Pre-Outlines
Six years ago, I began using outlines to develop plots for my books. This tool improved my stories and saved countless hours of self-editing, but I ran into a problem about a year ago.
My plot outline was about a spy ring that the FBI investigated. One day, I realized that what I thought was a solid beginning was actually nonexistent. The problem was that I could not see the big picture. I eventually solved the problem by using Microsoft Visio to visualize and organize the key plot concepts. I called this technique a “pre-outline.” Of course, a person could also use a whiteboard or Post-its, but I am a computer geek. Or, I am saving the world by using less paper. Did you buy that argument? Yeah, me neither. Let’s stick with the computer geek concept.
I begin by condensing the fundamental plot elements into single sentences, then putting them into blocks. I arranged these blocks vertically in two columns. The left column contains the plot, and the right column contains notes, thoughts, subplot topics, and additional details. Then I put the discarded or potential ideas below and moved them up or down as development progressed.
My goal was to see the entire plot in a big picture. With it, I can spot major errors and make massive changes. Once I am satisfied with the pre-outline, I turn it into a three-page outline.
This was not my first approach. Initially, I connected the blocks with lines, gave them different colors, placed them all over the place (non-linearly), and used different shapes to represent types of plot elements. (Like red for decisions.) Another was huge blocks with lots of text. These approaches did not work for my creative process, but I can see this method working for a different plot type (like a mystery) or for another person’s thinking style.
Pre-outlines allowed me to solve another problem. Visualizing the plot at such a high level showed me that my story was too short. So, I added more blocks and made this change with confidence because I could see everything.
What does a pre-outline look like? Here is a super-basic one for the movie Star Wars:
Space battle, princess captured, robots escape with space station plans
Robots captured, find main character on planet
Main character, mentor, pilot escape with robots
Main character convinces the pilot to rescue princess from space station
Rescue succeeds, mentor dies
Use robot-provided plans to make minimalistic space station attack
As you can see, there are no details, and limited grammar, allowing the writer to focus on the fundamental elements. Now that we have this pre-outline, we can introduce more elements, delete elements, and ask questions. Is this realistic? What can I add to make the plot more exciting? Will readers like this? Will a different order of action work better?
Is there a downside? I suppose plots developed from pre-outlines would be more linear and logical. A leads to B, leads to C… I can also see them being less exciting, but not all plots have to be complex. My main goal was to develop a solid story. The secondary goal is to visualize everything rapidly. And the third goal was to evaluate/improve the story.
There is another downside. My pre-outline lacks detail, so I cannot ask questions such as ‘motivation,’ and this is clear in the above Star Wars example. I have learned the hard way to put motivations front and center for my readers.
Do I write articles using pre-outlines? Sort of. I have a list of topics and notes for future articles. I suppose these could be called one- or two-sentence pre-outlines. As I write, I sometimes update them, which refines the subject. Then, when I feel confident about a topic, I write an article. As a result, I avoid undesirable topics, which means you get to see less of the random junk floating in my bonkers head. Everybody wins!
You’re the best -Bill
November 17, 2021 Updated April 12, 2026
My plot outline was about a spy ring that the FBI investigated. One day, I realized that what I thought was a solid beginning was actually nonexistent. The problem was that I could not see the big picture. I eventually solved the problem by using Microsoft Visio to visualize and organize the key plot concepts. I called this technique a “pre-outline.” Of course, a person could also use a whiteboard or Post-its, but I am a computer geek. Or, I am saving the world by using less paper. Did you buy that argument? Yeah, me neither. Let’s stick with the computer geek concept.
I begin by condensing the fundamental plot elements into single sentences, then putting them into blocks. I arranged these blocks vertically in two columns. The left column contains the plot, and the right column contains notes, thoughts, subplot topics, and additional details. Then I put the discarded or potential ideas below and moved them up or down as development progressed.
My goal was to see the entire plot in a big picture. With it, I can spot major errors and make massive changes. Once I am satisfied with the pre-outline, I turn it into a three-page outline.
This was not my first approach. Initially, I connected the blocks with lines, gave them different colors, placed them all over the place (non-linearly), and used different shapes to represent types of plot elements. (Like red for decisions.) Another was huge blocks with lots of text. These approaches did not work for my creative process, but I can see this method working for a different plot type (like a mystery) or for another person’s thinking style.
Pre-outlines allowed me to solve another problem. Visualizing the plot at such a high level showed me that my story was too short. So, I added more blocks and made this change with confidence because I could see everything.
What does a pre-outline look like? Here is a super-basic one for the movie Star Wars:
Space battle, princess captured, robots escape with space station plans
Robots captured, find main character on planet
Main character, mentor, pilot escape with robots
Main character convinces the pilot to rescue princess from space station
Rescue succeeds, mentor dies
Use robot-provided plans to make minimalistic space station attack
As you can see, there are no details, and limited grammar, allowing the writer to focus on the fundamental elements. Now that we have this pre-outline, we can introduce more elements, delete elements, and ask questions. Is this realistic? What can I add to make the plot more exciting? Will readers like this? Will a different order of action work better?
Is there a downside? I suppose plots developed from pre-outlines would be more linear and logical. A leads to B, leads to C… I can also see them being less exciting, but not all plots have to be complex. My main goal was to develop a solid story. The secondary goal is to visualize everything rapidly. And the third goal was to evaluate/improve the story.
There is another downside. My pre-outline lacks detail, so I cannot ask questions such as ‘motivation,’ and this is clear in the above Star Wars example. I have learned the hard way to put motivations front and center for my readers.
Do I write articles using pre-outlines? Sort of. I have a list of topics and notes for future articles. I suppose these could be called one- or two-sentence pre-outlines. As I write, I sometimes update them, which refines the subject. Then, when I feel confident about a topic, I write an article. As a result, I avoid undesirable topics, which means you get to see less of the random junk floating in my bonkers head. Everybody wins!
You’re the best -Bill
November 17, 2021 Updated April 12, 2026
