Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Being able to outline a book helps me see where the story is going. Because I spend time moving from one section to another, I’m less plagued by writer’s block and rarely get hung up on where to go with the plot. So, what do I do to structure those elements?
Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong if you’re a pantser. A lot of the greatest authors in history wrote by the seat of their pants and produced some great stories.
For me, outlining is a way to help me structure the story while remembering some of the crucial points I want to add to the book. It’s simply what works best for me.
What Do I Do When I Outline a Book?
Everyone has their own processes when it comes to planning out a book. There really is no right or wrong answer as long as it helps you finish the first draft.
So, I’m not saying that this is the end-all-be-all method for outlining. It’s merely what works best for me while writing my books.
Listen to Theme Music
Every book has a theme song. For the most part, I envision the book while the music plays as if watching a trailer or music video. During the song, I try to time certain parts of scenes to coincide with the lyrics or the music.
Then, I’ll put those bits into the book. This is more of a preliminary element as I often do this before I even dive too deep into the outline of the book itself.
I know, it makes me sound like a bit of a dork. But for me, it helps me clarify action sequences, love scenes, and more.
In fact, some books will have more than one song tied to them. Take my book, Shadows of Atlantic City, for example. The entire last chapter was plotted to accommodate the song, Sin City, by Meredith Brooks.
Outline in Brackets
When I outline, I use brackets to separate thought from story. This means that I keep the outline in the manuscript as I’m writing. When I finish a point I want to add to the story, I delete the corresponding bracketed comment.
For instance, I might have something like “[Jack picks up the cross. Charlie comments on its craftmanship.]” As soon as I detail that segment, I’ll delete the bracketed comment and start working toward the next.
I leave them in the manuscript as I’m writing so I can remember where I’m going with that particular part of the story. I am often interrupted or have to come back to the book much later for one reason or another. Without those bracketed points, I would have to spend more time figuring out where I was going in the story.
As it’s already in the manuscript, I don’t have to open another file or pinned document to see where the story was supposed to go. Before I actually start writing a book, I’ll have around 2,500+ words just in bracketed segments.
Going Chapter By Chapter
Lately, I’ve been using chapter-by-chapter outlines as a way to keep them focused. In the past, I would simply add a new chapter where I thought it would fit in the outline. However, some outlines just didn’t seem all that organized.
So, I’ll have the basic outline of the whole book to start, but then I’ll organize the chapters with outlines in a more logical fashion. Sometimes this means I have to change much of the outline to keep continuity throughout the story.
The end result is a book that is easier to follow. The last thing you want is your thoughts to be all over the map without a logical flow.
Each chapter needs to be a standalone part of the book with its own purpose. Kind of like the episodes in your favorite TV show, each one has a point that plays into the overall plot.
Visualize the Scene and What I Want to “See”
I write cinematically, meaning that I visualize what I would like to see if the book were made into a movie. These visualizations often make it into the outline of the book as I am putting it together.
This is beyond just seeing the scenes in my head when listening to a certain song. Yes, the theme song helps clarify quite a few things, but then I’ll sit and think about what I want to “see” in the mind’s eye.
To be honest, I probably should have been a director. And I am thinking about creating live-action videos of my books on YouTube.
Anyway, I visualize what happens throughout the book, which helps me put together a logical flow of the story. I also act out some of the scenes and dialogue to avoid writing something cringey while making it more realistic.
Add “Cool” Dialogue
I often think of awesome dialogue while doing other things. So, if you hear me talking in the shower, it’s because I’m working out a piece of dialogue that I would love to have in the book.
Sometimes, I’ll think of something that sounds cool that isn’t even pertaining to the book of which I’m currently writing. I’ll often put those lines in their own document for later use.
As for the current work-in-progress, I add lines of dialogue to bracketed sections so I remember some of the things I want characters to say that are either impactful or profound to the plot in some way. Because my imagination is always in overdrive, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to get the story to that point.
For instance, the line, “You owe me five gold,” from Diemos toward the end of Kingmaker was in a bracket before I finished writing chapter one. You’ll have to read the book to understand the significance, but it was essentially a throwback to something that happened toward the beginning of the story.
Names Can Come Later
I often create scenes without having character names in them. Sometimes, I’ll even write out the entire outline of a story before I actually put names to the characters. Well, at least for the secondary characters, anyway.
So, I usually have something like, “[Elf ranger picks up the hide.]” Then, I’ll add names to them as the story unfolds. In fact, there was an unnamed character in Kingmaker who wound up getting more of a backstory because beta readers didn’t want him to be a “red shirt.”
Yes, that was a Star Trek reference.
My point is that not every character needs a name when you outline the book. All of those details come later once the story is plotted and you begin writing.
Notes to Myself
When outlining, I often leave notes for myself in those brackets as a way to remind me of writing or describing something of importance. Or, I’ll remind myself that I need X, Y, and Z set up for the scene.
After the first draft, I’ll often read through and then leave comments that a scene needs a bit more structure or perhaps not to forget a plot device.
This is because I don’t want to spend too much time getting hung up on one segment of the outline. I know that over time, I’ll have all of that information worked out as I write.
Something else I’ll do is leave notes to myself in brackets of things I want to adjust or change after the first draft is done. Then, I’ll read through the story and fix those parts before handing it off to the beta readers. It’s kind of like my first round of edits before anyone gets a look at the story.
You Don’t Have to Plot the Entire Book
Outlining doesn’t mean you have to plot out the entire manuscript. You could add a few comments to yourself about certain scenes or characters and then just write. I know some authors whose outline consists of two or three sentences per chapter in the book.
Theoretically, you could create a single line of text to outline the structure of the beginning, middle, and end of your manuscript.
As I said earlier, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to getting your idea on paper or on screen. The whole point is to get the first draft written regardless of the method. Whatever helps you to write, that is the best method for you.
My outlines tend to get quite elaborate, and unlike a few authors I know, I quite enjoy plotting out the scenes. It’s kind of like giving me a teaser of what is to come. And since I love everything I write, the outline gets me excited about the story I’m about to tell.
The point here is that you don’t have to fill up several pages in Word to plot out the story. You could simply have an idea of how you want the book to start or end and then go from there.
My Outlines Often Change
As I write, the outline of the book often changes. That’s because something will happen or the characters will do or say something unexpected that changes the story. Then, I’ll go through and adjust the future outlines to reflect those changes.
It may sound tedious to some, but for me, it’s a way of sustaining continuity. Keep in mind that my memory isn’t as good as it used to be, especially with how much I have going on throughout any given week. When those changes happen, I need to make adjustments immediately.
Kingmaker is a much different book than its original outline structure. Although the ending was always going to happen the way it did, there were a lot of changes in those last few scenes because of earlier interactions.
This goes to show that even if you outline the book, you’ll undoubtedly make changes because of how the story unfolds. You could introduce a new character, kill someone off for effect, or come up with a line of dialogue that will ultimately impact the ending.
So, just because you plot or outline the book, it doesn’t mean those elements are set in stone.
What Inspires Scenes In Your Novel?
When I outline a book, music probably plays the greatest role. It’s not because it’s background ambient sound, but how I would incorporate that music into a scene if I were making a movie.
Remember, I write cinematically and try to get others to see what I’m seeing in my head.
We all have things that inspire scenes and characters. All that matters is that we’re able to get the story out. The fun part is in the editing.
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