3 Powerful Ways To Outline Your Novel

I'm sure the pantsers have long since run away and avoided clicking on this article at all costs so I'm not too worried that those who are reading this are going to start arguing with me in the comments about how outlining ruins the idea of writing a novel. 

Outlining is not for everyone though I will always recommend that everyone tries it at least once to see if it can aid you in writing your novel. 

I personally believe that outlining is a crucial step in the writing process, but it's been given a bad reputation by those who believe outlining means that you have to have notes and diagrams and lines of string connecting each part of the story on a board that looks like it walked off the set of some detective drama.

For some writers, this is how they outline their novels, but for those who are looking for a simpler yet still powerful way to outline their novel then this article will explore three outlining methods so that you can find the one that works best for you.  

The Snowflake Method (Simplified) 

This method, developed by author Randy Ingermanson is one of the simplest ways to outline your novel that starts with a single sentence. 

Your novel is full of plot points, characters, action scenes and so many wonderful things that this first step will be the hardest of them all.

Narrow down your novel into one single sentence of who does what or what the main part of the book is about. 

• A school teacher takes her kids on adventures in a shrinking bus 
• A man goes on a journey to save his village from dragons
• A girl sees her parents murdered and vows to avenge them

Instead of focusing on all of the little details in your novel, it's time to narrow down what the big-picture snapshot of it looks like. 

Next, take that one sentence and turn it into a full paragraph. 

Yes, it can seem a bit silly to take the large picture, turn it into a small snapshot, and then expand it again, but by simplifying the main point of your novel you'll be able to build a clearer larger image than you may have had before. 

In this paragraph expand on story elements such as the names of your characters, the setting, the major events, and the ending of your novel. 

The final step to this simplified version is to turn this paragraph into a full-page synopsis and if you need it to be more precise break each event into individual scenes making your outline into a step-by-step process of how your characters get from where they begin to where they end. 

You can read the full (complicated) steps of this method in full here: https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/

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The Three-Act-Structure 

One of the most common ways for an author to outline their novel is by using the three-act- structure and while the final word of this method can make it seem a bit formulaic - structure - novels that use this method vary wildly. 

One of the greatest benefits of this method is that it can be as simplistic or as complex as you'd like to make it. 

The most simple way of explaining this story structure is:

• Act One: Get your protagonist up a tree

• Act Two: Throw rocks at him or her

• Act Three: Get them down again

-www.scriptreaderpro.com

Or:

• The Setup
•  The Confrontation
• The Resolution.

Act One: The Setup

This is where you introduce your characters, settings, and the inciting incident that brings your protagonists into the major conflict of the novel. Your first few chapters are where you are showing your reader the protagonist's ordinary life and what's important to them.

In your first act, you should have your inciting incident or the event that happens that sets your protagonist into motion with the major conflict. Another name for the inciting incident is your protagonist's call to adventure. What is getting them to leave the safety and comfort (or discomfort) of their everyday life? Remember what's at stake for them, what they will gain by answering the call of the adventure, and more importantly, what they stand to lose should they fail.

The risks may be great, but they have to be worth it to your protagonist for them to leave behind the world they know for the unknown.

Climax of Act One:

This is where your protagonist has no choice but to join the call to adventure no matter what the stakes may be. If they were on the fence about it, this is the event that pushed them over.

Act Two: The Confrontation

Each chapter in your second act should continue to raise the stakes for your protagonist leading up. Your protagonist is going to hit roadblock after roadblock and gain allies on the way. They start to change, grow, and become accustomed to the new world they've been thrown into

Midpoint: As said in the image above, this is your story's big twist. Usually, the event where things make a dive for the worst for your protagonists. The stakes have grown even more and they have to reevaluate who they are and make the changes necessary to achieve their goal.

Climax of Act Two: Although the stakes have grown, this is where the fight really comes from your protagonist and they start to make progress towards their goal. Your protagonist should be gaining confidence in who they are and keep fighting to gain as much progress towards the goal as they can.

Act Three: The Resolution

Here is where you're going to take the biggest rocks you have and start throwing them at your protagonist showing the strength of your antagonist. Act Three should have your protagonist at their lowest point right before the major battle/climax.

Climax of Act Three: Your protagonist and antagonist are going to meet in a head-on collision that will decide whether your protagonist will win or lose.

Denouement: This is where your protagonist faces the story's major conflict and has either won or lost and the conflict has reached its end. Tension fades away and the protagonist either rejoins their old ordinary world or they stay in the new world they have created on their journey."

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Reverse Outlining 

No one says that the outline of your novel has to be written before you write the novel. 

The first draft you write can resemble a puzzle you completed - in the dark. All the pieces are there, but they might not be in the right places or even the right order. 

With the reverse outlining method you take your already completed first draft and as the title suggests, reverse-engineer an outline from what you've already written. 

The goal of this method is to take all the ideas you've written and clean them up by having you identify key scenes, plot twists, and character arcs from the novel you already have. This helps you determine the important and necessary scenes in your novel and helps you sort them into a clear final image. 

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No matter which method you use to outline your novel - or if you even use an outline at all. This important takeaway from this article is that the writing process is something that is completely your own. You can choose to use one of these methods or bits and pieces from each of them. 

The important thing is that it works for you, your process, and your novel. 

Best of luck! 

With love, 

B.K. xo xo

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This story was originally posted on Medium.

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