Outlines

There are millions of ways to make an outline, but here is how I've been doing mine for my writing.

I make a general chapter online, as easy as possible with what I think will be the key events to happen in the chapter.

For example, if Uncle Joe is gonna die, that's a key event.

Chapter One General Outline

I. Uncle Joe dies

Beneath this I simply list questions I'm going to ask myself that are important to this event:

Chapter One General Outline

I. Uncle Joe dies
- How does he die
- When does he die
- The shirt Uncle Joe is wearing
- Mysterious doctor visit he didn't tell anyone about when he got home

I outline all the key events and anything I can think of that will help me develop and detail the event and then take note of anything I might need to research.

After the general chapter outline, I make a very detailed outline of each "number" on the outline, each key event.

Chapter One - Uncle Joe Death Scene

I. Uncle Joe goes to the doctor
A. The night before
a. Is very worried
b. Has heart pains

B. The day of
a. Is nervous
b. Has suspicions he has heart problems

My general outline for my first chapter has six parts - so I will develop six outlines.

It works well for me thus far, but I haven't gotten very far. I'm not even past the first detailed outline yet!

If you try this and it works for you or doesn't, I'd love to hear about the process.