Outlining (or Not Outlining) a Fiction Story
- joroamsthenorth
- Feb 21
- 8 min read
Updated: Feb 25
Important: this post is about outlining a fiction story. Nonfiction writing may require a slightly difference technique.
To the Point (aka Executive Summary):
What kind of brain you have determines what type of outline you’ll find useful
You may have to experiment with outlining methods until you find what works best for you
Using proper spelling and basic grammar is important
Remembering that the complicated, nitty-gritty grammar “rules” are more like guidelines than actual law is also important
It’s your blinkin’ story. Someone will always have a criticism. Write the book how you want it written
Outlining: Essential Details & Basic Methods
Now you’ve gone and done it. You’ve had a story idea and are committed to writing it. You are determined to set out on this arduous and excruciating yet fulfilling journey. But how, in the name of all that is wonderful, do you go about writing it? How do you keep the long series of events straight? The answer, my ambitious friends, is an outline.
An outline is like a timeline of events that will occur in the story from start to finish. It’s a good visual to have in your author arsenal. The outline helps you keep track of the order of scenes to reference later in the story—or if you realize you need to adjust said events while editing. It is especially useful when you have multiple subplots woven into the main plot.
How are you going to create this wonderful device? Well, deciding whether to actually use an outline, and how you’ll use it, depends entirely on what kind of brain you have. I give summaries of them below. These types are made up by me, and the labels are simply how I frame the differences.
Brain 1: Pre-writing outliner. You must create a formal outline before starting or you will die. It reveals a linear sequence of events from start to finish. You can adjust it as necessary, but you must establish this framework. To quote Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, you’re all about “Order and method.”
Brain 2: Post-writing outliner. You have one or two specific scenes envisioned (or an exciting or intriguing opening scene) and nothing else. The entire book will revolve around these scenes. You don’t care about taking time to make an outline. In fact, such a thing restricts your creativity. The sequence of events will form naturally as you write. Put another way, you will discover as you write. Only once you have the first write-through finished will you go back and outline.
Brain 3: Hybrid. All you have is a key scene in your mind. From this point, you outline backward and forward until you have the entire story sequenced.
If you’ve perused the internet about anything writing-related, then you likely came across people who insist there is only one way to perform a specific writing-related task. For example: only write in active voice! First off, steady on. There’s no need to become so excited or aggressive. Another example: don’t write male/female characters like (fill-in-the-blank).
Bloody heck. At the very core of the issue is the fact that the story you’ll be writing is your story. Write it however you want. There will always be someone who thinks you “should have” done this or that differently. They can go stick pencils up their nostrils then write their own book. Everyone has their own creative preferences.
That said, using basic, proper grammar is important. What do I consider basic grammar? Correct spelling and using the correct word describing what you mean. Such as: using there, their, and they’re properly. These have distinct differences and refer to separate things. Using one incorrectly changes the literal meaning of a sentence.
Now, after having completed some rather intensive proofreading research, I’ve learned that many of the so-called rules aren’t black and white. They’re a matter of preference. Example: ending sentences with a preposition. When I learned the history of this alleged rule, I was, honestly, quite peeved.
What matters the most in terms of these kinds of grammar rules is consistency. If you’re going to spell “gray” with an “a,” ensure you keep to that decision throughout the story.
The Logistics of Outlining
Righto. At the starting point, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a pre- or post-writing outliner. Why? You’re ready to get writing. That’s all that matters! Wrong-o, my wonderfully excited compadre. You’ll know why the very instant you try writing.
Before you type or write that first word, you need some basic information. Like countless activities in life, one doesn’t simply snap their fingers and instantly do a task. More often than not, logistics is necessary. For example, if you want to make homemade tacos for dinner, you don’t just make tacos. You need your ingredients and cookware. The secondary filling ingredients need to be prepared, the meat cooked and seasoned, and so on.
Before actually writing, you need to figure out some basic details. Before actually writing, you need to figure out some basic details. Why before? Because your writing progress will occur in fits and starts as you stop to think about or search for necessary information. Instead of the wonderful act of writing flowing forth, it will stutter—kind of like when you have the hiccups. It's irritating and disallows you from submerging into the story itself.
