to borrow some of Anthony Ehler’s tips on how to start a short story:

Start as close to the action as possible . On this method, Ehler uses F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, Three Hours Between Planes, to demonstrate how the author scrapped the man’s arrival into his old town and immediately placed the man in a phone, looking up his old sweetheart’s number.

Set the tone of the story . For example, Ehler uses Ian Rankin’s spine-chilling crime story, Someone Got to Eddie , to demonstrate how a good short story starts—Rankin used a fictional character’s sequence of thoughts to instantly and crisply speak to the reader. With a well-constructed interior monologue, a good start immediately absorbs the reader into the main character’s mind.

Focus on your main character . Lastly, he uses Gina Berriault’s story, The Stone Boy , to back his point: a good story should immediately move the reader to identify with the main character. This makes the reader crave more and anticipate the story’s next event and twist—the reader plunks for the main character and is keen to see what will happen to the mc.

In Conclusion…

So, you’ve written your story, and you’re all set to start writing a future classic; always remember the golden rule of writing fiction—show, don’t tell.

The best part about outlining is that you won’t have to submit it to anyone. It’s for your own convenience.

That’s the easy part.

The hard part’s writing the story. When you start writing the story, you’ve got to put yourself in the reader’s mind and see if it sounds exciting or if it’s natural and convincing.

“If you think it’s boring, it probably is.”

How to Outline a Novel in 9 Easy Steps

This post is written by author and editor Kirsten Bakis . She’s an award-winning novelist with 25 years experience as a writing coach, developmental editor, and teacher.

Here’s the most important thing about novel outlines: If you write one, it will change before your last draft is done — probably a lot. This is because, whether you think of yourself as a plotter, pantser, or neither, your book is going to evolve as you write it. And that’s a good thing.

There are things you can’t know until you’ve drafted your novel — and you’ll learn even more when you revise. To quote George Saunders, “An artist works outside the realm of strict logic.” A book has to change and grow as you move through the process of creation.

Most of all, as you create your outline, don’t worry about things like whether your ideas are “good enough” to write about. This will get you stuck before you start. Award-winning author Nicholson Baker’s novel The Mezzanine is literally about a man going out to buy shoelaces on his office lunch break. If that plot can work, yours can too.

You’re going to find out a lot more about your ideas as you write. So don’t judge them, or yourself, at this stage. Many working writers I know actually prefer to outline after they have a draft, and it will be just as useful — or even more so.

So what’s a pre-drafting outline actually for? To get you started and give you a structure to hang your words on. In this post, I’ll share the key steps I've found most useful for outlining novels before writing the first draft.

How to outline a novel:

1. Choose your main character

2. give your main character a big problem, 3. find a catalyst that sparks action, 4. set obstacles on their path, 5. define their biggest ordeal, 6. figure out a resolution, 7. pinpoint the character’s arc, 8. connect the end to the start of the story, 9. put your outline together .

💡 Writing nonfiction? Follow these 3 steps to outline a nonfiction book instead.

At the heart of almost every story is a main character who goes on a journey from Point A to Point B. This journey can be emotional, physical, or both. Your protagonist might travel to new lands; learn, change and grow as a person; or do all of those things.

For this first outline, choose one main character. Remember, this can always change later. You can even add multiple main characters, each with their own journey, after you’re done with this. But right now, start with one.

📝 To Do : Write down your main character’s name. If you struggle to find one, take this character's name generator for a spin. If you have lots of characters in mind and don’t know which one should be the protagonist, don’t freak out! Just choose one for now and go through this ten-minute outlining exercise to see what you get.

For this pre-draft outline, you just need their name. But to further develop your characters and keep track of their unique traits, download and print the free character profile template below.

FREE RESOURCE

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

You might already know a million problems your main character will face, or you might be coming up with all of this from scratch. Either way is fine! For this outline, choose one Big Problem. Or, if you prefer, choose a Big Goal.

These are two sides of the same coin: Their Big Problem is that they need to reach their Big Goal — and there are obstacles in the way. (Of course there are obstacles, because that’s your story! More on that below.)

Take Daniel Woodrell’s novel Winter’s Bone . The protagonist, Ree, learns that if her dad doesn’t show up for his court date, her family will lose their home.

Problem : Her family could lose the house.

Goal : Save their home by getting her father to show up in court.

Ideally, your problem should have stakes that are high for the main character. For example, Ree’s family is so poor that their house is basically all they have. If they lose it, they lose everything.

On the other hand, maybe your main character’s problem is smaller — maybe they can’t comfortably wear their shoes until they have new shoelaces. That can work, too. The most important thing is that it matters to the character .

📝 To Do : Write down your main character’s main problem. Don’t get hung up on whether you’ve chosen the best one. Choose one and go. You can change this later. You can even give them a random problem to get yourself started.

In most stories, there is usually a catalyst (or inciting incident ) which sparks a series of actions. To find yours, answer this question: When does your character first realize they have this Big Problem (or Big Goal)? Does someone visit them and tell them they’re going to lose their house? Does their shoelace break?

📝 To Do : Describe this moment in one sentence. You can try Pixar writer Emma Coats’s formula: “Once upon a time there was _____. Every day _____. One day_____.” Your catalyst is the “one day” event — the occurrence that launches the story.

What’s the first action your character takes to move forward after the Catalyst? In Winter’s Bone , the deputy tells Bree she needs to find her dad or lose her house in Chapter Three — that’s the catalyst. In Chapter Five, she sets out on the first leg of her journey, to visit the uncle who might know his whereabouts — that’s her first action.

The Mezzanine is actually told slightly out of chronological order (a discussion for another post!) but we still see the same catalyst/action progression: At the start of Chapter Two, the narrator discovers his shoelace is broken; a few pages later he attempts to solve his problem by tying its two halves together.

Remember that your character’s first action won’t solve the Big Problem — otherwise the story would be over. It may be an attempt that will fail, or an action that will cause the next step to be revealed.

📝 To Do : Write one sentence to describe this action. We often like characters who are trying their best to get what they want. Having a protagonist who is active and determined — even if they make mistakes! — is a good way to keep readers engaged.

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Golden Age Hollywood director Billy Wilder famously described plot as: “Get your character up a tree. Throw rocks at them. Get them down.”

In Winter’s Bone , Ree’s family will lose her house if her dad doesn’t make his court date — that’s the tree she’s up. But she hasn’t seen him for ages, and no one knows — or maybe, no one wants to say — where he is. And: The more people she asks, the more she gets told to leave it alone and not try to find him — or else. These are the rocks that get thrown at her — the obstacles she faces on her journey.

Ree’s father, played by John Hawkes in Winter's Bone

📝 To Do : Write down three to five “rocks” for your main character. Bonus: Make them go from bad, to worse, to even worse. Don’t worry if you don’t immediately know what these should be. Make some up! Writing is truly just making stuff up, then changing it when you revise. Might as well start now.

This is a key plot point in almost every story. It’s the moment when things look dark and hopeless. Your narrator has a goal, and there’s at least one scene where it appears there is absolutely no way they can ever, ever reach it. In the 12 stages of The Hero’s Journey , this is the one called The Ordeal. In film, this stage is often referred to as the “All is Lost” moment.

Think back to the last book you read. Was there at least one point, somewhere in the second half, where the main character seemed about to give up? It could have been a life-or-death situation; or it could have been a scene where they just felt discouraged and like they weren’t going to solve their problem/reach their goal.

If your character is up a tree having rocks thrown at them, this plot point is the biggest rock of all.

📝 To Do : In one sentence, what is the “all is lost” moment in your story. You know the drill by now! Don’t overthink this — just throw down one idea, any idea, even if it’s a terrible one. This will give you something to revise later. I cannot overstate the mystical, magical power of giving yourself something to revise, no matter what it is.

