Are you tired of staring at the first page of a blank Word document? Do you have incredible ideas but it seems way too complicated to turn them into a coherent finished novel? We’ve all been there, and know how it feels. And although it might be related to writer’s block or lack of inspiration, perhaps it has to do with the fact that you could use an outline in your life.
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There’s nothing more nebulous in writing than the “plotting/outlining” thing. Many writers swear by it and totally recommend outlining your story before starting to write it. However, there are others that are completely set against it. The truth is that outlining is not for everyone, and every writer has their own particular way to plot their novel.
As writers, each of us falls into one of these three groups: we are either pantsers, plotters or plantsers. First, we have panters. They are those who craft the story as they write it and prefer to ‘fly by the seat of their pants‘. Second, we have plotters. They are those who think about and plan every step of their novel before writing it. Last, we have the plantsers, who are a combination of the other two categories.
What is an outline?
The way I see it, an outline works as an itinerary for your story. So, its purpose is to define important points of its development, to be used as a guide.
The thing with outlines is that there is not a single right way of doing it. So, you can find either one-page outlines or scene-by-scene ones with diagrams and characters’ descriptions. It’s up to the writer and how much planning they need before putting fingers to keys.
An outline is a summary; therefore, don’t expect it to be engaging, it is to be brief, clear and functional. Remember that you are writing it for you, so nobody else is going to read it.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of outlining your story?
Creativity goes a long way. That is why many writers can “go with the flow” and just swim wherever their mental stream takes them. And though it is a good thing to loosen up once in a while, you can’t rush into thinking the pantser way is the only way. There is no correct way of writing a novel. It’s up to the author and what best works for them. If you’ve ever thought about giving outlining a shot, then there are some pros and cons to take into account.
Upsides of plotting your story:
- makes your story keep on track
- helps you see the whole picture
- helps you organize the scenes
- helps you avoid writer’s block
- makes it easier for you to include specific things you ultimately want on your story.
- saves time
- simplifies the editing phase
Downsides of plotting your story:
- can end up in a stiff narrative
- when taken literally might limit the creative process
- might not make your characters look compelling enough.
What should be included in an outline?
It’s impossible, or at least unlikely, to find two outlines that are the same. Every writer has its own particular way to outline, and while for some of them every detail counts, others are good to go with a simple outline that only points out certain plot twists.
Depending on what kind of novel you are writing and other factors, your outline is going to include one or another additional element. However, there are basic aspects like the premise, the characters, the setting, and structural details that should be included in your outline.
As I said before, there’s not a wrong way of outlining, every writer knows what works best for them. So, don’t look at these suggestions as a straitjacket, but rather as a guide to help you in the outlining process.
So, without further ado, let’s get into it!
1. Craft your premise
The first thing you are going to work on is your premise. Your premise is kind of the main idea of your novel. It’s the basic idea on which you are going to build and develop your story. A good way to find your premise is asking what if… questions. For example: What if the world we live in and consider as a reality is actually a computer simulation? (The Matrix)
But since the purpose of the outline is to offer guidance, it’s not enough with a vague idea. Therefore, your outline is to begin with a detailed premise sentence that can answer these questions:
- Who is the protagonist?
- In which situation is the protagonist? How will that be changed? What’s their evolution in the story?
- What is their objective? What decisions will they have to make in order to achieve what they want?
- Is there something stopping your main character from achieving what they want?
- What is the main conflict of the story? And how will this conflict continue throughout the story?
- What’s the theme? What are you trying to say or convey?
Once you’ve answered these questions you can make sort of a summary of your story with all these important aspects. Try to combine them into one or two sentences.
2. Define the Setting
The setting (time, place) is an important part of your novel, and even as important as your characters. Your readers need to know the where and the when of what happens in your story.
This part has a lot to do with the kind of novel you are writing. If your novel is set in the real world, in the current times then you just need to get to know the specific place where the events are developed. Find pictures, videos, descriptions, and other materials to get familiar with the location.
Is your novel set in the past? In a futuristic or a fantastic world? Some settings will require much more work than others. This is called worldbuilding. Many authors, including me, enjoy this part, especially when they are creating a different world.
Picture your settings in your mind and describe them with as many details as possible. This has not only to do with the time and place, but also with some specific information that can make that period of time, or that world somehow different. If your story is a dystopia, think about: what led the world to that situation? What is now considered common in society? What has changed?
3. Create Characters’ Sheets
Working on your characters is actually one of my favorite steps. Something that can be very helpful is creating characters’ sheets. Imagine each one of your characters is a real person and visualize them. If you were to introduce them, what would you say about them? What details will you include? How will the evolution of your character be? Are they crucial to the story, or just serve as color and background?
