Writing an outline for a novel is the final stage of preparation before an author starts to write a novel. It is notoriously difficult to write a decent first draft unless you have thought about every possible aspect of the novel. An outline can help you create a roadmap before you start to write the novel. There are several steps for writing an outline as we shall discuss below.

Stage 1: Main plot

Aristotle’s classic story theory states that a good story should have an inciting incident, a climax, and a resolution. The dramatic theory, which is more recent, says that a story should have the inciting incident, the complication, the climax, and a resolution. These elements are also called ‘signposts’ and number from signpost 1 to 4 respectively.

The inciting incident is an event that kicks off the story and makes the main character start working towards a certain goal. It could be a change in the character’s circumstances or any other significant event that creates a problem. The complication should be a major setback for the protagonist if you want a positive resolution. The climax marks the turning point where the protagonist starts making significant progress towards the achievement of his goal and overcoming the complication.

Stage 2: Main character’s through line (arc)

This is the main character’s journey and perception towards changing the way he does things in order to solve the main problem. In the first signpost, we are shown the character’s way of doing things, whether it is wrong or right. In the second signpost, an event happens that pressures him to approach the problem from a different angle. In the third signpost, the personal crisis of the protagonist is introduced and at this point he has to act to achieve the story’s goal. And finally, signpost 4 shows how his actions were good or bad and whether or not the story goal was achieved.

Stage 3: Impact character through line

This stage represents the actions that the antagonist takes in order to impede the progression of the main character’s plan to achieve the story goal. In this stage, the antagonist will attempt to counteract the efforts of the main character in order to make sure that the story goal is not achieved.

Stage 4: Relationship through line

This part of the outline should elaborate on the relationship between the main character and antagonist. Sometimes the impact character does not have to be an enemy of the protagonist and this is the part of the outline where their relationship should be explained.

Stage 5: Subplots

When you have already covered the previous four stages, you should already have a fairly solid outline. However, there might also be subplots that must be elaborated in the fifth stage of the outline. Any subplot that affects the main plot should be detailed.

Stage 6: Turning signposts into sequences

The first four stages have four signposts each. You should weave these signposts into a roadmap to detail the progression of your novel from beginning to end.

Stage 7: Writing the outline

After the above steps, you should have many events that make up the bulk of your story. You should now arrange them chronologically and write the outline for your novel. The finished outline should give you a very clear roadmap for your novel.