Beginner’s Guide to Outlining a Novel
Dear Fellow Writer,
When writing a book, there are no “perfect” or “correct” outlining techniques that work for everyone. More loose outlines for some authors make work better because they feel they have more room to change and arrange things as they progress through the story. On the other hand, some writers prefer to be more detailed in their outline upfront so that they know where they are going in their novel.
Today, I am sharing a beginner’s guide to outlining by describing three outline methods that authors often employ in their writing.
(Side note: much of this information I gleaned from other experienced authors, writers and bloggers. I have their blogs and articles linked below for more information!)
Three Outline Methods
The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey is an outlining method that is a bit more detailed and geared toward a more adventurous or fantastical novel. As stated in the title of this method, the hero embarks on a journey. Similar to the Three-Act Structure, this method splits the story into three separate parts.
The first part is often considered the “departure” or the “separation.” In this portion of the novel, the hero departs from home or the place they once knew after receiving a call to leave, often refusing the call, and finally accepting the call and departing.
The next part of the Hero’s Journey is called the “Initiation.” The hero, after departing on their quest or journey, must face trials and grow as characters. They will meet other characters, some friends and some foes. The hero will grow and change, preparing themselves for the “final fight” or “climax” of the story.
The final portion of the Hero’s Journey is the “Return.” In short, the hero returns home, often excited but they are changed by their experiences and need to reintegrate themselves into the lives they once had.
Three-Act Structure
The Three-Act Structure is an outlining method that splits the novel, naturally, into three parts. The first act is the exposition. Readers are introduced to the setting and the world of the book.
Act Two kicks off after the inciting incident and the stakes begin to rise. The story and characters are developed alongside the rising action of this act.
Finally, Act Three is when the action reaches a “climax” or the “peak moment” of the novel. The rest of Act Three then follows the falling action and either ties up the novel in a nice bow or leaves the reader on a cliffhanger for another book.
The Snowflake Method
The Snowflake Method is the most foreign method to me personally, but it is helpful to writers who want to feel more in control as they outline their novel. This method begins with an idea and then expands and gets more detailed like drawing a snowflake (hence the name).
This method can be divided into 9 steps:
- Write a one sentence hook of the Novel
- Make this hook or summary into a paragraph. (In this section, segment out the story into three main “events” or “disasters”).
- Create your characters
- Expand each sentence of Step Two into one paragraph or section
- Write Character Descriptions
- Expand each paragraph from Step Four into a One-Page Summary
- Get more detailed with Character Descriptions
- List your Scenes
- Create Scene Summaries
- Write your Book
Those are three common outline methods that range from both more loose to detailed. And there are plenty more methods out there if none of these speak to you. Or you can always just try out methods or go off the cuff to make your own method!
Sincerely,
Katie (a fellow writer)
P.S. Check out other PlotGarden blogs here!
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Sources:
https://frictionlit.org/explaining-the-heros-journey/
https://novelpad.co/blog/book-outlining-techniques
https://faq.brandonsanderson.com/knowledge-base/can-you-go-into-depth-about-outlining/
https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/2013/lessons/Heros-Journey
https://www.scribophile.com/academy/how-to-plot-a-story-using-the-snowflake-method
https://www.squibler.io/learn/writing/book-writing/snowflake-method/
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