Hero's Journey Template

Plot your character's journey with our step-by-step template.

How is your character going to get out of this situation? This is one of those questions you might not really answer until you’ve written your draft, but come up with something to start with.

Here’s a trick: Make a quick list of your character’s wants vs needs . Often after “All is Lost,” is the moment the character realizes they truly won’t get what they want — but that they will get what they need instead. In The Wizard of Oz , this is the moment Dorothy realizes the Wizard won’t get her back home, after she’s worked so hard — but she’s had the power to do it all along with the ruby slippers, she just didn’t know it.

Bestselling author Caroline Leavitt discusses wants vs needs during a Reedsy Live . Leavitt uses the example of Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby thinking that if he can just have money and get into Gatsby’s world, he’ll find happiness. The “All is Lost” moment is when Gatsby is murdered. By the end, Nick realizes that world is actually empty — and he walks away. He’s found his solution, but it isn’t what he thought it was going to be at the start of the story.

Nick in The great gatsby, looking disillusioned

So when you think of how your character will get out of their darkest moment, ask them if there’s something they need to understand about themselves — understanding it might be their way out.

📝 To Do : Write one to three sentences about how your character gets out of the “All is Lost Moment” and begins to solve their problem. This could be one of your hardest plot points to figure out ahead of time, so again, no pressuring yourself to make it perfect. You can even leave this blank if you need to for now.

The character’s arc refers to the transformation of the protagonist from the start to the end of the story. It highlights the evolution of the character as a result of the challenges and experiences they face. Identifying and outlining this arc is a crucial aspect of developing your story.

Here’s a simple, incredibly useful exercise from Rachael Herron’s Fast-Draft Your Memoir that also works for novels.

📝 To Do : In your main character’s voice, fill in these blanks:

I started out _______.

I ended up _______.

Bonus: Do that three more times — quickly. This will give you more information about your character’s journey. Be specific. If they started out sad and they ended up happy, what made that difference? A new job, a new love, a new sense of self-acceptance?

Tana French’s literary thriller In the Woods begins and ends with a description of the main character experiencing the same patch of woods — first in a seemingly perfect summer when he's a kid; then twenty years later, when he’s grown up. You could see these parallel first and last scenes as “bookends.”

The narrator's situation in the last scene is very different from the first, in every way, from his age, to the landscape’s appearance, to the weather, to his mood and actions. These physical changes reflect the journey he went on over the course of the book.

Screengrab from Boyhood, same character as a kid and teenager laying together on the grass

You don’t have to set your first and last scenes in the same location, but this is a great thought exercise to show yourself how much the main character changes, and how. Or, instead of using a location, try an object — say, a doll that the narrator plays with as a child on page one, that we see on the shelf in their own kid’s room on the last page.

📝 To Do : Make it visual. Look at your fill-in-the-blanks exercise and quickly describe two bookend scenes that would show your character’s transformation. You don’t have to use these exact images in your novel. This is to give you a visual A-to-B journey to track as you write. But you’ll find they’ll help you create a strong beginning and ending.

Congratulations: You just created nine key plot points for your novel! Take a minute to celebrate.

The final step is to create your outline. I love to do this with sticky notes which can then be arranged (and rearranged) on a wall, table, or trifold board. You could also use index cards or just type your notes into a document. It’s key to keep your scene descriptions short, though — one reason why sticky notes or cards are helpful.

📝 To Do : Get your pack of sticky notes, and quickly jot down one sentence to describe each of these key plot points:

Opening : You can use the first “bookend” you just created.
Catalyst : Put your Catalyst moment here.
Action : Put your character’s first action towards their Big Goal here.
Rocks 1 through 3 : The scenes where your character encounters the obstacles or “rocks” you described above. This step should create three separate scenes.
The Big Rock : This is the all-is-lost scene you came up with above.
Resolution : The Solution you came up with above.
Last scene : For this, use the closing bookend scene you created.

You now have a map of nine key scenes. Choose a spot that works for you — like a section of wall near where you write, a bulletin board, or a table — and arrange them in order. Behold your novel outline! You did it!

💡 You can easily create these nine steps in Reedsy's writing app , where you can also write and format your manuscript.

Screengrab of the Reedsy's writing app outlining feature

FREE OUTLINING APP

The Reedsy Book Editor

Use the Boards feature to plan, organize, or research anything.

You can add other scenes later if you choose, such as act breaks, depending on which story structure model you’d like to use — but you don’t need to. You can start your draft right now using these plot points as guideposts.

The most important thing is to remember that when you start writing, your story will change. You may find your initial outline ideas don’t quite fit, and that’s okay — it’s a good thing. It means you’re on the unpredictable, creative journey of writing a novel. Remember what George Saunders said about working outside the realm of logic.

When you’re done with your draft, sit down with this template and do the exercises again, using what you’ve written, and you’ll be amazed at how your understanding of the plot points — and your story as a whole — has evolved and grown. Now go write that draft!

Photo of author and editor Kirsten Bakis

3 responses

Bhakti Mahambre says:

12/06/2018 – 08:19

An informative article along with useful story development aids, I heartily thank Reedsy for their efforts to put this together! #mewriting

Robintvale says:

08/05/2019 – 12:28

Whew so much to read on here I'm at the Premise right now and didn't even have to look at the links to finish it. :D I must be getting somewhere then! (Trying to fix a mostly written book that has a few hick ups. [Merryn] must [steal the book of P. with the trapped god] to [bring it back to the elder adapts back home in Dentree.] or else [Her and everyone else will disappear as the crazed and corrupted god will restart the world.]

kwesi Baah says:

08/02/2020 – 04:30

Reedsy is and I think will be the best thing that has happened to my writing career . thank you so much in so many ways .........i Love Reedsy

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How to Write a Compelling Story Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide

on Mar 13, 2023
in Writing Tips
Last update: October 8th, 2023
at 12:48 pm

Every great story is like a journey, and every journey needs a map. That’s where a story outline comes in. Just as maps help travelers navigate unknown places, a story outline helps writers navigate the twists and turns of their stories. It’s the backbone of the narrative, providing a framework for the plot, characters, and themes.

Many writers agree that using outlines makes them more productive and gives them a better chance at finishing their projects. An outline can also help writers avoid common pitfalls like writer’s block and plot holes, ensuring that their story is cohesive.

So, to help you cohesive and successful story, we’ll examine in this article how to write a story outline and show you some examples by famous authors.

What Is a Story Outline?

A story outline is a structured plan that guides you as you write your manuscripts. It typically includes a summary of the major events of the plot, the main characters and their motivations, the setting, and any other main themes or ideas that the story explores. It can be as detailed or as brief as you need it to be, but it has to be clear enough to provide a framework for your novel.

A well-constructed outline can help you stay organized and focused while writing, avoid plot holes and inconsistencies, and ensure that your stories are cohesive and engaging.

Why Do Authors Need an Outline Before Writing a Novel?

While writing your novel, you’ll inevitably encounter various obstacles, and one of the ways to avoid them is to develop a comprehensive outline. Here’s how this outline can help you:

Saves Time and Helps in Avoiding Writer’s Block

One of the main causes of writer’s block is a lack of direction or uncertainty about where the story is going. When you have a well-structured outline, you have a roadmap that provides direction and helps you stay focused on the narrative. You’d then know what needs to happen next, which can help you overcome the blank page syndrome and keep the writing process flowing smoothly.

Prevents Dead Ends

Have you ever started writing a certain plot twist only to discover thousands of words later that you’ve reached a cul-de-sac? You then start to revise your story or create new subplots to evade the brick wall you slammed into.

