When I was in elementary school, we were taught how to create an outline. I remember having to break things down using Roman Numerals, then capital letters, and so on. To be honest, I hated that type of work. What I thought were important facts and summations, my teachers thought otherwise. As a student who loved getting things right, these assignments mainly left me frustrated. So though I can outline, I often choose not to. I wing it, and it works out well.

So, you can imagine my surprise and panic when I had to write an outline for a publisher. And it wasn’t a brief outline. I had to summarize the whole book. Here is what I learned about the value of a chapter-by-chapter outline.

It Demands Completion, Immediately

When I signed my contract, I had a deadline within a few weeks to turn in the outline, even though I had several months before the full manuscript was due. That meant I had to come up with the complete story within that time, broken down into twenty chapters, writing about four to six sentences each. Normally, I have the idea, plot, characters, and situations loosely in my mind. And then as I write, I let the characters take over. Not in this case. I was forced to push the story through. I had to know the who, what, where, and why right away and how it was all done.

It took a lot of prayer, and quick research since it was a historical fiction. Those few weeks were SUPER busy. And it really stretched me. I had never done anything like it before. But I did it. I met the deadline, and received great feedback from the editors.

It Helps You Stay Focused

Now that I “knew” my story, I was able to get to work on the full manuscript. I had about two months and three weeks before the whole twenty chapters were due. So I decided to make mini deadlines for myself. I would finish the first ten chapters in the first month, breaking it down to roughly 2.5 chapters a week. And then I would finish the last ten chapters the second month. I would then use the last three weeks for review. This book was a hi/lo reader, so I had to maintain a certain ATOS level throughout.

The outline helped me stay focused. I knew what I was to write for each chapter. I just had to fill in the gaps and flesh it out. I didn’t have to worry about where the story was going because the work was already done. If there were a few details I didn’t know to add depth to the story, I could take a day or two out of the week to complete the research needed. Then I could jump right back into the story.

It Keeps You on Track

During this time, I took a trip with my family to New Mexico (see last month’s post). Although I still wanted to maintain my writing schedule, I didn’t end up doing any writing during those six days. But, I used the initial travel days as a research trip. We had to drive through Arizona from California. Since my story is based primarily in Arizona, I made sure to observe the flora and fauna, the weather, the altitude, the lay of the land, etc. This was crucial research, especially since it was during the early stages of writing. I don’t think I could have managed some of the scenes I later wrote without this observation time.

And because I had my outline, I was able to adjust my writing when I got back. I wrote a few chapters by that weekend, and stretched the half chapter into the following week. Since I knew what outcomes I needed, I didn’t have to second guess anything. I knew where the story was headed. I just had to reread each section of the outline to keep me on track each step of the way. And this helped, too, when I wasn’t feeling well at the end of the second month. I took some time to recover, and then extended my final writing week into the beginning of the third month. My manuscript is now complete and turned in.

Writing a chapter-by-chapter outline is a LOT of work. But it provides you with a valuable tool to keep you focused, on track, and rejoicing when your manuscript is finally finished and ready to send to your publisher. Give it a try if you’ve never done one before. It is worth the effort. It made a believer out of me!

Have you written a chapter-by-chapter outline? What were your pros and cons?

Unsplash.com credits: Anastasiya Badun, Kelly Sikkema, Kevin Ku, and Glenn Carstens-Peters.

Catherine L. Osornio has written inspirational articles for a women’s ministry newsletter, over 200 leveled reader stories for a school’s reading program, fiction and nonfiction articles for Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines, The Declaration of Independence from A to Z, Thunder Comes a Rumblin’, Mosquitoes Infect!, plus various work-for-hire projects. A former elementary school librarian, Catherine is passionate about sharing the love of reading. She enjoys cartooning, illustration, and reading kids’ books. Email her at CLOsornio@verizon.net or visit her at www.catherineosornio.com.