How to Outline a Novel : for the Planners, the Pantsers, and All of us In Between
- Jerrica Black
- Feb 25
- 9 min read
Why Outline Your Novel At All?
My biggest reason for suggesting an outline is to get the thoughts out of your head. By creating an outline (no matter how detailed) you can focus on the task at hand (like writing this scene) rather than continuing to be distracted by all the other scenes and ideas you want to write. You can have the basic idea down somewhere, so you don’t have to worry about remembering it.
An outline also helps you see issues and holes before you get to the writing part. Do you have conflict? Fleshed out characters? A solid setting? A reason the story happens right now? A vibe? Theme? Tone? You get the idea. An outline can create a deeper understanding of your story; turn it from a vibe or single plot point into something more.
Having a place to store details can help keep things straight. Consider the spelling of names and places, characters appearances, location specifics… You’d think you’d have these locked away, but the amount of times I have switched name spelling, hair or eye colour, or where the rocking chair sits in the middle of a story, is too many to think this doesn’t matter! And I know I’m not the only one.
I can feel the pantsers freaking out, so let me remind you that I dabble in discovery. There are outlining styles that can absolutely work for you because they take a discovery writing format. So let’s talk about how outlining may look for our different writing methods.
How Outlining a Novel Might Look Different
How outlining might look different for meticulous outliners versus discovery writers and everyone in between (or planners, pantsers and plantsers if you prefer). It mostly comes down to how much detail and structure you put into it. And some may argue about what constitutes an outline versus being “just some notes” but I will die on this hill for the pantsers!
A pantsers outline may consist of a few sentences or a short bulleted list. Maybe it’s just some character and setting descriptions. It might be the most basic plot summary. And it might have some missing pieces waiting to be discovered! To me, this is still an outline. These bare bones notes still accomplish the “getting things out of your head” goal, even if they don’t entirely satisfy a planned plot, fleshed out characters, or a well-defined setting.
A meticulous planner will have pages and pages of world building notes, character sheets, a full scene list, a timeline pinpointing every obstacle, failure and success. They likely have information in their notes that will never end up in the written work, but they feel the need to know it, and be able to reference it, in order to inform their writing. Some may consider parts of this outline to be something other than an outline the way a discovery writer’s bare-bones isn’t enough to be an outline. And you may call them character pages, a world bible, setting studies… but the planning and outlining all gets bundled together in my mind!
In the middle of these two are many variations with more or less and different types of detail. And a more standard outline you might say. I think the quintessential outline fits in here which is a structural outline, one that simply lays out the key story elements from exposition up to climax and back down to a resolution (or something other similar form of story structure). Or it might follow and emotional structure instead a la Vonnegut. Maybe they have some world-building and/or character info on the side; maybe they don’t. This is where I think most writers fall; they figure out what information they need to write down and how they like to have it available.
But that doesn't help someone with little to no experience in outlining! So let’s look at some styles, which are best for what kind of writer, and how each writer can use aspects of them to find their personalized sweet spot.
But just a quick message before we get to that…
Mixing and matching is encouraged! You don’t have to choose one style of outlining and stick to it. And some of these work best when used in tandem with another.
(I’m going to do a video walking through my outlining process so you can see some middle of the road, mixing and matching in action!)
These are simply starting places for those that feel a little lost in how to begin their outline!
Structural Outlining
We’ve talked about story structure before (and there are so many more coming) and I believe this to be one of the simpler and most standard forms of outlining. We were taught the idea of beginning, middle, and end from the early days of writing, and this style of outline really leans into that. You could even use that as your structure!
This is one of the outlining styles that I think is great for every level of planner to pantser because it offers structure but doesn't require great detail.
How it works:
Step One - Choose a structure: think Three-Act, 15 Beat, Classic Roller Coaster, Hero’s Journey, etc.
Step Two - Fill in the key components.
For example using classic story structure you will outline the exposition, inciting incident, a list of events for the rising and falling actions, the climax and the resolution. You can do this with bullet points, a chart, summary paragraphs, whatever way makes sense to you.
Discovery:
A discovery writer may simply opt for a simpler structure (beginning, middle, & end; classic roller coaster) or go light on the details in more expansive structures.
Outliner:
An outliner is more likely to choose a structure with more components (15-beat, hero’s journey) and they may have some extra notes on the side for character, setting, motifs, etc.
Elemental Outlining
Rather than choosing a structure, you may focus on key story elements. This offers an outline which has a wider focus. Structural outlining is very plot-based where elemental outlining reminds you to flesh out characters and setting too.
How it works:
Start with notes for each character, setting, and plot. These can further be broken down; that will look different for each writer, but some suggestions are as follows:
Character - each character with appearance, personality quirks, and narrative purpose; family trees; relationship webs; and explorative vignettes or character studies.
Setting - more specific settings, politics, culture, important scenes, significance to characters, physical descriptions, vibe descriptions, keywords.
