Deciding to outline is one thing; knowing what to actually put on the page is another. This guide is about the document itself: what a useful outline contains, how detailed it needs to be and what a working outline looks like for different kinds of books.
If you are still deciding whether outlining suits you at all, see [How Do I Outline a Book?](/resources/writing-craft/how-do-i-outline-a-book) for the process behind it. This guide assumes you have decided to outline and want a practical format to work from.
What is a book outline actually for?
An outline exists so you can see the shape of the whole book before, or while, you write it in detail. It lets you spot gaps, repeated beats or a sagging middle on one or two pages, which is far harder to do by scrolling through a hundred thousand words.
It is a working tool, not a contract. Most outlines change once the drafting starts revealing what the material actually wants to do.
What does a one-page outline look like?
A one-page outline lists the major movements of the book in a few lines each: enough to remind you where you are heading without dictating every scene.
Example
For example, a one-page novel outline might read: "Opening: Maya inherits her aunt’s bookshop. Inciting incident: she finds a hidden ledger suggesting the shop is in debt she didn’t know about. Rising action: she tries to save it while uncovering why her aunt hid the debt. Midpoint: she learns her aunt was protecting someone. Crisis: the shop is due to be repossessed. Climax: Maya confronts the person her aunt protected. Resolution: she decides what kind of owner she wants to be."
What is a chapter outline?
A chapter outline expands the one-page version into a line or short paragraph per chapter: what happens, who is involved and what changes by the end of it. This is usually the most useful level of detail for a first outline, since it is specific enough to draft from but light enough to revise quickly.
| Level | Typical length | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| One-page | Half a page to one page | Getting the shape clear before anything else |
| Chapter outline | One line to one paragraph per chapter | Most first drafts across genres |
| Scene outline | A card or entry per scene | Complex plots, multiple POVs, or when a chapter outline stalls |
What is a scene outline, and do I need one?
A scene outline breaks chapters down further into individual scenes, usually noting the point-of-view character, the goal of the scene and what changes by its end. It suits complex plots, multiple points of view or fast-paced genres, but it is not required for every book and can become a way of avoiding the draft if it grows indefinitely.
What should a fiction outline include?
A useful fiction outline usually covers the opening situation, the inciting incident, the protagonist’s goal, the main sources of conflict, a midpoint shift, the climax and the resolution, with the major subplots noted where they cross the main plot.
What should a memoir outline include?
A memoir outline is usually organised around a theme or period rather than a full chronology of a life. List the key episodes that serve the theme, in the order the reader will encounter them (which is not always the order they happened), noting the emotional or understanding shift each one contributes.
What should a non-fiction outline include?
A non-fiction outline is typically a list of chapters, each with the single question or problem it addresses and the main points that answer it. It works well as a table of contents with a sentence of substance under each entry.
What should a business-book outline include?
Business-book outlines usually add the reader’s practical takeaway per chapter: what they should be able to do differently having read it. Framing each chapter around an action or decision, not just a topic, tends to keep the book useful rather than descriptive.
What should a children’s-book outline include?
For picture books, an outline is often a spread-by-spread list of what happens on each page opening, since pacing across roughly twelve to sixteen spreads matters more than chapters. For older children’s fiction, a chapter outline similar to adult fiction works well, kept tighter and more event-driven.
See How Do I Write a Children’s Book? for more on age-appropriate structure.
What should every outline include, regardless of type?
Useful outline contents
- What happens or what the section covers
- Who is involved or who it is written for
- What changes or what the reader takes away
- Anything still unresolved, marked clearly as open
What should I avoid over-planning?
Dialogue, exact wording, minor description and scene-level detail rarely survive contact with the actual draft, so planning them in advance is often wasted effort. Keep the outline focused on structure and change, and leave the texture for the writing itself.
How do I update the outline while drafting?
Revisit it after every few chapters, not every scene. Note what changed and why, so later chapters stay consistent with decisions made earlier in the draft rather than with the original plan.
Common mistakes
- Outlining every line of dialogue in advance. This usually gets discarded once the scene is actually written, and can slow down the outline itself.
- Treating the outline as fixed once written. Outlines are working documents; expect to revise them as the draft teaches you more about the book.
- Skipping the "what changes" column. A list of events without noting what shifts for the reader or character often produces a flat middle.
- Using the same outline depth for every book type. A picture book and a business book need very different outline shapes; forcing one template onto both wastes effort.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a book outline be?
Anywhere from half a page to several pages, depending on the level of detail you find useful. Length is not a measure of quality.
Can I write an outline after starting the draft?
Yes. Some writers outline retrospectively once a rough draft exists, to see the shape clearly and plan revisions.
Should I share my outline with an editor before drafting?
It can be useful for non-fiction or business books, where an editor can flag gaps in coverage early. For fiction, it is optional and depends on the writer’s preference.
What software should I use to write an outline?
A plain document or spreadsheet is usually enough. See [What Software Should I Use to Write a Book?](/resources/writing-craft/what-software-should-i-use-to-write-a-book) for a fuller comparison.