The Complete Ten Day Outlining Process
If you need a reminder of the goals you’ve completed throughout this challenge, here they are in an easy to reference format:
Day One: Start With the Basics
  1. Brainstorm an initial idea, either using one you already have or creating one for this challenge.
  2. Expand on your initial idea until it fulfills the four requirements of a high-concept story.
  3. Condense your idea into a one to two sentence premise that clearly outlines your main character, their initial goal, and your story’s conflict.
  4. Pick a medium and begin your draft outline by writing your new premise at the top .
Day Two: How to Find Your Inspiration
  1. Gather 100 pieces of media (images, music, quotes, excerpts, et cetera…) that represent your story.
  2. Separate this media into categories of your choice.
  3. Sort through these categories and remove any items that no longer fit your story.
  4. Write down your current vision of your story, along with any new ideas you’ve come up with.
Day Three: Questions for Exploring Every Angle
  1. Create a set of ten questions based on your premise.
  2. Answer each of these questions with two separate answers, and then highlight the sections of your answers you like the most.
  3. Rewrite your ten highlighted answers in their own list and create a new question for each of them.
  4. Repeat the above process for these new questions.
  5. Write a one to two paragraph story summary based on the new information you’ve learned.
Day Four: The Start of Your Story’s Scenes
  1. Brainstorm a list of 20+ potential scenes that fulfill the various requirements of your story.
  2. Divide these 20+ scenes into three groups—beginning, middle, and end.
  3. Write a brief paragraph for each group describing what happens in that section of your story.
  4. Create a short paragraph going over the rules of your story’s world and any important elements of worldbuilding you’ll need to know later.
Day Five: Forming a Scene Timeline
  1. Create index cards for each of your 20+ scenes.
  2. Spread these index cards out on a large, flat surface and organize them in chronological order, adding blank index cards wherever you feel your story could be expanded upon.
  3. Using a series of questions, fill out this timeline until you have 30+ scenes, leaving as few blank cards as possible.
  4. Take a photo or otherwise mark the index cards in your timeline to reference later in the challenge.
Day Six: Creating the Character Sheet
  1. List all of your characters alphabetically, and then mark your core cast members from that list.
  2. Expand this list into your character sheet, filling in as much information as you can for each character.
  3. Create a detailed character profile for your protagonist.
  4. Repeat this in-depth profile for any other core characters you choose.
Day Seven: Six Elements of Structure
  1. Rewrite your conflict as a Dramatic Question.
  2. Apply the six plot points of the Three Act Structure to the scenes in your timeline, adding or changing scenes as needed.
  3. Record this newly created plot in your draft outline.
  4. Complete some general cleanup of your timeline before storing your index cards in their new order.
Day Eight: Where Your Story Comes Together
  1. Set up your scene template using the six parts of a scene, either on each index card in your timeline or in your draft outline.
  2. Begin filling out this template, specifically focusing on each scene’s goal.
  3. Jot down notes and rework scenes as needed until you feel confident that each scene flows comfortably into the next one.
  4. Review your newly fleshed out scenes to ensure they’re consistent with your characters and plot.
Day Nine: The Complete Picture
  1. Go back over your draft outline using a series of questions and fix any final issues you may find.
  2. Decide where you’ll create your Master Outline.
  3. Record your premise, an overview of your conflict, your worldbuilding, your plot and scenes, and your characters in your new Master Outline.
  4. Choose a point of view for your story and add that to your Master Outline as well .
Day Ten: What About Tomorrow?
  1. Choose your writing space, and then prepare it with any supplies you’ll need.
  2. Add five to ten pieces from your collection to your Master Outline. Optionally, assign a piece to each scene in your timeline.
  3. Discover your “Why,” and then write it somewhere you’ll always see it.
  4. Begin writing your novel!
Your Complete Master Outline Should Have: