How to Outline a Novel

The Meaghan way, anyhow

Happy March, Goody Tier friends!

I talked earlier in February about outlining my latest book proposal and how challenging it’s been. I thought, here on the Goody Tier, it might be fun to break down how exactly I plan out a novel. It should be said that there is no right way to plan a novel and you might find your process is or needs to be completely different. Maybe you prefer not to outline at all. And that’s ok! Hopefully sharing my process helps you in some way to find what works best for you. If nothing else, at least I’ll have it written down for myself the next time I need to write an outline.

So here we go.

1. The pitch - First, I write out the book's concept exactly as I would if I were writing it for a query letter or as though it were the back cover blurb of the book. A one paragraph pitch that summarizes the concept in a tantalizing way. This usually needs to include the main characters, the problem they are facing and what they think they are going to try to do about it.