This is going to be a long, rambling, possibly too much info kinda post, so bear with me. None of what's below is meant as a 'this is the right way to do it' kinda post, more like a 'this is what's worked for me so far' kinda post
There's a lot of different ways to outline and various degrees of detail you can put into an outline.
At the most basic you need to know five things: the end, the beginning, the inciting incident, the midpoint, and the low point. Yes, you should probably know the end first. The end is the resolution, the big fight. The beginning is where the character is before the story really kicks in. The inciting incident is the bit where the character is really brought into the action. The midpoint is where the story basically goes from the main character being reactive to active. The low point is where the character is at their literal low point in the story. Feeling like giving up, quitting, knocked down, almost dead, about to die, ready to sell out to the bad guy, whatever. This gives you sign posts to start from and work towards as you're writing.
A more detailed and formulaic version of outlining can be found in books like Syd Fields'
Screenwriting or Snyder's
Save the Cat. Though these are more on the prescriptive, formulaic, 'this must happen on this page' side of outlines... so more like recipes or restrictive templates. They're geared for screenwriting, but there's a lot of carry over on plot structure whether it's a movie, a short story, or a novel. Less restrictive versions are things like Dan Wells' Seven Point Plot, Google that. There's
a blog or two plus
a five-part video set where he details his system. There's also the looser
Dreaded Outline approach for TV. That last one is what finally made it click for me.
Personally, I go with something akin to the one-hour TV drama structure. Start with a teaser, that hooky grabby bit that pulls the audience in. Four acts each progressing the story and ending with a plot point. Then a tag, that wrap up and denouement at the end. This gives me the basic structure without being formulaic, as the two (film) screenwriting templates above. Each act starts with a reaction to the plot point that came before it (or the tag), then progresses towards the next act ending plot point.
The thing to remember is it's all about action-reaction. Keep that in mind and you won't go wrong. The tag or hook is some highly dramatic scene that pulls the reader in. Okay, but then what? Have the characters react to that. Okay, then what? Have the character struggle to figure out what to do next? Okay, then what? Have the character properly decide what to do next... then go about actually accomplishing that goal. Okay, then what? Throw an obstacle at them to slow things down and make it tough. Okay, then what? Hit them with a disaster or plot altering reveal at the characters
as a direct result of their pursuing that goal. Okay, then what? Have the characters react to that. Then they make a decision for what they'll do next, and go after that goal. Then you throw another obstacle, disaster, or reveal at them. On and on. This is known as scene and sequel. The best book on it is
Techniques of a Selling Writer by Dwight Swain.
Following a scene and sequel approach makes the characters pro-active, ensures that they're driving the plot, and has the side effect of making the stakes generally rise over time. All you're doing with an outline is deciding before hand what the broad strokes of your story are going to be. Decide what big scenes you absolutely want in the story, get them in roughly the right order (chronologically and dramatically), then figure out a way to work towards those before you start writing.
The template I use for a scene looks like this:
What: @.
Sequel. Reaction: @. Dilemma: @. Decision: @.
Scene. Goal: @. Location: @. Physical: @. Emotional: @. Conflict: @. Clues: @. Disaster/Reveal: @.
The 'what' is a one-sentence encapsulation of the scene. For example, investigate the crime scene.
The sequel bit is the reaction to the big reveal at the end of the last chapter. First is the initial emotional 'reaction', then the 'dilemma', which is the character struggling to decide what to do next, then the 'decision', where they actually make the goal for the next bit.
The scene is the bulk of the chapter. You have a character with a 'goal', they're in a 'location' trying to achieve that goal. 'Physical' is what's happening in meat space. Digging through garbage cans, poking monsters with sticks, that kind of thing. 'Emotional' is the same only for the character's internal life. What are they feeling. Still reeling from the last revelation, still thinking about their ex-husband, completely absorbed in the scene at hand, whatever. 'Conflict' is what's preventing them from easily (and boringly) achieving their goal. Say a potato-headed bureaucrat or a maniac with a knife. 'Clues' is what bits of evidence or information the character learns in the scene, whether of the real or red herring variety. I'm working on mysteries right now so this is important. Finally you get the 'disaster/reveal', which is the character's efforts ultimately failing... but not only that, properly blowing up in their face... or some kind of twist or horrendous revelation that shocks the character. Sometimes you get both. For example, the end of
Empire Strikes Back. Luke loses a hand (goal: defeat Darth Vader and rescue the others; disaster: Han's off with the bounty hunter, lost the fight against Vader, Luke lost a hand in the fight), but gains a father (reveal: 'I am your father').
That's one scene, and for me, one chapter. Most scenes (except the hook) start with a reaction to the disaster or big reveal at the end of the last chapter. Why? Because it's more engaging that way. Something big and dramatic happens at the end of the chapter, then the reader's more likely to want to know what happens next.. and keep reading. It's basically action-reaction all the way down.
You stack enough scenes together in a row and you've got a story. Most one-hour TV dramas have about 28, most two-hour movies have 40 (thanks Syd Field), and most novels have around 60. All the outline is is you deciding all these things before trying to write the story. You can outline from start-to-finish before you start the prose, or you can outline a few scenes to get an idea where you want to go, then dive in. I prefer doing all the work first to make sure the foundation is good before starting the writing.
Hope something in that mess is marginally helpful to someone.