By creating an outline first, you’ll be able to stay on track and avoid the pitfalls of dead-ends and inconsistencies. Moreover, having a clear understanding of the structure and flow of events allows you to quickly identify and resolve potential plot holes before they become major issues.

Encourages Creativity

Having an outline can allow you to fully explore the creative possibilities of your story. While some writers may view it as a rigid structure that limits their creativity, the outline can actually be a helpful tool as it provides a framework that allows you to experiment with different story elements and see how they fit together.

It can also help you brainstorm new ideas for the story by identifying areas where more development is needed. Besides, having a clear idea of where the story is going can free up mental energy that might otherwise be spent worrying about the plot or structure. This can give you the confidence you need to explore new creative ideas and take risks in your writing.

How to Write a Story Outline?

Plotting a novel can be a challenging task, but with a solid outline in place, it becomes much more manageable. And now that you know all the benefits of creating one, it’s time to grab your notebook (or keyboard) and follow these simple steps to master the skill of outlining.

Step 1: Develop a Premise

Having a clear premise provides a foundation for the entire novel. The premise is the central idea or concept that the story revolves around, and it helps guide its direction. When the premise is clearly developed, it becomes easier to identify the main characters, their goals, and the conflicts they will face. This, in turn, makes it easier to create a plot that is consistent with the central idea.

A clear premise also helps in keeping the story focused and preventing it from becoming too convoluted or scattered. Without it, you might find it tempting to include too many subplots or unnecessary details, which can make your novel feel disjointed and confusing.

To create a compelling premise, consider the following questions:

What is the essence of the story that you want to convey to your readers?
What is the central question or conflict that will keep them engaged and turning the pages?
What are the emotions you want to evoke in them as they read the novel?

Step 2: Create Your Character Profiles

Next, start thinking about your main characters. Creating character profiles is a critical element in crafting a well-rounded story outline. By understanding the personalities, backgrounds, motivations, and goals of the characters, you’ll be able to better craft the plot and the conflict of the events.

For example, knowing the characters’ strengths and weaknesses can help in developing plot points that challenge them and force them to grow or change. A well-crafted backstory can also add depth and richness to the character, giving a more nuanced understanding of their behavior and choices as the plot unfolds. Additionally, knowing the characters’ motivations and goals can help you establish the stakes of the story and create a clear narrative direction.

Here are some steps to follow when developing character profiles:

Identify the main characters: Start by identifying the main characters in your novel. Typically, this includes the protagonist, antagonist, and any major supporting characters.
Develop their physical characteristics: Describe each character’s physical appearance, including their height, weight, hair color, eye color, and any other distinguishing features.
Outline their personality traits: Determine the personality traits of the character, including their strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and habits. This will help you come up with characters that are realistic and relatable.
Establish their backstory: Create a backstory for each character that describes their past experiences, including any significant events that have shaped their personality or worldview.
Determine their motivations and goals: Identify what each character wants and why. This can help you create a clear and compelling narrative arc .
Consider the relationships between that character: Reflect on the dynamics between each character and how their relationships evolve over the course of the story.

Step 3: Create Your Plot

The plot is the sequence of events that make up the story, and it provides the structure that the outline will follow. Once you have a general idea of what your novel is about and what your characters are like, you can start developing the plot by figuring out the major events and turning points that will occur in the story. This can include things like the exposition, the climax, the resolution , as well as any other key moments that you want to include in the story.

As you develop the plot, you will start to see how the story unfolds, and you can use this information to create a rough outline. This can help you see the big picture and fill in the details as you go. You’ll then be able to ensure that the events flow smoothly and that all of the pieces fit together in a way that makes sense.

Step 4: Determine the Setting

The setting is the when and where of the events in your novel. Deciding on the setting provides a clear and concrete background for the events and actions that take place. This, in turn, can help you in ensuring that the story is consistent and believable, and that the events make sense in the context of the setting.

Additionally, the setting influences the mood and tone of the novel, as well as the behavior and motivations of the characters. By establishing the setting early on in the outlining process, you can ensure that it’s fully integrated into the story and that it enhances the overall impact of the narrative.

Step 5: Build the Scenes

Now it’s time to bring all the above elements together and start building the main scenes. When done right, this will provide a clear structure for the plot. By identifying the major events and actions that move the story forward, you’ll be able to organize your ideas and ensure that it flows logically and cohesively. Furthermore, knowing the main scenes allows you to avoid unnecessary deviations or subplots that can distract from the main storyline.

Having a clear idea of the main scenes will also facilitate developing the characters; by considering how each character responds to the key events, you’ll be able to create more dynamic and believable characters with a clear motivation for their actions.

Step 6: Fine-Tune the Outline

The last step in perfecting your outline is ensuring that all the elements of your novel fit together and that the flow of your story goes smoothly. All you need to do now is identify any areas that are redundant or have major plot holes. And don’t forget to make sure that premise of your story is reflected in the outline in a logical and meaningful way.

What Are Some Common Outline Formats?

While the steps we provided above will help you in writing a compelling outline, it is not the only way. In fact, there are many formats that writers use in crafting their outlines. The best format for a particular author will depend on their individual writing style and the specific needs of their story. But to give you a general idea of the most common ones, let’s take a look at these four examples.

The Synopsis Outline

Usually used by authors to pitch agents, the synopsis outline gives a broad idea about the novel and how it progresses. However, many writers use it to outline their thoughts and ideas before they start the writing process.

To make the best out of this outline format, start by creating a short document, usually a page or two, that provides a broad outline of the novel’s premise and structure. You can then include a description of the characters, conflict, and narrative arc.

You can break down your synopsis into a few paragraphs:

The first paragraph should introduce your two main characters (the protagonist “hero” and antagonist), how the story begins, and the setting of the story.
The next few paragraphs include the plot twists faced by the hero. You may want to introduce other essential characters as well, such as sidekicks.
In the final paragraph , you should explain how the major conflicts are settled, and give a glimpse of how the novel ends.

Here’s a downloadable example of the synopsis outline .

The Snowflake Outline

If you prefer to focus on the big picture in your outline, then this method is ideal for you. Created by author and writing instructor Randy Ingermanson , this technique allows you to start with a basic summary and add elements from there. Just as you start drawing a snowflake with a single line, your story outline starts with a simple sentence.

Here’s how it’s done:

Start off with a sentence summing up the novel’s premise in 15 words or less.
Then expand it into a paragraph, adding the characters and the narrative arc.
Proceed to create character summaries and gradually build the summaries into full character profiles.
Create a list of the major scenes and organize them into a logical sequence. Then write a paragraph describing each scene.

You can now combine these parts into a document and expand upon it to write your story. To better understand this outline format, take a look at this one of J.K. Rowling’s novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The Summary Outline

This format involves estimating the number of chapters and creating a beat-sheet document, listing the sequential plot events. Each chapter is then summarized with a distinct purpose, encompassing descriptions of characters, settings, and timings.

This method allows you to focus on the big picture of the story while giving you a clear idea of what should happen in each chapter. You’ll find it most useful if you prefer a flexible approach to writing and don’t want to be too rigidly tied to a specific structure or plot.

You can also download this example of the summary outline of The Great Gatesby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey is based on the idea of a hero’s transformation through a journey. It isn’t a format per se–rather a story structure–but it is used by many writers to create an outline and guide the development of the plot. It is particularly useful for stories that revolve around a character’s personal transformation and growth, as it offers a framework for creating a compelling narrative arc that captures the hero’s journey from a state of naivety to one of experience and wisdom.

This journey typically consists of three main sections: departure , initiation , and return . The departure stage involves the hero leaving their ordinary world, which is followed by the initiation stage, where they face various trials and tribulations. The return stage sees the hero return to their ordinary world, transformed by their experiences and equipped with new abilities and insights.