Basic essential details generally include:
Main character(s) name(s) and names for any nonessential characters in the opening scenes and chapter
Basic physical descriptions and a rough idea about personalities (although not always essential at this moment)
Name(s) for place or places mentioned in the first scene/chapter
Location of the opening scene (is it a real place or a location in a fantasy realm? These are important so that you can provide the reader basic descriptions so they can orient themselves)
The point of the first scene or chapter (in fact, every sentence, scene, dialogue exchange, and chapter should have one)
The main point of the entire book (this gives you a fixed point to look at mentally and remember as you write)
Outlining: The Pre-writing Outline
At this point, you may be thinking, “For goodness’ sake, Jo, how do you actually outline!?”
Yes, yes. We’re getting there…now. <Puts hands on hips and gazes dramatically into the distance> (I can't use *'s to bracket the action due to coding reasons).
I’m mostly a post-writing outliner with a sprinkle of hybrid. My brain is in love with abstraction. It also thinks entirely in images and cinematic-like movies. This makes writing clearly and concisely about what I mean exceedingly difficult. However, I understand that everyone’s brain isn’t like mine. As such, I will try to break down my vague process and force it into a linear-ish style outline for you concrete-thinking readers.
This method may not work for you. Hopefully, at the least, it will give you a foundation or outline to go from. From here, you can figure out what works best for you.
Step:
Get some blank paper or a dry erase board (multiple boards are my favorite).
Write down the basic information such as main character names and descriptions.
Picture the final, big climax or consider the main point of the entire book.
In a sentence or two, write about what happens in this climax or what the point is.
Now ask: how are you getting there and how are you showing it?
Think about some scenes that are cool, dramatic, interesting, or difficult for the character. You don’t have to figure it all out now. These are merely some ideas you can link together and push the plot through and forward.
Consider some key dialogue exchanges. What are the absolutely necessary pieces of information the reader needs to know about the main plot? If the plot is about stopping a bomb from detonating, then key information can include: time, place, method of transport for the bomb, method of detonation, person or people responsible and their locations.
Now, start thinking about how you could drop this information or hints of it along the story to create a rough timeline. Also insert the interesting scenes from Step 6.
Additional ideas and insights will come to you as you do this process. Add these to the timeline to give the story more substance.
Also begin thinking about what kind of character development you want your character to experience (if any). Pivotal moments of this development can become the point of some of those exciting scenes and/or key dialogue exchanges. Of course, you can also use dramatic moments not for the excitement in itself but for inflicting emotional damage upon the reader (more on this in another post).
Continue muddling about and adding details until you feel you can begin writing.
Once you are satisfied with the initial outline content, you might rewrite it in a format that suits you better. I prefer to have a very visual outline (hence dry erase boards or pages taped onto a wall). It’s easier for my brain to identify or work through problems if it can see everything at once.
The singular challenge of a story is telling it in the most interesting way possible. This holds the reader’s attention and keeps them hooked. Such a struggle can increase if you write epic-length novels.
Stuck on the Basics
If you become stuck on basic outline details, you have four immediate options:
Take a break and return to the issue later
Leave it blank, begin writing, and fill in the information as the story unfolds
Refuse to leave it alone, find some inspiring music, and let your mind go on a little adventure until it creates the necessary information or solves the problem
Cry
That is the basic information I can think of for outlining. In a way, having one key scene or only a vague idea of the plot is easier to start with. Stories can very much take on a life of their own. Trying to force it to conform to a prewritten outline can make the tale feel unnatural and rigid like a penguin in a straightjacket.
It’s also impossible to think of every last detail beforehand. Oftentimes, once you begin writing, settle into the characters, and get a feel for the story, your mind will see the next chapter and its events linearly. Think of it as like driving through thick fog. You can’t see a mile down the road. However, as you go, the path immediately in front of you clears twenty feet at a time.
That’s all for this post! I hope it was helpful. Future posts will include topics like: character development, handling characters who have their own ideas for the plot, writing dialogue in interesting ways, proofreading, and how to cope when all you feel like doing is crawling under your desk and crying.
See you next time!
Random Endnote
If you’re embarking on your first story-writing adventure, you may be surprised just how long a person can spend name-hunting for the right character or place name. I’ve spent literal days doing this. Before you realize it, your search for one name has spiraled into a quest for a collection of names to be hoarded for future books. It’s okay. You have unknowingly transformed into a cute little dragon. Instead of gathering shiny coins, you collect sparkly nouns for undetermined projects which may never come to fruition. But it’s important to be prepared, anyway.
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