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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/6204
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/6204
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Read and write.

## Read

Innumerable guides and advice exist for outlining and plotting a story. Pick a few and read some! This will help you absorb fundamental concepts, common techniques, and typical pitfalls, so you're not wandering around completely blind.

Dip into some [simple Google results](http://www.google.co.il/search?q=how+outline+novel+OR+story). Spend a couple of bucks on [an ebook](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B005NAUKAC) or [two](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B0083FXTB6). Stack Exchange isn't a great place for resource recommendations, but Ansen Dibell's [_Plot_](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0898799465) is a superb book which lights up different aspects of plot construction.

Reading is the easy part, though - you don't need to read _everything_, just enough that you feel you're not getting too much from new resources you read. What you read shouldn't freeze you up when you sit down to write - most advice is subjective and doesn't work for everybody; and it's absolutely fine to make mistakes and go against the advice you've read!

## Write

The only way to really gain experience is by practicing. Outlining is a particular skill you want to develop, so you want to exercise it!

I think you'll gain quite a lot by practicing outlining stories and novels - _even_ if you don't go on to write the actual thing. That's a good exercise you can do many, many times, until you feel more comfortable with it. Of course, whenever you _are_ able to write the story that goes with the outline, your experience will be much fuller - you'll be able to see how your outline maps to the actual writing experience, and that'll give you a sense of what parts of outlining work well for you.

Here are some specific outlining exercises you might enjoy:

1. Write a **query** for a prospective novel/story. Take a look at resources like Query Shark in order to get a sense of what works well in queries and what doesn't. Often, you can write a really interesting query without actually having a book written... and a query gets you a long way towards an outline, since it describes the major touchpoints and goals of the story!
2. James Van Pelt suggests the [**Seven-Sentence Story**](http://jimvanpelt.livejournal.com/81034.html), which helps you write a basic story outline according to a simple template. This is a great exercise for your goals.

Original score: 9