Each of these stages contains a number of steps that describes the hero’s transformation into a wiser personality by overcoming certain obstacles. To understand more about these steps, take a look at this outline example .

Tips for Creating a Story Outline

Crafting a story outline can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not sure where to begin. Fortunately, there are several tips and tricks that can help simplify the process. Here are some effective strategies for creating an outline:

Decide on a Story Structure Before Outlining

When you first start writing your outline, it will be very tempting to jot all your thoughts down in an unorderly fashion so as not to lose any of the ideas in mind. However, having a clear understanding of the story structure will make writing the outline much easier.

This structure shows how the events are organized into a clear beginning, middle, and end. Knowing how your story unfolds will help you know where to place the scenes and events to produce a logical and coherent storyline.

Use a Template

Using a template to outline your novel can provide a structure and guide that you can follow, which can help organize your thoughts and ideas more effectively. A template can also ensure that important elements (such as character development, plot progression, and setting details) aren’t forgotten.

Additionally, a template can save time and energy, as you won’t have to create a new outline from scratch every time you begin a new project. And if you’re stuck on the format of your outline (or simply want a jumpstart), a template is all you need. You can use any of the examples we’ve provided in the previous section as a guide to create your own outline, or click here to find more templates that fit all types of stories, novels, and other written work.

Visualize the Story

There are many tools that authors use to visualize the outline of their stories. For example, you can use mind maps or sticky notes to plan how the story progresses.

Using mind maps is a popular way to outline novels and stories. This method can be a fun and creative way to brainstorm ideas and organize your thoughts. It allows you to see the relationship between different ideas and scenes and can help you create a cohesive and engaging story.

Other writers prefer using sticky notes with several colors to visually outline their novels. Sticky notes of the same color are used to represent the main chapters and are placed side by side. Then, using different-colored ones, notes that represent scenes in each chapter are placed below the corresponding main chapter. This can help you clearly see the flow of events and identify any plot holes the novel might have.

Take Inspiration from Other Writers’ Outlines

Try getting a glimpse of the outlines of famous and successful authors. Seeing how they approached creating their own outlines can give you valuable insights and a fresh perspective on how to create your own. For example, take a look at J.K. Rowling’s outline for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, or Joseph Heller’s outline for Catch-22.

All in all, outlining is an essential tool that facilitates the writing of any novel. It helps you tackle numerous obstacles associated with writing such as writer’s block, redundancy, and plot holes. It also facilitates your writing process and keeps you focused. Keep in mind that each writer uses a different approach to outline their work. So always experiment and try new methods; eventually, you’ll reach the outcome you desire.

The Different Types of Editing Explained

Exploring the Different Types of Creative Writing

How to Write the Best Book Introduction (With Checklists & Examples)

Lynne Knudsen

Can this be used to create a documentary about a woman who founded an amazing village?

Absolutely! The principles of creating a story outline can be applied to various forms of storytelling, including documentaries. Start by outlining the key events, characters, and themes related to the woman who founded the amazing village. Then, organize these elements into a structured narrative that tells her story effectively.

Best of luck with your documentary project! 🙂

Why and How to Create a Useful Outline

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource describes why outlines are useful, what types of outlines exist, suggestions for developing effective outlines, and how outlines can be used as an invention strategy for writing.

Why create an outline? There are many reasons, but in general, it may be helpful to create an outline when you want to show the hierarchical relationship or logical ordering of information. For research papers, an outline may help you keep track of large amounts of information. For creative writing, an outline may help organize the various plot threads and help keep track of character traits. Many people find that organizing an oral report or presentation in outline form helps them speak more effectively in front of a crowd. Below are the primary reasons for creating an outline.

Aids in the process of writing
Helps you organize your ideas
Presents your material in a logical form
Shows the relationships among ideas in your writing
Constructs an ordered overview of your writing
Defines boundaries and groups

How do I create an outline?

Determine the purpose of your paper.
Determine the audience you are writing for.
Develop the thesis of your paper.
Brainstorm : List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper.
Organize : Group related ideas together.
Order : Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to concrete.
Label : Create main and sub headings.

Remember: creating an outline before writing your paper will make organizing your thoughts a lot easier. Whether you follow the suggested guidelines is up to you, but making any kind of outline (even just some jotting down some main ideas) will be beneficial to your writing process.

12 Creative Writing Templates for Planning Your Novel

It’s that time of year when thousands of writers around the world prepare to type faster than a speeding bullet, drink coffee more powerful than a locomotive, and leap tall deadlines in a single bound. Of course, we’re talking about National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo), and the challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create a 50,000-word story from scratch in just 30 days, from November 1–30. How’s that for productivity?

We’ve met a lot of writers who use Evernote to plan, brainstorm, and sometimes even draft their novels. But as any fiction writer knows, the hardest part of any new work is figuring out what to write about in the first place: What happens next? What motivates these characters? What’s this story about, anyway?

Only you can answer those questions, but it helps to figure them out early. If you’re going to write a novel in November, the time to plan is now . With that in mind, we’ve created a dozen Evernote templates to help you collect and structure your thoughts. Many of them include questions or prompts to get you started, but you can feel free to replace those with inventions of your own. Start filling them out today; they’ll keep you anchored while writing your 30-day masterpiece.

Power tip: To use any of the note templates mentioned in this article, click the “Get it »” link and then click “Save to Evernote.” The template will be added to your Evernote account in the notebook of your choice (we recommend setting up a new notebook just for templates). You can then copy, move, rename, and edit the note to suit your needs.

Templates for plotting and outlining your novel

Are you the sort of writer who wants a solid plan in place before typing “Chapter 1”/ You’ll need a roadmap that begins with a premise and culminates in an outline. There are a lot of different ways to get there, so we’ve made templates for walking you through several of the most popular plotting methods. You can choose the one that fits your personal style.

1. Story premise worksheet

Your premise is the foundation on which the entire novel is built. With this step-by-step guide, you’ll think about who your protagonist is, what they want, and the problems or conflicts they must overcome. The end product is a concise, two-sentence explanation of what your story is about.

2. Three-act plotting template

Remember learning in school that all stories should have a beginning, middle, and end? This classic, logical method of storytelling takes you from your story’s initial setup and inciting incident through rising action, turning points, and resolution.

3. Story beats template

Adapted from the world of screenwriting, this popular method replaces the concept of acts with a set of milestones that commonly appear in many kinds of stories. Hitting these “beats” gives your story a rhythm while leaving the details open to your imagination.

4. Snowflake method checklist

Maybe you’d rather work from the top down than from the ground up. Inspired by fractal geometry (really!), Randy Ingermanson’s “snowflake method” grows an entire novel from a single sentence. Each step of the process methodically expands upon the one before, filling in details until you have a complete draft.

5. Story timeline tracker

Regardless of your novel plotting method, keeping track of time in your novel is important. Did your hero get that threatening letter on Tuesday or Sunday? Does the next scene happen on a sunny morning or in the dead of night? This template will keep your novel’s clock ticking smoothly.

6. Chapter outline

Once you’re in the writing groove, you may not want to wade through all your plotting notes to remember what comes next. This checklist gives you a scannable view of your plot, chapter by chapter and scene by scene, making it easy to see what you’ve completed and how much lies ahead.

Templates for Building Characters in Your Novel

Even if you aren’t the plotting and outlining type, the more you know about your characters and the world they inhabit, the better your writing will be. The following templates will help you brainstorm and remember the little details that make a story come to life.

7. Character master list

Got a lot of characters? This “quick and dirty” list helps you remember who’s who at a glance. Add names, ages, and notes about your characters. And you can drop in a photo or drawing of each character to help you visualize your story.

8. Character profile worksheet

If you want to go deeper with your characters, you’ll need a full dossier describing their physical appearance, manner of speaking, behavioral traits, and background. This questionnaire covers everything from their hair color to their biggest secret.

9. Character biography

Now that you know who’s who, here’s a template for figuring out how they got to the situation in your novel. When it’s time to write a flashback or refer to a past event, you’ll breathe easier (and save yourself some edits) knowing you can look up the dates in this simple timeline.

10. World-building questionnaire

So far, we’ve been talking about the what and who of your novel, but where and when are just as important. Whether you’re writing about a fantasy world or the town you grew up in, this questionnaire will get you thinking in depth about the setting. Then you can write richer, more realistic scenes that draw the reader into your world.

Pulling it all together: Project trackers

A novel has a lot of moving parts. When you factor in research, articles saved with Web Clipper , and random jottings about who did what to whom, you’ll probably find you have a lot of notes for your writing project. Consider adding a couple more to keep it all straight: a dashboard where you can manage the whole thing and a checklist for bringing your completed opus to the world.

11. Story dashboard note

For a quick overview of your project, use this “dashboard” to track its status. Add it to your shortcuts for easy access, and insert links to related notes to save time on searches. If you’re writing in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, you can paste the file or link into the body of this note and jump into your manuscript with a click.

12. Self-publishing checklist

Planning to publish that novel when it’s done? Here’s a checklist of all the important steps, from writing a blurb to editing, design, and proofing. TIP: If you copy this checklist into your dashboard note, you can easily track your novel from first brainstorm to final publication.

Ready, set, write!

If you’re up to the challenge, sign up for free at nanowrimo.org . Evernote will be posting more tips and strategies to our blog and social media throughout October and November. We invite you to follow along!

Originally published on October 2, 2017. Updated on October 12, 2022.

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Planning Your Writing

How to Write an Outline

Last Updated: March 27, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,949,104 times.

An outline is a great way to organize ideas and information for a speech, an essay, a novel, or a study guide based on your class notes. At first, writing an outline might seem complicated, but learning how to do it will give you an essential organizational skill! Start by planning your outline and choosing a structure for it. Then, you can organize your ideas into an easy to understand outline.

Quick Outline Slideshow

Sample outlines.

Planning Your Outline

Step 1 Decide if you will write your outline by hand or type it.

Some people process their ideas better when they write them down. Additionally, you can easily draw diagrams or examples, which might help you conceptualize the subject. However, it might take longer to write out your outline, and it won't be as neat.
Typing your outline might be easier if your notes are already typed on the computer, as you can just copy and paste them into your outline. Copying and pasting also allows you to easily rearrange your sections, if necessary. Also, it will be easier to copy and paste information from your outline into your paper if you type your outline. On the other hand, it's harder to jot down notes in the margins or draw out organizational diagrams.

If you’re working on a creative project, such as a novel, identify your concept, genre, or premise. Then, allow the outlining process to help you structure your work.
It’s okay if your topic is somewhat broad when you first start, but you should have a direction. For example, your history paper topic could be French life during the German occupation of France in World War II. As you write your outline, you might narrow this down to the resistance fighters called maquisards .

Step 3 Identify the purpose of your outline, such as inform, entertain or reflect.

For a school assignment, review the assignment sheet or talk to your instructor. If the outline is for work, use an existing outline as a model for yours.
If you are the only person who will see the outline, you can choose formatting that works for you. For example, you might write your outline in shorthand.

Step 5 Assemble your notes, research or supporting materials, if applicable.

Paraphrased ideas
Historical facts

Step 6 Brainstorm to identify your argument or main ideas.

Freewrite as ideas come to you.
Create a mind map .
Write your thoughts on index cards.

For example, you may be writing a paper about policy change. Your thesis might read, “Policy makers should take an incremental approach when making policy changes to reduce conflict, allow adjustments, and foster compromise.” Each of the 3 reasons listed in your thesis will become its own main point in your outline.

Structuring Your Outline

Step 1 Write an alphanumeric outline for the easy approach.

Roman Numerals - I, II, III, IV, V
Capitalized Letters - A, B, C
Arabic Numerals - 1, 2, 3
Lowercase Letters - a, b, c
Arabic Numerals in Parentheses - (1), (2), (3)

Step 2 Make a decimal outline to highlight the relationship between ideas.

1.1.1 - Each side presents a case before the vote
1.1.2 - Citizens voice their opinion
1.2 - Neither side gets everything they want

Step 3 Decide if you want to write full sentences or short phrases.

You might use short phrases to quickly organize your ideas, to outline a speech, or to create an outline that’s just for you.
You might use full sentences to make it easier to write a final paper, to make a good study guide, or to fulfill the requirements of an assignment.

Organizing Your Ideas

If you jotted down your ideas or made a mind map, use different colored highlighters to identify ideas that belong in the same group.
Sort your index cards, if you used them to brainstorm. Put cards with related ideas together. For example, you can put them in stacks, or you can line your cards out in rows to make them easier to read.

Step 2 Put each group in order from broad ideas to specific details.

For example, your main point might be that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein champions emotion over reason. Your subpoints might be that Victor Frankenstein is restored by nature and that his scientific efforts create a monster. As supporting details, you might include quotes from the book.
If you're writing a story or presenting a historical argument, a chronological order makes sense. For an essay or speech, pick the subtopic with the most supporting materials, and lead with this argument. From there, order your major subtopics so each one naturally flows into the next.
Your broad ideas should connect back to your thesis or controlling idea. If they don’t, rewrite your thesis to reflect the main ideas you’re putting into your outline.

Step 3 Outline your introduction as the first main point for a speech or essay.

Hook to grab the audience
1-2 general statements about your topic

Step 4 Create your body headings, if you haven’t already.

Phrase outline: II. Frankenstein champions emotion over reason
Full sentence outline: II. In Frankenstein , Mary Shelley champions the use of emotion over reason.

Step 5 Write at least 2 subpoints for each main idea.

Depending on the purpose of your outline, you might have more subpoints. For example, a novel may have many subpoints. Similarly, a study guide will likely have several subpoints, as well.

Step 6 Add at least 2 supporting details for each subpoint.

In an essay, this is often where you “prove” your argument.
For a creative work, you might include essential details you must include in that scene, such as an internal conflict in your main character.
Similar to subpoints, you may have more supporting details, depending on your purpose. A novel or study guide will likely have more supporting details.

Step 7 Include more layers of your outline, if necessary.

Roman Numeral
Capital Letter
Arabic Numeral
Lowercase Letter
Arabic Numeral in Parentheses

Step 8 Outline your conclusion, if you’re writing an essay or speech.

Restate your thesis.
1-2 summarizing sentences.
Write a concluding statement.

Finalizing Your Outline

Step 1 Read over your outline to make sure you’ve achieved your purpose.

This also gives you a chance to look for missing parts or ideas that aren’t fully fleshed. If you see areas that leave questions unanswered, it’s best to fill in those gaps in information.

Step 2 Revise your outline if ideas are missing or not fleshed out.

If you are making an outline for yourself, you might not worry about this.

Step 3 Edit your outline if you’re turning it in for an assignment.

It’s a good idea to have someone else check it for errors, as it’s often hard to recognize errors in your own work.
While you edit your outline, refer back to your assignment sheet or rubric to make sure you've completely fulfilled the assignment. If not, go back and correct the areas that are lacking.

You can use more layers if you want to include more information.
You might also include additional layers for a long creative work or a detailed study guide.

Expert Q&A

Be concise and straightforward in your outline. This doesn't have to be perfectly polished writing; it just has to get your point across. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Don't be afraid to eliminate irrelevant information as you conduct more research about your topic and narrow your focus. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
You can use outlines as a memorization tool . Choose concise words to trigger a concept. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Generally, you should avoid only having one point or sub-point on any outline level. If there is an A, either come up with a B or fold A's idea into the next level up. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 2
Your outline should not be your essay in a different form. Only write down the major assertions, not every single detail. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1

↑ https://www.iup.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/organization-and-structure/creating-an-outline.html
↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/outlining
↑ https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cinichol/271/OutlinesHowTo.htm
↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/02/
↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/7-steps-to-creating-a-flexible-outline-for-any-story
↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/03/
↑ https://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/outline.html

About This Article

The easiest way to write an outline is to gather all of your supporting materials, like quotes, statistics, or ideas, before getting started. Next, go over your materials and take notes, grouping similar ideas together. Then, organize your ideas into subtopics and use your materials to provide at least two supporting points per subtopic. Be sure to keep your outline concise and clear, since you’ll have to refer to it later! For more help on how to plan and organize your outline, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Outline A Short Story – For Beginners

In this post, we share a template that will show you how to outline a short story , especially if you are a beginner.

If you’re looking for an outlining tool to help you write a short story, you will love this template. If you want to find out more about short stories read: The Secret To Writing A Great Short Story

To celebrate National Short Story Day in the UK, we thought we would post this outlining tool for beginner writers. This day is chosen because 21 December is the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere.
Short Story Day Africa is celebrated on 21 June, the shortest day in the Southern Hemisphere.

(If you want to learn how to write a short story, sign up for our online course .)

Writing Short Stories

Writing short stories is a great way to learn the craft of writing and to find out what your strengths and weaknesses are. You need fewer words , and there is less pressure than writing a long novel.

There are many short story competitions to enter. These are great for setting deadlines and for giving you a potential platform for your work. These short-terms goals can be good motivators for us.

There are fewer rules in writing short stories and you can write about one of your character’s backstories , or follow the fate of a supporting character after they’ve left your novel.

Top Tip: If you want to improve your story, buy this workbook: How To Show And Not Tell In Short Stories .

If you want to learn how to outline a short story, use this template.

How To Outline A Short Story

Source for poster

If you love short stories, you will enjoy these posts:

The Top 10 Reasons To Write Short Stories
The Top 20 Literary Quotes About Short Stories
The Secret To Writing A Great Short Story
3 Short Story Writers Who Inspire Me
3 Ways To Get Your Short Story Started

Short Cuts , Short Stories , Writing Tips from Amanda Patterson

7 thoughts on “How To Outline A Short Story – For Beginners”

I am interested in writing a short story.

i have always dremt of writing

I am. a beginner have two page storiy need fix up want to learn how write. Short stories you know anyone fix up my stories how much it cost? Thank you Trudy

Excellent information on protagonists will work on mine tonight.

I dream to write fables from my experience.

please teach me how to make a short pharagraph outlin

Jenica, this may help you: https://writerswrite.co.za//how-to-write-a-one-page-synopsis-1

Comments are closed.

What Is an Outline in Writing?

Written by Rebecca Turley

Do you and your great ideas have a habit of falling short, sputtering out, or going nowhere?

Then you might need an outline.

Don’t panic.

Though the dread of outlines past might be haunting you right now, those high school teachers were actually on to something when they were pushing for outlines as a part of the writing process. And while creating an outline isn’t usually the most enjoyable part your craft, it’s a necessity if you want all that inspiration of yours to make its way into a creative piece that you’re proud of.

An Outline in Writing is More Useful and Less Restrictive Than You Might Think

If you’re already thinking that the sort of rigid formality of an outline just doesn’t jive with your creative brain, think again. Fact is, an outline in writing can take your writing process from good to outstanding because it will help you:

Stay Focused

Think of the outline as your blueprint—where your big idea is established, explained, and organized. It’s hard to go off the rails when you have an outline to return to, so it’s an outstanding way of staying on track. An outline in writing guides you as you write, allowing you to explore your theme, study your characters, and create your actions without fear of losing focus.

Establish Flow

An outline serves as an excellent way to understand and refine the flow of the story. Sometimes great ideas never translate into copy because the writer failed to make sense of the story for the reader. An outline allows you to take your big idea from just an idea to a thoughtful piece that flows easily from beginning to end. It’s your opportunity to clarify your thoughts and organize a plan of attack before you begin writing.

Organize Information

If you have a considerable amount of information that needs to be covered in your story, an outline organizes it into manageable sections. An outline takes a would-be daunting writing task and consolidates it into smaller, more manageable tasks.

You may create an outline as part of the brainstorming process, or you may choose to get an outline in order once all the other legwork has been completed. Some writers use it as a punch list of things to do. For example, an outline may allow you to identify areas that need more work or topics that you’ll want to research. Or, if you’ve done all the prep work, an outline is an excellent way of organizing all that info to make better sense of it.

An outline in writing isn’t just beneficial for those larger written pieces like novels or screenplays. Many established writers still rely heavily on an outline for shorter pieces. It’s a heck of a lot easier to take the time to make an outline than to rework your piece. And yes – many well-established writers still turn to the trusted outline. An outline is a useful tool whether you’re an emerging writer or a veteran!

Kickstart the Brainstorming Process

Many times, your big idea is just that – an idea. Where do you take it from there? In this case, consider your outline as your brainstorming tool. It’s where a simple theme gains structure and becomes a cohesive, thoughtful, organized story. All those ideas you’ve jotted down in your journal are just begging for an outline that will transform them into your next creative masterpiece!

Don’t think of an outline in writing as stifling your creativity, either. In fact, in many cases, it can spark new ideas and reveal new ways of organizing your story. Plus, when you have the bones of your story in place through an outline, you’re free to tap into what you do best – telling your story.

Whether you scribble an outline onto a cocktail napkin or take the time to create a formal one, you’ll be glad you have it.

The Nuts and Bolts of the Outline in Writing

An outline in writing is where you’ll gather your ideas and organize them into one, cohesive story. Your outline may be rather bare bones, serving as a general guide, or it may be highly detailed, allowing you to visualize how all of the information is connected to the story’s main theme.

Though there are certain rules that apply when creating an outline, the cool thing is that your outline can be organized as you see fit. If you stick to the standard outline that includes a list of main ideas followed by a list of details for each of those main ideas, you’re off to a good start.

An outline is pretty straightforward in terms of design and structure. It features a list of main points or ideas under which you’ll usually list more specific points that explain where those points are heading.

An outline’s structure follows the movement of the written piece, so you’ll follow it like you would the instructions to a recipe:

1. Preheat the oven.

2. Mix the dry ingredients.

3. Mix the wet ingredients.

4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.

5. Pour mixture into a baking dish.

6. Bake for 30 minutes.

While the above main points give you an idea of how the recipe will come together, it’s clear you’re going to need more information. That’s where those more specific details come into play.

For example, in Step 2, what are the dry ingredients, and what are the measurements of those ingredients? A high-level idea of what the step entails is important, but so are the details. The details that follow the main idea are where you drill down exactly what you want that main idea to include. Your detail points will always support your main idea. So, in the case of the recipe, Step 2 may be better organized as:

2. Mix the dry ingredients

a. 2 cups flour

b. 1 cup sugar

c. 1 teaspoon baking powder

d. 1 teaspoon vanilla

Following a Linear Fashion

An outline can take on a variety of forms, but most of the time, a linear structure (start to finish) that features a combination of letters (both upper and lowercase), Roman numerals (both upper and lowercase), and/or numbers works best.

To keep your outline clear and manageable, create a parallel structure by using one alphanumeric form for each main idea and one alphanumeric form for each detail point, like this:

1. Main idea

a. Supporting Detail

b. Supporting Detail

c. Supporting Detail

2. Main idea

3. Main idea

Or like this…

I. Main idea

i. Supporting Detail

ii. Supporting Detail

iii. Supporting Detail

II. Main idea

III. Main idea

1. Main idea

1.1 Supporting Detail

1.2 Supporting Detail

1.3 Supporting Detail

2. Main idea

2.1 Supporting Detail

2.2 Supporting Detail

2.3 Supporting Detail

3. Main idea

3.1 Supporting Detail

3.2 Supporting Detail

3.3 Supporting Detail

You can also eliminate numbers and letters and simply use a combination of Microsoft Word bullets:

Supporting Detail

Provided you create some sort of linear, parallel structure through a blend of numbers, letters, bullets, etc. to keep you organized and to provide a clear overview of the writing project, your outline can be organized anyway that works best for you.

For example, you may have many supporting details under each main idea, or you may just include one, broad statement detailing what the idea will include. You can even take your outline one step further and create supporting details under each detail point:

1) Main idea

a) Supporting Detail

i) Additional Supporting Detail

ii) Additional Supporting Detail

iii) Additional Supporting Detail

b) Supporting Detail

c) Supporting Detail

Some of the questions to ask yourself when creating an outline in writing include:

Is my outline organized in a linear and parallel structure?
Do all the main points have equal significance?
Do the details support each main point?
Does the outline provide a clear picture of my story’s structure and flow?

You can organize your outline by chapter, with each main idea of the outline breaking down the chapter. You can also organize your outline by topic or subtopic, or you can simply use your outline to organize your thoughts and determine the flow of the story. An outline is your guide and yours alone, so provided it serves as a clear framework for your project, then it’s up to you to decide its structure and design.

Unlike those high school and college theme papers that required rigid outlines and specific rules, using an outline as a creative writer involves few rules.

The Writing Outline: Even the Most Widely Read Authors Are Doing It

You may know a writer or two who flies by the seat of their proverbial pants. But many of the creative writing industry’s heavyweights agree: an outline is an invaluable part of the writing process:

“I have a number of writers I work with regularly. I write an outline for a book. The outlines are very specific about what each scene is supposed to accomplish.” ~ James Patterson, author of more than 114 New York Times bestsellers, including Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, and 1st to Die

“I'm a great believer in outlines.” ~ Tom Wolfe, author of novels, short stories, and novellas, including the critically acclaimed novel, Bonfire of the Vanities (1987)

“If you do enough planning before you start to write, there's no way you can have writer's block. I do a complete chapter by chapter outline.” ~ R.L. Stine, author of novels, short stories, and screenplays, including the popular Goosebumps series of children’s books

“I force myself to outline, but not too closely, so I guess I plot by the seat of my pants? My natural instinct is to dive right in, but I know I'll get stuck. I like to stick with the architect vs. gardener metaphor. I guess I'm a gardener who plants tomatoes. I have the sticks in the ground and let the vines grow along those parameters.” ~ Victoria Aveyard, author of New York Times bestselling young adult books, including the Red Queen series of novels

“I am a big proponent of writing a great outline. That way you can avoid hitting a roadblock. There is no worse feeling than writing yourself into a corner but if you've figured it all out in the outline then you won't have that problem.” ~ Michael Showalter, writer, director, actor, and producer; co-wrote movies like My Name is Doris (2016) and The Bick Sick (2017) and co-created the critically acclaimed television series, Search Party.

Moving Beyond the Traditional Outline: The Narrative Outline

Though the alphanumeric outline is a great outline to use, the narrative outline may also be a good choice because it is created using a story idea or topic. This type of outline is much more free-from than a traditional, alphanumeric outline and includes sections of ideas rather than lists.

Each section of text (a reminder that it can be phrases or even bullet points; no need to get formal here) details the parts of the story. A narrative outline works best for shorter pieces like narrative essays and short stories that have a clear beginning, middle, and end.

A narrative outline based off a narrative essay, for example, may look like this:

Section 1: Sets the tone of the story (main characters, setting, etc.)
Section 2: Detail the actions that build to the climax
Section 3: Details of the story’s climax
Section 4: Details of how the story ends

Eleven templates to start your next creative writing project

As writer Margaret Atwood put it, "If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word." Whether you are feeling stuck starring at a blank page or overwhelmed by hundreds of notes, this collection features novel plans, story maps, and character profiles to serve as your writing companion—from start to finish.

Novel Plan Template

Develop and structure your novel effectively with a comprehensive plan that outlines plot points, character arcs, and key events, providing a roadmap for crafting a compelling story and taking it to print.

Story Brainstorming Template

Unleash your creativity with a brainstorming session. Explore plot twists, characters, and scene details, and walk away with key ideas to start your next novel.

Brainstorming Template, within the Milanote app

Novel Research Template

Conduct thorough research for your novel. Organize and document relevant information, ensuring accuracy and authenticity in your storytelling.

Research Template, within the Milanote app

Story Map Template

Visualize the narrative flow and plot structure of your story with a story map. Outline key events, character interactions, and plot developments for a cohesive and compelling storytelling experience.

Story Outline Template

Outline the key elements of your story, including major plot points, character arcs, and themes, with a comprehensive story outline framework.

Character Profile Template

Dive deep into the personality and background of your character with a character profile, enabling you to craft well-rounded and believable individuals that resonate with readers.

Character Relationship Map Template

Create a visual representation of character relationships and interactions using a character mapping, offer a visual overview of the connections and dynamics between your story's key characters.

Three Act Structure Template

Structure your story effectively using the classic three-act structure, dividing your narrative into setup, confrontation, and resolution for a well-paced and engaging reading experience.

World Building Template

Build rich and immersive fictional worlds for your story, by outlining the geography, history, cultures, and rules of your story's unique universe.

Hero's Journey Template

Embark on the hero's journey with a framework that follows Joseph Campbell's monomyth, create the stages of a hero's transformative adventure and providing a solid foundation for your storytelling.

Novel Moodboard Template

Capture the visual and thematic inspiration for your novel with a moodboard, curate images, colors, textures, and references that evoke the desired mood and atmosphere for your story.

Try Milanote today

A Literary Tour of Moscow

It’s hard to count the exact number of great Russian writers who showed their love for Moscow. The city has attracted and prompted stories for a long time now, inspiring many to express their writing talent. Thus, Moscow’s literary sights are fully deserving of our attention, and this guide gladly presents you six of them, from museums to apartments.

1. nikolay gogol museum.

Library, Museum

2. The State Museum of Mayakovsky

3. Turgenev's Family House

The portrait of Ivan Turgenev by Vasiliy Perov (1872)

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5. The Apartment of Dostoevsky

Building, Memorial, Museum

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6. The Mikhail Bulgakov Museum

KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?

Connect with like-minded people on our premium trips curated by local insiders and with care for the world

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.

A Guide to Cautionary Russian Proverbs and What They Mean

The Soviet Union’s Best Heart-Throbs and Pinups

Guides & Tips

A 48 hour guide to astrakhan, russia.

Zhenotdel: The Soviet Union's Feminist Movement

Unusual Facts About the Soviet Union

A Soviet Pilot Went Missing in Afghanistan and Was Found 30 Years Later

Food & Drink

The best halal restaurants in kazan.

Russian Last Names and Their Meanings

The Mystery Behind Russia's Buddhist "Miracle"

Incredible Photos From the Longest Bike Race in the World

See & Do

Russia's most remote holiday destinations.

Restaurants

The best halal restaurants in kaliningrad, winter sale offers on our trips, incredible savings.

