Writing Advice Roundup: Outlines
Image by Linda Eller-Shein.
When I was a kid, I could plop myself down anywhere with a pencil and a notebook and get whisked away into the story by the seat of my pants. This method doesn’t work so well for me anymore, so I like to start with a solid outline. I will sometimes get inspired as I write within the boundaries of that outline and invent something new — an unplanned twist in the story or even a new character — but having some kind of base structure helps me stay on track.
A note to discovery writers: In short, you do you! This info dump is geared toward those who want to outline before they write. I will say that, if you plan on publishing a manuscript that you’ve written without an outline, creating a reverse outline after the fact will help tremendously with edits and revisions. This free course from Reedsy can teach you how.
Podcasts
Writing Excuses 12.24: Creating Great Outlines
Writing Excuses 12.22: Hybrid Outlining and Discovery Writing
Writing Excuses 12.26: Q&A on Outlining and Discovery Writing
Articles
How to Outline a Novel: an Author’s Guide (with Template)
Helping Writers Become Authors: How to Outline Your Novel (series)
The Dan Harmon Story Circle (part of a fantastic story structure series)
Books