Plot - timeline, sub plots, key events, main conflict, obstacles, solutions & failures, backstory, (you may still use structural outlining, in fact).
Discovery:
Easily just three sections with some jot notes. Maybe a quick description of each character to keep things straight. Less likely to break the main elements down further.
Outliner:
Fully broken down details. The plot is likely to have a full list of scenes with key points, lists of characters present, location description and plot point. Characters are more than a bulleted list and have character studies or questionnaires. Setting includes all the world building you could possibly need.
Visual Outlining
Visual outlining relies less on lots of words and more on visual representation. There are two main forms: mind maps and movable pieces (like index cards or sticky notes). This form of outlining is more free-form, lending itself more to discovery writers, especially if you aren’t mixing and matching with other forms of outline.
Mind maps can be used nicely with an elemental style and movable pieces tend to be more plot-based and structurally driven.
How it works:
Mind maps feel the most malleable and leave a lot of room for jumping around. You can start anywhere, but I think it lends itself well to an elemental style with a bubble for each character, plot, and setting and then break off from there however you see fit. This allows you to reveal connections while you outline attaching setting to characters and marking where plots and sub-plots intertwine.
Movable pieces lends itself well to a more structure-based layout where you can use a story structure or storyboard to set your scenes. This allows you to easily change the order by psychically moving the stickies or index cards, and play around with the consequences of that.
Visual outlining feels more playful and less rigid.
Discovery:
Just start writing things on pieces of paper or in bubbles. Attach things as you see connections. Fill in gaps when ideas hit. The fluidity of this style is perfect for you since it is easily changeable without having to start all over again.
Outliner:
Best used as a supplement to other outlining styles. It can help to have a more visual layout. You may use mind-mapping as a way to work out your ideas before turning them into something more structural. This is likely more of a planning step than a final outline for you.
Method Outlining
I have very little experience with any traditional or structured method of outlining, but I do think these work best for writers on the more planner side of the spectrum. They are structured in how you move through them and tend to be more on the detailed side. These methods offer a sort of walk-through and offer planning and idea generation as well as outlining.
How it works:
Honestly? Find a guide and follow it. Consider the Snowflake or Bookend method or try searching for an outlining template. The key is finding something that has structure created for you rather than having to find your own structure. This is best for those that are looking for elements of outlining that work for them: the inexperienced outliner looking for structure and guidance.
Discovery:
In general, this is not the best option for you. Discovery writers want flexibility in their outlining (if they outline at all!) It might be helpful as a starting point, particularly something that walks through start to finish because that’s kind of like discovery writing lite. Or something with a little less structure or detail like the bookend method which leaves the middle open to be discovered but offers a destination to aim for.
Outliner:
This is your wheel house! Structure abound and many details accounted for. The best part of using an established outlining structure is that it’s easy to replicate and modularize. Meaning you can find what works for you, alter what doesn't, and then you’re set for life with your own personal outlining strategy. For the in-between this allows you to decide how much detail you actually want to provide within this structured process.
Just-Write Outlining
Just write! But not the whole story. This is another style of outlining that lends itself well to a discovery writer since it generally lacks structure and also leaves room to discover throughout the creation just at a content only level. There are a few ways to go about it, but the main idea is getting some sort of summary on paper. The difference lies in the organization of your ideas.
How it works:
Just start writing but focus on ideas not prose.
Depending on how much organization you want…
The Braindump - simply jot things down as they come to mind in any order with no discretion. The ultimate “get it out on paper” outline.
The Summary - in short paragraphs outline the story. You may choose to do a quick summary of the whole thing and/or little summaries of each beat or each chapter.
The Skeleton - a more structured and brief version of a summary organized by headings and subheadings like: “Chapter I: Scene iv - Harris buys the ring,” or “Rising Action: Obstacle 3 - Jenny misses the bus.” Very timeline vibes.
Discovery:
More disorganized. More as the thoughts come. Less structure driven.
Outliner:
More structured. Still allows thought-flow, but has a place for every thought.
Hopefully having a little framework for your outlining process will help you on your way to planning a well structured and written story! Of course, this is aimed at those writing novels but any narrative writing could benefit from an outline using these outlining styles: short stories, memoirs, travel books… why not?!
A final word of advice: just because you have an outline, doesn’t mean you can’t stray from it! If you start writing and realize there are errors or simply changes you want to make, that is totally fine! In fact, there’s a whole other step come editing time to account for this called reverse outlining! And you can always update as you go if you’re one of the more organized or particular sorts.
I’d encourage you to check out some of the other blogs around planning and structuring your stories like the story elements and structure series’ (more coming, they’re not exactly series yet :P). As always, if you have any thoughts or questions please leave them for me in the comments! I’d love to discuss.
Jerrica is a writer and editor who inspires up-and-coming writers to create compelling fiction and creative nonfiction works while providing them with the confidence to do it themselves or ask for a helping hand when they need it. She enjoys speculative fiction, horror and gut-wrenching emotion with a side of food & drink and the cozier things in life.
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