STEP #1: BRAIN DUMP 

If there is one thing that I could magically convince every writer under the sun to do, it would be to WRITE DOWN EVERY SINGLE IDEA YOU EVER HAVE. Because you’ll forget at least some of them! What do you have to lose by brain-dumping your ideas in a secret hiding place for later? I’m amazed by how many times I return to my document of ideas and surprise myself with a really great thought I had that I TOTALLY FORGOT. But maybe this is just me??? Maybe you all are literal elephants?????

Either way, every outline begins with IDEAS. And the way I prefer to outline is NOT put my ideas in linear order (or any order at all hahaha) but instead just BRAIN DUMP EVERYTHING AS IT COMES TO ME. Yes, this makes a little more work in the long run, but if I have to think about where the idea fits into the rest of the story, then I LOSE THE THOUGHT. I forget. Or I’m just less motivated to write it down. I’M EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE OK.

But this is just me. Maybe your ideas come to you in linear order. Maybe you see your entire book in your head, start to finish, like a movie. If that’s the case, then just skip the next step because YOU GOT DIS ALL DAY BRO.

STEP #2: CHAPTER-TIZE

STEP #3: MAKE YOUR NOTES ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDABLE

This is the part where I take my jumbled mess of an outline and make it actually understandable. Depending on how you write, this might not even apply to you. But for me, IT’S REALLY NECESSARY. Because my notes usually repeat themselves and look something like this:

ALSO ALSO I want Miley and George to go swimming at some point….maybe there’s like a lake or something??? And it’s all golden and wholesome and summer-y. BUT BEFORE THAT HAPPENS Miley has to tell him how she really feels and also somehow clear up the thing about the phone call BUT IDK HOW HAHA

^ legit this is an accurate representation of how I write notes to myself. (Also that is just a mock-up YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD REALLY GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE INTO MY SUPER TOP SECRET NOTES? Muahahaha NO.) So I’ll take this messy idea for a chapter and turn it into something like this:

Miley and George go swimming at the lake. As they sit on the dock, they talk about the past week and Miley decides to clear the air about the phone call incident. She tells George that she actually really likes him, despite what all their friends think. George says that he feels the same way. Miley is relieved to finally be honest with herself and with others, instead of just a people-pleaser. They jump in the lake, and it is golden and wholesome and summer-y. End of scene.

^ SO MUCH EASIER TO UNDERSTAND. Now I have a clear idea of what exactly I’m going to sit down and write. But maybe you write clear and concise notes that need literally no revision to understand??? If so… CAN I BE YOU?

STEP #4: PAY ATTENTION TO CAUSE AND EFFECT

Does one scene make the next scene inevitable? That’s basically all cause and effect is. Just like in real life, something happens because of the decisions preceding it. Every character has to earn what they get and pay for what they lose. Otherwise there’s no consequences to actions and the plot is just a mess of distractions and digressions.*

But this should come naturally to you, as a human being of the good planet earth.** So don’t overthink it! Just pay attention to it. Like I said before, this isn’t about changing the plot of your story to cosmically align with another writer’s idea of a “good book” – this is about giving you a clearer sense of direction to write your story exactly how your heart desires. 

*KIND OF LIKE THE INNER WORKINGS OF MY BRAIN 

**unless you’re an extraterrestrial being from another planet??? but you probably still experience cause and effect so 😉 

STEP #5: EAT CHOCOLATE

THIS STEP IS SO IMPORTANT. I can’t even get past how important it is…just, wow. For the sake of your sanity, always have an endless supply of chocolate nearby. IT WILL SAVE YOUR NOVEL IT WILL SAVE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS IT WILL SAVE THE WORLD (indirectly but you know.)

STEP #6: CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Next, ask yourself: how does each chapter progress the story? This is where a lot of writers get confused and depressed because most people don’t realize that IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE JUST PHYSICAL PROGRESS. It can be emotional progress, too. In fact, I would go as far as to say that emotional progress is the most important. Plot is about what happens; but STORY is about how what happens affects the characters.

Stories are emotional. That’s why books where seemingly NOTHING happens still have an emotional effect on us. In fact, sometimes those stories are the ones to most emotionally DESTROY ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT. Which just goes to show that you don’t need an epic, adventurous, intricate plot. If you have that, cool! But what matters the most is: making the reader FEEL something.

So is there emotional progress in each scene of your novel? Does anyone’s feelings change or move forward? Does the scene give us particular insight into the character? If not, the scene did nothing for your novel. Change it up until you get some emotional shifts happening.

It’s super helpful to write the emotional changes into your chapter summaries – kind of like the snippet I shared up there. I wrote: Miley is relieved to finally be honest with herself and with others, instead of just a people-pleaser. SEE THE EMOTIONAL SHIFT HAPPENING HERE?? The plot doesn’t just move forward – the story does, too. Miley has a self-realization, which changes the outcome of the rest of the book.

STEP #7: READ YOUR OUTLINE

Before you sit down and start transforming that outline into an actual novel, you have to make sure the story flows. Just start reading and imagine it like a movie in your head. (PRO TIP: setting your outline aside for a few days BEFORE you read it will give you a fresh look at the story as a whole.)

Any major errors will jump out at you, but don’t worry about flawlessness. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT. This is the first draft and there will be many revisions. During any one of those future revisions you can edit anything your heart desires. The important thing to pay attention to when you’re reading your outline is gut instinct. Don’t overthink! JUST FEEL. If it feels smooth, it probably is smooth. There is no right or wrong way to outline or write or DO ANY OF IT. Follow your gut.

STEP #8: OH WAIT…YOU’RE DONE!

That’s all there is to it, my friend!* Outlining actually isn’t as tricky as it seems. A lot of people over-complicate it! Remember: no two writers are alike, which means you can’t be discouraged if a certain method or structure doesn’t work for you. YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN WAY OF DOING THINGS. I hope this post will serve you in all the good ways and help you to find your own style with ease. NOW GET OUT OF HERE! GO OUTLINE YOUR NOVEL! GO GO GO!!

BONUS: THE ONLY CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE YOU’LL EVER NEED

WOOOOOT LOOK AT THAT: you made it to the end of this post!! I LOVE YOU. *tosses buttered waffles in your general direction* For being so awesome, I grant you: my top-secret character questionnaire! I put this questionnaire together because I was SUPER OVERWHELMED by the amount of character questionnaires out there!! Which questions are ACTUALLY important? And which ones will have an impact on your story? Which questions are just stupid and irrelevant??

That’s why I curated this list for myself to use (and now for you to use!) including all the important questions and weeding out the lousy ones… and LET ME TELL YOU: THIS WORKS REALLY WELL. Just trust my magical genius and grab your copy would ya: 

TALK, BRO

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? AND ARE YOU FREAKING OUT?? Because I kind of am not gonna lie. How do YOU outline your novels? Do you have a specific method you always stick to? Do you have unpopular opinions like me and agree that we should STOP TELLING WRITERS HOW TO WRITE and instead guide them in the right direction and let them find their own way??? ALSO: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WRITING SNACK? Because I didn’t talk about food NEARLY ENOUGH in this post. 

rock on, 

abbiee