Don’t forget about your characters’ past or backstories. What led them to their current situation? What elements of their past have influenced their personality? Taking this into account will surely make your characters look more compelling.
Consider all that we mentioned above and create characters’ sheets. If you are writing a novel with a significant number of characters at some point you’ll need to check some details for accuracy and coherence in your story, and that’s when characters’ sheets are useful.
If you still have some questions, you can check this blog post for a quick guide on characters and everything you need to know about them! I’m pretty sure you’ll find it useful.
4. Sketch Scene Ideas
So, once you have the premise, setting, and characters, it’s time to start working on the different ideas you might have in mind for your story. At this point you don’t need to think about how these ideas will come into the story or their order. Just start sketching them. Try to recall every idea you had for your story and add them to your list.
When you are done, you’ll probably have a bunch of ideas. So now it’s time to take a closer look at them, ask yourselves some questions, and highlight everything that might possibly be a plot whole. Is it difficult for you to picture the setting of some scenes? Don’t you know how two specific scenes connect with each other? Don’t you know how your character ends up in a specific situation? Consider all these aspects and that will save a lot of time afterward.
Now that you’ve thought and analyzed every scene idea and the thing as a whole, it’s time to work on the problems you spotted before. You can change some scenes or even delete them completely. Not only worry about the structure, but also let your creativity unleash, ask yourself if the reader would expect something like that to happen, and think of other ways to come up with something unpredictable.
5. Use your structure
As I said before, there are different types of writers and each author needs a more or a less detailed outline. I know people who need a 40-page outline with a complete synopsis of their story before putting fingers to key. There are others who could simply do with a couple details and plot elements to start writing their novel.
Whichever group you fall into, I’m not going to tell you how far you need to take your outline. But, what I can actually tell you is that even people that don’t need a detailed outline, follow story structure. So make sure that you are clear about all the big points a story needs and write them down in a list.
If you are new to story structure, we got you. Here’s your starter kit:
6. Fill in the gaps
Now you are finally ready to write your full outline. In the previous step, we sketched ideas and it was sort of a brainstorm, but now we are going to work more on the structure to make our story more solid. So, start arranging those scenes you got before into the different points of the list you created in the previous step.
Don’t only add scenes, but all ideas that come to your mind: settings, characters, creatures, piece of dialogue and whatever else comes to mind.
It’s up to you how much detail you want to add. Perhaps you are more comfortable writing a single sentence for each of your plot points (June, Luke and their daughter are trying to escape Gilead), or maybe you need to be more descriptive (June, Luke and her daughter are trying to escape Gilead crossing the border in Maine. They pay someone to take them up to some point and they almost manage to cross the border).
In this part, it can be difficult selecting what’s really central to the plot. Just bear in mind that you are not writing the story yet. So, write down only those details that are truly important. Ask yourself these questions: what is the outcome of this point? What obstacle should my character face? What is their main goal? What will be the fuel for the next one?
Work to create a solid structure and this will ultimately save you a lot of rewriting and keep you from getting writer’s block. Once you have this, you are ready to start writing your first draft and let your imagination fly.
7. Divide and conquer
Once the previous step is completed, you can add more detail. Again, this is entirely up to you. You can divide what you have into a chapter by chapter sequence, or a scene list.
The more detail you add, the easier it’ll get at the time of writing and editing.
Once you’ve gotten until the desired level of detail, you can start checking for plot holes, consistency, coherence, etc. through out the whole story.
8. Put your Outline into Action
By now, you should have finished your outline and should be eager to start writing your novel. Just read your outline before starting and keep it close whenever you are going to work on your story. Read the scene you are writing and the one that comes after that, to make sure you don’t miss anything you wanted to include.
An outline can become a great ally for writers, but don’t hesitate if the time comes (and it’ll come) and you come up with a better idea different from what you previously wrote in your outline. After all, it’s supposed to be a map for your story, not a fixed formula that you need to follow to the letter. So, take the risk and don’t be afraid to go off-script from time to time; it might turn into one of the most incredible or surprising parts of your novel.
Summing Up…
Although many authors are set against it, outlines can offer you invaluable guidance and help you with structure. And the truth is that if you haven’t tried it, perhaps you are missing an incredible tool.
Writing an outline is not as difficult as it might sound, and the good news is every person has a different way of outlining, so, despite the steps we’ve mentioned before, you are going to find your own personal way depending on what works for you.
Hope you found this post useful. Do you have any other doubts regarding the outlining process? I’ll read you in the comments.
