Definition
A plot outline is a document that maps out the major events of your story from beginning to end. It can be as simple as a bulleted list of scenes or as detailed as a chapter-by-chapter breakdown with character arcs, subplots, and thematic notes. The point is to give yourself a roadmap so you know where the story is headed, even if you take detours along the way. Outlines exist on a spectrum from loose (ten bullet points on a napkin) to obsessively detailed (fifty pages of scene-by-scene planning).
Why It Matters
Writing a novel without any outline is like driving cross-country without a map. You might end up somewhere amazing, or you might spend weeks lost in the narrative equivalent of rural Nebraska. An outline helps you spot structural problems before you have invested months of drafting. It also makes the actual writing faster, because you spend less time staring at a blank page wondering what happens next.
Types of Plot Outline
Famous Examples
Rowling's hand-drawn plot outline for Order of the Phoenix has been widely shared online. It tracks chapter numbers, titles, subplots, and key events in a grid format, showing how meticulously she planned the series arc.
Ingermanson's popular outlining method starts with a one-sentence summary and expands step by step into a full novel outline, demonstrating that outlining itself can be a structured process.
Le Carre famously outlined his intricate spy novels in exhaustive detail before writing, tracking every character's knowledge at every point in the story to maintain the puzzle.
Common Mistakes
Your outline should leave room for discovery. If you have already written every detail, the drafting process can feel like transcription rather than creation. Leave gaps for surprises.
An outline is a plan, not a contract. If your characters evolve in unexpected ways during drafting, let the outline change. The best stories often deviate from their outlines.
A list of things that happen is not enough. For each major plot point, note how your protagonist feels and how their internal state changes. Plot without emotional arc is just a sequence of events.
Try It Yourself
Write a skeleton outline for a short story in exactly six bullet points. Each bullet should be one sentence describing a major event. Make sure each event causes or directly leads to the next. Then expand one of those bullets into a three-sentence mini-outline with setup, action, and consequence. Notice how quickly structure emerges from even the loosest plan.
Outline your novel without the overwhelm
Novelium's Story Planner lets you build and rearrange your outline visually, from skeleton bullet points to full scene-by-scene breakdowns. See the shape of your story before you write it.