How I Outline
If you follow my blog, you know that I sometimes include writing tips. I’ve kinda gotten away from that, but now I’m back! And here’s what motivated me to get back on track, a podcast! My author friend Morgan Wylie has a great podcast called The Lotus Bloom and I was a recent guest on her It’s Time to Write segment. It was SO fun! I did a bit of rambling, but mostly I shared tips on outlining. And here’s how I outline!
But first, let me begin by saying when I first started writing, I didn’t outline. I was a pantser, meaning I wrote by the seat of my pants '“stream of consciousness” style. And when I finished the first draft of my first book, I quickly learned that I needed some sort of outline. lol An outline helps with pacing, helps avoid the saggy middle, and helps with character arcs- just to name a few benefits. While some writers take the time to craft meticulous outlines, I’m not one of those writers. So when I went to a local writer’s meeting, which just so happened to be on outlining, I was blown away by a method taught by the amazing Lynn Lorenz that I could actually commit to! The method, which I call the grid method, was simple and easy. An here it is…
If you look at the grid, you’ll see it’s designed for a twenty chapter book. Depending on what you write, you can shorten this grid, or make it longer. Just make sure it’s balanced. You’ll want to write in each square a scene one sentence and a scene two sentence. So you’re operating on two scenes per chapter. Here’s an example using my Havenwood Falls High novella, Saving Infiniti.
Chapter One
Scene 1-Fleet gets order from Tavion to follow Infiniti to Breckenridge
Scene 2- Fleet meets ghost girl Abigail who warns of Infiniti’s importance
By the end of chapter one, you want to establish a sudden change in the main character’s world. This is also referred to as an inciting incident. So here, there are two sudden changes. First, Fleet is reassigned from his regular task of hunting Dominique and now has to follow Infiniti. Second, Infiniti is now a known person of importance.
Chapter Two
Scene 1- Infiniti is on flight with mom, and plane almost crashes
Scene 2- Plane makes emergency landing in a different destination
You continue with scene one, scene two for each chapter. To make sure you keep the stakes high, you’ll have a turning point at each fifth chapter. A turning point is where the main character makes a decision or does something he or she can’t change or turn back from. It’s important to note that you want the main character to be active. You don’t want something to just happen to them. The main character is always driving the plot.
And then, at chapter eighteen, you’ll have the beginning of the climax with the tear-jerker black moment. And then, finally, the happily ever after (HEA) or happy for now (HFN) resolution at the end.
I LOVE this grid because it allows for flexibility and movement within your story. I’ve had grid outlines I’ve pretty much followed to a tee. But other times, I’ve had characters take over and veer so far off grid, I’ve had to do another grid. But all in all, the point here is the value of an outline. You just need to find the outline method that works for you. And this one is a great one. Good luck, and happy writing!