Writing an outline?

I am asking this question because I am attempting to write a second book after my recent failure. To elaborate, when I was ten, I began writing. Naturally, I had no idea what I was doing, so I just jumped into the story. I finished writing it, but upon reading it, I realized that it had no coherence and almost no recognizable plot.

This time around, one year later, I have decided to write an outline before starting to write my book. I have many ideas for my book, but the only problem is that I have no idea how to write a comprehensive outline.

Any help would be much appreciated.

P.S. The reason why I want to write an outline, is because I experimented (due to my teacher's suggestion) with writing a story, after I planned it (just a few paragraphs summarizing where I wanted to go). I won't say that it was an excellent work of literature, because it wasn't, but it was significantly better than my first sojourn into writing.

So in conclusion, I think an outline really might work for me.

Thank you!

You are new I'm guessing. Well Welcome to YWS.

First off outlines are very useful. They make the writing process easier and they greatly decrease errors in plot and structure that you'll have to fix during the editing stages. When it comes to outlines it really depends on what fits you best. Some people just bullet point the major events and end up with two or three pages, like this.

*David goes to the store and is shot.
*David wakes up in the hospital to find out he will never walk
*Emily rushes to see David from cheating on him.
And the list goes on.

Some on the other hand like to have a much more detailed outline, that can span up to fifty pages or more.


Step 1-Write your title name and date on the first page.

Step 2-Outline your table of contents on the next page. A table of contents is a good starting point for a book outline. You can see your book at a glance and in logical order. You can do this after you've named all the chapters, which you might not do until you know all that is going to happen in the chapter.

Step 3-Outline your introduction in point form on a new page. Include your subject or book hook. A hook is a line that gets readers reading and keeps them reading more.


Step 4-Write the chapter name followed by 2 or 3 words that describe the content of that chapter.

Step 5-Write a short outline for each chapter of your book. Include a main statement from the chapter, followed by points covering major events or areas of the chapter. End the chapter outline with a concluding sentence. So if inclined to do so bullet point specific scenes within the chapters after the brief sentence summary.

Step 6-Include a conclusion at the end of your book outline. You want to tie up all loose ends if it is fiction. Make sure all your chapters lead to this conclusion. Include the purpose of your book. Everything you write should come back to this statement. So what are the major themes.

If you have any questions about this list pm me.

Hope I helped and good luck.

You could try a three-act dramatic structure, which goes roughly:

* Setup.
* Inciting incident, which kicks off the plot.
* Act one.
* Act one turning point, a climactic scene.
* Act two.
* Act two turning point, a climactic scene.
* Act three, encompassing a black moment at which all seems lost.
* Climax.
* Resolution.

And a few other structural points to think about:

* Subplots should mirror the main plot. When all is going well in the main plot, all should be going well in the subplots. When the main plot takes a sudden turn for the worse, that's when subplots should get worse too.
* Protagonists should face their worst fear, overcome their key weakness, and win using their greatest strength.
* The protagonist should drive the story by actively doing stuff. Not watching while other characters do stuff. Not sitting around thinking about stuff. Acting. Doing. Moving the plot forward. This goes double during turning points and triple at the climax.
* You might also like to look at this tension graph.

What I did, just to start off, was write out every scene in my head on a different index card. Then, I'd put the cards in rough order and see what was missing. I'd then fill in the blanks until I had a rough direction for the plot. Only after did I create a three-act structure and try to get any sort of structure to the plot.

I do recommend the three-act structure, though. Tends to make a story more natural in terms of progression of character growth and plot development. It was a great starting point. I don't recommend sticking to it ad verbatum, because then it gets limiting, but for a start it's fantastic.

Thanks everyone, this information has already proved extremely helpful.

Here's a step by step guide to planning a novel.
http://advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php