This is going to be the hardest part of the planning process but it’ll make organizing your book easier. There are numerous ways to do your outline but I’ll show you a vague one here.
Plot Summary
The first thing you’ll need is a plot or basic concept. This is basically a summary of how you
want
your book to be. It should consist of at least:
One or two sentences for the intro — How does that story start?
Two to five sentences for the main part of the story — What happens? How was it triggered?
What can stop it? What can progress it?
Two sentences on how it ends — How did the event end and why?
Cliffhanger or a hint that there will be a second book if applicable — What is the new trigger?
Example:
(Start) Two people meet at a movie premier for Spiderman. They nerd out together and realize that they have a lot in common. (Main) The male main character starts to date the female main character and notices strange quirks about her. She has a large collection of pet spiders and as their relationship gets serious, he gets less comfortable with them being around. The spiders are allowed to roam the house and he often wakes up with them crowded around him but the female main char passes it off as them being “friendly”. He soon realizes that she’s a bit insane and breaks up with her. She tells him she’s pregnant and so he stays with her reluctantly. As her due date nears, he sees no change in her physical appearance but she grows more and more aggressive. (Climax) One night, when they’re at home planning their Halloween party, she goes into labor two months earlier than expected. He notices the spiders are growing increasingly active but his main worry is her getting the help she needs. He goes to get towels and when he comes back, she’s shape shifted into a giant black widow and their “baby” exits her body as a spiderling. (End) She attacks him and kills him and the other spiders devour his body and leave no evidence. (Sequel or Cliffhanger) She reports him missing and the police just assume he didn’t want to take care of his own child and left town so they blow it off. Three months later she attends a Halloween party dressed as Spiderwoman and picks up a new guy.
Obviously, the example was pretty bad, but it gave me the premises of what I’d build my story on. I can now begin to build the next portion of my outline.
Remember:
You do not have to stick to your summarized concept. If you get halfway into the story and your creative mind tells you to write a different ending, then write a different ending. This is just to help you build your story. It doesn’t have to be full sentences. You can write it in bullets or jot down words that trigger ideas in your head.
Setting and World Building
Once you’ve gotten the basic gist of what you want your story to be, you’ll need an actual setting. Here are a few things that might apply to your manuscript. Not all of them will fit into your story depending on the genre.
Era and History — What time period is your story based on?
Geography — Where will it happen? What kinds of plants grow there?
Characters — Different types of inhabitants, creatures, and monsters
Skills, Magic, and Abilities
Culture and Religion
Clothing — Make sure it's appropriate for the time period.
Political Agenda and Hierarchy — What is it and how does it work?
There are lots of other things we can add to this list, but this is just to get you started. Keep in mind that you don’t have to have all of these elements in your story. For the story example I gave above, I’d consider it a science fiction, romantic fantasy horror in a modern day setting, so I wouldn’t need to include politics or culture unless they were important for my story to progress.
Using my summary from above, here is a miniature example of what I’d put down just for a quick reference. It’s nothing fancy but it’s enough for me to know what location traits I need to focus on.
New York — Late '90s to early 2000s
All humans except for the shape-shifting woman and spiderlings
Important places in the story
Female MC's apartment: Large, uptown, clean
Male MC's apartment: Small, shady location, shabby building
Movie Premier: Very nerdy, lots of cosplay, special screening
Madison Square Garden: Halloween party, live bands, public access
Characters
Organizing your characters is important to keep your story consistent. You should always take time to give your characters good traits and bad traits. This would be a great time to open up Excel or Google Sheets to keep track of things. If you’d prefer to do a traditional outline, it’ll probably get pretty lengthy. Below is an example using my two main characters.
Name: John Doe
Age / Sex: 23, Male
Height and Build: 6'1, average, toned but not athletic
Occupation: Bank Teller
Flaws or Weakness: Clingy, no family support
Strengths: Responsible
Personality: Respects everyone equally
Name: Jayne Doent
Age, Sex: 21 // 300-year-old shape-shifter, female
Height and Build: 5'5 with hourglass shape, slightly overweight
Occupation: Employee at local pet store
Flaws or Weakness: Allergic to bug spray
Strengths: Can shape-shift, really good at knitting
Personality: Upbeat, stays calm under pressure
Remember:
You can choose to include other characteristics (eye and hair color, hobbies, etc.) if they are going to be important. You want well rounded characters that your readers can visualize, but you don’t want to info dump or include unimportant information. This is your story, you can do what you want with your characters. However, it’s best to research your targeted audience.
Breakdown of the Plot
Do you recall the summary you wrote earlier? Great! Now we’re going to pick it apart and break it down by chapters. Don’t get hung up on chapter names at this point, they aren’t important and they’ll make you feel tied down to one idea. When I’m writing and doing an outline, I usually just name the chapter after the character or place it’s based on. You can also opt to just use “Chapter #” if you’re not into naming your chapters.
Putting It All Together
Your outline does not have to be perfect. It serves as a guideline for what you’re going to do with your story. You can change it at any time or create a new one if needed. Don’t get too caught up in unnecessary specifics unless you feel like you’ll forget them later
