How to Write a Novel Outline (Step by Step)
A practical six-step method to outline your novel, with story structures, a chapter-by-chapter approach and a free template you can copy.
Why outline a novel at all?
An outline is a map, not a cage. It helps you spot plot holes before you've written 80,000 words around them, keeps a 40-chapter book from drifting, and makes it far easier to come back after a break.
Even "pantsers" benefit from a light outline: a few anchor scenes you're writing toward. You can always change the route.
Step 1: Write your premise in one sentence
Name your main character, what they want, what stands in the way, and what's at stake: "A disgraced detective must solve her sister's murder before the killer strikes again, but every clue points back to her own past." If you can't write this sentence yet, the outline will be hard. Work on it first.
Step 2: Pick a story structure
Three-act structure: setup (about 25%), confrontation (about 50%), resolution (about 25%). It's the simplest and works for almost any genre.
Save the Cat beat sheet: 15 beats such as Catalyst, Midpoint, All Is Lost and Finale. Popular for commercial fiction and romance. The Hero's Journey: 12 stages, great for fantasy and adventure. Seven-point structure: start with the ending and the hook, then fill the turning points between them.
Step 3: Map your key turning points
Before chapters, list five moments: the inciting incident, the point of no return, the midpoint twist, the darkest moment, and the climax. These are the load-bearing walls of your book. Everything else connects them.
Step 4: Break it into chapters and scenes
Give each chapter one line: who it's about, what they want in the scene, what goes wrong, and how it ends. Choose a chapter length that serves the scene and your reader; there is no required chapter count. Don't over-polish; a rough line per chapter is enough to start writing.
For each scene, check it changes something. If nothing is different at the end of a scene, cut it or merge it.
Step 5: Add character arcs and subplots
Track what your main character believes at the start and what they believe at the end. Mark the chapters where that belief is tested. Then weave in one or two subplots, such as a romance, a rivalry or a secret, and note which chapters they touch.
Step 6: Keep the outline alive while you write
Your story will change as you draft. Update the outline when it does, so later chapters still make sense. In BookOS the outline and chapters live in the same place: reorder chapters by dragging, keep notes per chapter, and the AI can check new chapters against your outline and character sheets.
Novel outline template
Premise (one sentence) · Genre and target length · Main character: want, need, flaw · Antagonist and their goal · Five turning points · Chapter list (one line each) · Subplots and the chapters they touch · Ending image.
Copy this template, or start a book in BookOS from one of the free outline templates and the chapter list is built for you.
Worked outline: The Last Train Home
An original, hypothetical mystery example—not a formula every book must follow. Each turning point changes what the protagonist can do next.
- Premise
- A railway archivist must find her missing brother before the last passenger train leaves their town, but the station records suggest he died three years earlier.
- Want, need and opposition
- Mara wants to bring her brother home. She needs to stop treating official records as unquestionable truth. A station manager hides an old accident to protect his reputation; he fears exposure more than he fears Mara.
- Five turning points
- His watch appears in the locked ticket office → Mara breaks into the archive and loses her job → she discovers a witness changed his name → the witness refuses to testify unless she protects his daughter → Mara broadcasts the original accident log before the final train departs.
- Character arc and subplot
- She begins by trusting paperwork over people and ends by risking her own standing for a witness. Her strained friendship with a reporter develops from reluctant assistance to earned trust, rather than repeating the same argument every chapter.
The first three chapters
- The watch. Goal: discover who entered the ticket office. Obstacle: the manager denies anyone has a key. Change: Mara sees a fresh signature in a log dated three years ago.
- The missing file. Goal: compare the signature with accident records. Obstacle: a page has been removed. Choice: photograph the remaining ledger despite a warning. Consequence: her archive access is revoked.
- A living witness. Goal: find the missing page through an old railway worker. Obstacle: he will not speak at the station. Change: he names a witness believed to be dead and gives Mara a place to look.
Revision check: if two scenes only tell Mara that someone is hiding something, combine them or give the second a new consequence. Track the watch, accident date and witness identity in your continuity notes.
Use the blank worksheetStart from a ready-made outline
Pick a template and BookOS builds your chapter list so you can start writing today.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a novel outline be?
Anywhere from one page to 20+. A one-line-per-chapter outline (2–4 pages) is a good middle ground for most first novels.
Should I outline before writing my first draft?
If you've stalled on past drafts, yes. If you love discovery, outline just the five turning points and write toward them.
What's the easiest novel outline method for beginners?
Three-act structure with five turning points. It's simple to learn and fits nearly every genre.