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How to Write a Story Outline Step-by-Step
Scene writing helps you move towards structuring a short story or novel. You can order each scene based on your tentative idea for a plot, then start plotting the story itself! 4. Start Writing Your Outline. Once you've considered your characters, scenes, and your intent for writing the story, it's time to start writing the actual outline.
How to Outline a Short Story in 4 Steps
Writing a good story requires thorough structure and careful attention to detail. Here are four writing tips to help you inject that structure and detail into your outline: 1. Condense Your Narrative Into a Single Sentence. Let that sentence serve as a rough outline template for every draft you create.
Novel Outline Guide (Plus Templates and Worksheets)
Outlining a novel in 5 steps. Here's an easy approach you can try. (Remember, there's no RIGHT way to make a novel outline—this is just one option!) 1. Brainstorm. Before you start your actual novel outline, spend some time brainstorming freely, letting your imagination run, generating ideas and writing them down.
How to Write a Story Outline (Steps & Examples)
Storyboard (Post-It Method) For this method, you'll want some wall space, a posterboard, or a whiteboard, as well as a stack of sticky notes. Write your plot points on the sticky notes and stick 'em on your surface. You can color code the sticky notes for different subplots or character perspectives, and you can include as many sticky notes ...
How to Outline a Short Story [Template Included]
1. Start Simplistic. To give your short story outline a good structure, you have to start from the bones. You can utilize a technique called the Snowflake Method. Using this method of writing, a wordsmith begins with a simplistic deep theme and gradually adds meat to the story, making it more complex over time.
How To Outline a Novel: 2024 Step-By-Step Guide
Drag a board out from the toolbar. Give it a name, then double click to open it. Add a Column for each key scene. Show me how. Close. Drag a column onto your board. Name it, then drag any relevant notes or images into your column. 2. Add high-level details.
How to Outline a Novel in 9 Easy Steps
The most important thing is to remember that when you start writing, your story will change. You may find your initial outline ideas don't quite fit, and that's okay — it's a good thing. It means you're on the unpredictable, creative journey of writing a novel. Remember what George Saunders said about working outside the realm of logic.
How to Write a Compelling Story Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide
Then expand it into a paragraph, adding the characters and the narrative arc. Proceed to create character summaries and gradually build the summaries into full character profiles. Create a list of the major scenes and organize them into a logical sequence. Then write a paragraph describing each scene.
Story Outline
Whether you're writing a novel or a screenplay, follow this step-by-step guide to learn the modern process of outlining in Milanote, a free tool used by top creatives. 1. Start with an empty template. The Story Outline template contains empty notes for your ideas and scenes, and placeholders for images, video and links.
7 Steps to Creating a Flexible Outline for Any Story
The only requirement is that you find the groove that works for you. If you start outlining and begin to feel the technique isn't working for you, rather than denouncing outlines entirely, consider how you might adjust the process to better suit your personality and creative style.) 1. Craft your premise.
How to Outline
For creative writing, an outline may help organize the various plot threads and help keep track of character traits. Many people find that organizing an oral report or presentation in outline form helps them speak more effectively in front of a crowd. Below are the primary reasons for creating an outline. Aids in the process of writing
12 Creative Writing Templates for Planning Your Novel
1. Story premise worksheet. Your premise is the foundation on which the entire novel is built. With this step-by-step guide, you'll think about who your protagonist is, what they want, and the problems or conflicts they must overcome. The end product is a concise, two-sentence explanation of what your story is about.
How to Write an Outline (with Pictures)
Write at least 2 subpoints for each main idea. Your subpoints are the second level of your outline, so you'll label them as A, B, or C for an alphanumeric outline or to 1 decimal place for a decimal outline (1.1, 1.2). These are the ideas that further explain your main point.
How To Outline A Short Story
Writing short stories is a great way to learn the craft of writing and to find out what your strengths and weaknesses are. You need fewer words, and there is less pressure than writing a long novel. There are many short story competitions to enter. These are great for setting deadlines and for giving you a potential platform for your work.
What Is an Outline in Writing?
The Writing Outline: Even the Most Widely Read Authors Are Doing It. You may know a writer or two who flies by the seat of their proverbial pants. But many of the creative writing industry's heavyweights agree: an outline is an invaluable part of the writing process:
Eleven templates to start your next creative writing project
Novel Moodboard Template. Capture the visual and thematic inspiration for your novel with a moodboard, curate images, colors, textures, and references that evoke the desired mood and atmosphere for your story. Whether you are feeling stuck starring at a blank page or overwhelmed by hundreds of notes, this collection features novel plans, story ...
Best Writing Templates from Notion
Writing templates. Unleash your literary potential with Notion's Writing templates. Dive into creative realms with character sheets, plot outlines, and writing prompts. Ideal for novelists, screenwriters, and poets, these tools are designed to spark inspiration and organize your storytelling journey.
A new star on a new stage
"A few years ago, I wished him a happy birthday, and then I stopped writing altogether." ... In the summer of 2019, Vershinin left Moscow Media — he now works as the creative director of a development company called Capital Group. However, he still curates some of the Moscow-government-funded media conglomerate's YouTube projects. ...
A Literary Tour Of Moscow
1. Nikolay Gogol Museum. Located in the heart of Moscow, close to the Arbat Square, is this ancient town mansion. This is the only Museum of Nikolay Gogol in Russia dedicated entirely to the life and work of the master writer. Cast iron gates lead into the courtyard, where you can explore the monument to the writer.
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How to Write a Story Outline

What is a Story Outline?

How to Write a Good Story Outline Step-by-Step

1. Start With Your Story Premise

2. Flesh Out Your Characters

3. Build Scenes Around Your Characters

4. Start Writing Your Outline

Four Approaches to Writing a Story Outline

1. The Plot-Based Approach

2. The Scene-Based Approach

3. The Themes-Based Approach

4. Freytag’s Pyramid

How to Write a Story Outline: Keep Experimenting!

Sean Glatch

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How to Make a Novel Outline

Why outline a novel?

Outlining a novel in 5 steps

1. Brainstorm.

2. Answer some questions...

3. Come up with scene ideas.

4. Check if your plot's focused enough.

5. Organize your scene ideas.

Other tools for planning a novel

Tips for outlining a novel

Using a novel outline

Templates and worksheets

How to Outline a Novel - Next Steps

About the author

How to Outline a Short Story [Template Included]

Why Should You Outline a Short Story?

Outlining a short story

The Short Story Outlining Process: Tips and Template

1. Start Simplistic

2.Create a Quasi Outline

3. Use Unpredictability and Conflict to Spice Up the Plot

4. Utilize the Protagonist’s Internal Monologue

5. Use Software to Outline Your Story

Story Outline Template

How to Start a Short Story?

In Conclusion…

Recommended Reading...

How to Outline a Novel in 9 Easy Steps

1. Choose your main character

3 responses

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What is the Proust Questionnaire? 22 Questions to Write Better Characters

What is Pathos? Definition and Examples in Literature

How to Start a Children’s Book: Coming Up with Your Big Idea

How to Become a Travel Writer in 5 Steps: A Guide for Travel Bugs

The ultimate app for outlining

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Ebooks, Publishing, and Everything in Between

How to Write a Compelling Story Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide

What Is a Story Outline?

Why Do Authors Need an Outline Before Writing a Novel?

How to Write a Story Outline?

Step 1: Develop a Premise

Step 2: Create Your Character Profiles

Step 3: Create Your Plot

Step 4: Determine the Setting

Step 5: Build the Scenes

Step 6: Fine-Tune the Outline

What Are Some Common Outline Formats?

Tips for Creating a Story Outline

Lynne Knudsen

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Recent Posts

Why and How to Create a Useful Outline

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Quick Outline Slideshow

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