How to reverse outline

Welcome to today’s topic for writers! If you’re just interested in updates, scroll to the bottom. Otherwise…

What is it?

It’s not simply an outline backwards, although people often think that. A reverse outline as I use it is an outline that you make after you’ve completed a draft. Most likely after your first or second draft, but you can use it any time.

I know. Wild.

What’s the point?

You’re probably wondering why the hell you’d want to outline the book you just wrote. What’s the point, C.J.? Didn’t I already do the work?

Well, yes and no. Are you sure that your plot flows well? That it fits into your structure? That there are no holes or inconsistencies? That you gave reasonable time to each POV character? That you didn’t drop a subplot?

The point of a reverse outline is to show you all of these things without you having to reread the whole book every time. It lets you view them at a glance.

How you make it

Creating a reverse outline is simple but time consuming. Here’s the part where you reread your book (or at least skim!).

1. Go through your book chapter by chapter and write at least a sentence about the main action of the plot in that chapter

There is no #2. That’s it.

I tend to be spare in mine and I write about 2-3 sentences per chapter, but if you have lots of subplots and important details, you might write a couple paragraphs, even. (I plan to try a more intense RO for my next project.)

Put it in outline format. Tada. You’ve created a RO. (Keep scrolling for an example!)

What you do with it

Read it over

Now that you have it, take a look. Read it over. Color code it for main plot and subplots. Look at your plot and how it flows. Does A lead to B? Does it feel organic? Did you drop a subplot? Or a whole character? (Lol not that I’ve done that before…) Do you need to rearrange some chapters to make the story flow better?

Everything is there at a glance!

Give it to a beta

Use your beta or CP or agent and have them read it. See if it still makes sense to them, if it’s still mapping onto your vision. I love this because my friends are often too busy to read a whole draft, but they can definitely help with this stage.

Fit it into a structure

This is my favorite use. For those of you Save the Cat! people, this is your time to shine. (I’m an Anatomy of Story by John Truby girl myself, and it works the same way)

If you’re following a plot structure (e.g. 3 act structure, 4 act structure, a beat sheet), then map your outline onto the beat sheet and see if you nailed the percentages. See if you missed the opportunity for any twists and transitions. See if you totally nailed act 1 and then wrote like 4 chapters in act 2. It happens.

Synopsize

Use it to help you write the dreaded synopsis! All the pieces are there! Put your outline together and then condense.

So that’s it

That’s reverse outlining. It’s a simple process that yields complex, lush results. If you have questions, put them in the comments!

Example

Here’s the beginning of a reverse outline I made for Crows, one of my fantasies. This is more spare than I’d recommend; I tend to rely too much on my memory, so don’t be me.

Already I can see a few things. The first is, wtf did I do with Dorota? Why does she only have one chapter in this whole set? And why is her first chapter just thinking? That’s SO boring.

I can also see a plot hole. If the barrier prevents magic, C.J., then how are the Kolyozhne going to come attack it with magic later in the book?

Thus, the use of a reverse outline! I could have just reread the book, and I did, but seeing things visually like this helps me orient myself and rearrange at will.

Updates

Writing

Guess what? I’m officially on sub now with Wandering Dolls! It’s been radio silence so far, but it’s only been like two weeks so I’m trying not to bug out about it.

I’ve also been preparing my NaNoWriMo book, Vae Victus, about a Germanic girl necromancer-in-training in 9 CE who marries a Roman soldier in order to infiltrate the Roman camp and take out the general. It takes place after a real battle! Have you seen the TV show BARBARIANS? If not, get on it.

What are YOU doing for NaNoWriMo? Let me know in the comments!

In celebration, here’s an aesthetic for Dolls and one for Vae Victus.

Reading

I’m in a bit of a reading slump agaaaain so in addition to rereading Pride & Prejudice, I’m also trying to deslump myself with The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai, a lush adult fantasy based on Egypt. I’m loving it so, so far so good!

Listening

Loved Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, more than the last one. Got to see Bob Dylan in concert which was awesome. I haven’t been bingeing much of anything, but I did start listening to my Vae Victus playlist, which is a lot of Germanic death metal and witchy pagan chanting stuff.

Watching

Still not watching a lot of TV, but I have been trying to do 31 horror movies in October. I forgot to count properly but I think I’m on track. I’ve recently enjoyed Boris Karloff’s The Mummy, Trick ‘R’ Treat, and a rewatch of The Relic, my first horror movie (I was 6. Yes, 6.).

Creating

I was trying to do a casual Inktober but got frustrated hitting the digital wall, so I’m giving myself an art break. But here are a few I did over the last month.