How do you write a novel outline? An outline is the backbone of your story: just write the main plot, stripped to its essentials. You don’t need to include subplots, and it’s best kept concise. It lets editors evaluate where your work is going and gives your freely unfolding plot a rough skeleton. Utsudo didn’t write outlines at all early on and only started after working with publishers. She reminds us there’s no good or bad outline—just write the main plot in whatever way suits you.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

This question comes up a lot, so I’d like to share my thoughts.

I didn’t write outlines when I started

Honestly, I didn’t write outlines when I first started. My first long work ran straight to 350,000 characters, and my second even 700,000. I submitted the finished manuscripts directly, so outlines were something I added later.

How to write an outline: just the main plot

An outline is a thread—just the main line after trimming away the extras. You don’t need to write in the subplots. Ideally, keep it to around 1,000 characters, though the longer your story, the more likely you’ll unavoidably go over.

Simply put, an outline shows the direction of your work so editors can evaluate it, and it also gives your completely free plot a rough skeleton so you don’t get lost among your many ideas.

Detailed outlines vs. brief outlines

Of course, the more concise the outline, the easier it is to see the whole story’s thread and structure. But likewise, it can tie you down. I don’t write very detailed outlines—otherwise I end up not knowing what to do.

But some authors can’t keep writing without detailed planning, and once their outline is set, they can finish the book very quickly.

Whichever camp you’re in, just write your outline the way you’re used to. There are no hard rules or recommendations. Everyone thinks differently, so following your own nature is the best solution.

Anyway, early in my writing, I didn’t write outlines at all. Fueled by love for my characters and passion for writing, I wrote hundreds of thousands of characters, finished smoothly, and didn’t need major revisions. It takes a lot of intuition plus a bit of luck (?

Actually, while writing that work, I felt several times that I couldn’t go on and struggled for quite a while, but luckily I got past it every time.

During a long writing journey, you inevitably doubt yourself or suddenly have new ideas, which can shift the plot. That’s why I don’t like tying my plot to a meticulous outline. But having a big-picture structure keeps me from going so wild that I can’t bring it back.

Working with publishers, an outline is a must

And since I started working with publishers, outlines have become essential. Otherwise, who knows what’s in your head? You have to write it out to a certain level so they can evaluate it.

There’s no such thing as a good or bad outline; it just provides a brief story for reference. So don’t worry too much about quality—just write the main plot. Less important things don’t need to claim a spot. Keep it simple and clear.

With these basic ideas, I think you’ll know better how to start writing.

FAQ

Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #159: Don’t Make Excuses—Find a Way
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.