The Outline – Roadmap To Writing

There are two types of outlines: one you’ll send to a prospective publisher (formal) and one that’s a personal guide for your story (informal).
First we’ll talk about the informal type. No one ever has to see this outline, so adapt it to whatever works best for you. I begin by taking my idea and expanding it into scenes that follow my plot. As it grows and takes shape it can change many times. Remember to always allow plenty of room for notes.
EXAMPLE: I have a story idea, off the top of my head, about an alien crash landing on a NY rooftop.
Opener: Begin story at mid crash. NOTE: All action, utilize fear to freeze her momentarily before snapping back.
Scene 1: Guy investigates and finds beautiful (and, oh joy, a female) alien amid his rooftop garden.
Scene 2: She needs XY rock to get ship going again. NOTE: Found only in the Arizona desert
Scenes 3-23: They go in search of rock and fall in love on the way.
Scene 24: Does he stay; does he go? Will she stay; will she go?
Closer: They live happily ever after. NOTE: Add epilogue?
Obviously your outline will be more extensive than the example.
Many writers hate the idea of the outline. A few reasons to consider at least trying it would be: many publishers require one sent with your query letter, it can help you maintain focus when using several plot threads, and it can help you later when you find yourself floundering and lost within your plot.
An outline is not meant to constrain creativity. Never be afraid to deviate from your outline. Use it as a guide for focus only. Remember, there are a lot of roads out there and no one way to reach your destination.
Now for Formal Outlines: You’ve just written the great American (Chinese or Russian) novel. However, XYZ Publishing wants an outline of your book with your query letter.
Now What? Whether you wrote your novel using an outline or not, you may be splattering your favorite curse word about the room about now. Let’s face it, starting an outline from scratch may be just as difficult as making sense out of that stack of research, notes and scribbles you’ve used to write your novel.
Take heart, author. Creating an outline for a publisher is as simple as listing your chapters with short (one or two sentence) descriptions.
Example: (We’ll use our fictitious example from above)
Chapter One: The Eagle Has Landed.
Just when you thought it was safe to stroll through your NYC rooftop garden, a beautiful alien has the gall to use it as a landing strip.
The Catch: You knew there had to be one. The hard part is creating descriptions that will drive the publisher to request your manuscript. Best bit of advice I’ve found? Show them what’s in it for them and their potential readers.