How to Write a Story Outline, with Examples

Key takeaways

• A story outline is a structured plan that maps out your story’s main plot points, character arcs, and key scenes.
• To outline a story, first define your premise. Then, develop characters, choose a structure, map out major plot beats, and expand the beats into scene ideas.
• Outlining before writing helps you visualize a story’s structure, organize its pacing, and prevent plot holes.
• A strong story outline saves drafting time, clarifies character motivation, and supports a satisfying story progression.
• Best practices for story outlining include keeping summaries concise, staying flexible, and reviewing the structure regularly.

Writing a great story starts with defining its structure. If you’ve ever reached the middle of a draft and found yourself feeling stuck or unsure of what should happen next, what happens next, outlining can prevent that.

Outlining helps you turn raw ideas into a clear, compelling narrative before you start writing scenes and dialogue. In fact, an outline can help you write better scenes and dialogue because it shows how characters grapple with conflict and ensures that each plot point builds toward the story’s resolution.

In this guide, we’re covering how outlining strengthens your writing and how to outline a story step by step, complete with examples, formats, and tips for using Grammarly to refine your plan.

Table of contents

• What is a story outline?
• Why outline a story before writing?
• Common story outline formats
• How to outline a story step by step
• Story outline examples
• Best practices for writing a story outline
• How Grammarly can help you write a story outline
• Story outline FAQs

What is a story outline?

A story outline is a structured overview of your story’s main events, characters, conflicts, and emotional turning points. It’s a way to map out your narrative before you begin writing scenes, which helps you dial in the pacing, sequence events, and visualize your story from start to finish.

Think of a story outline as a planning tool. Within the writing process, story outlining bridges brainstorming and drafting. It helps you organize ideas before you write them into full paragraphs.

It isn’t a rigid script, but rather a flexible guide that provides a clear roadmap for making intentional choices as you write your story. With an outline, you can rearrange scenes and catch issues early, making the revision process much easier.

Why outline a story before writing?

Outlining before drafting strengthens your story in several ways. It clarifies the story’s direction, sharpens character arcs, and prevents issues that can be harder to fix later.

Here are key ways outlining a story strengthens the draft that follows:

• Supports creative development by giving you a solid structural foundation so you can focus on voice, imagery, and emotion while writing.
• Improves story structure by helping you plan the beginning, middle, and end while ensuring that each event contributes to the narrative arc.
• Clarifies character motivation by encouraging you to define character goals and internal conflicts early.
• Enhances pacing and flow by making it easy to adjust scene length and order, so that tension rises naturally.
• Prevents plot holes by revealing gaps in cause-and-effect plot points before you start drafting.
• Saves time by preventing mid-draft restructuring.
• Simplifies the revision process by acting as a reference you can return to when rewriting, ensuring alignment with your original plan.

Outlining strengthens creativity. With a clear plan in place, drafting becomes a smoother, more focused process.

Common story outline formats

Story outlines come in many shapes, from simple lists to detailed maps of your narrative. The right structure depends on your genre, planning style, and story length. These are some of the most commonly used outlining approaches:

Three-act structure This classic structure divides your story into setup, confrontation, and resolution. It works well for novels and screenplays. Act I establishes the characters and premise, Act II builds conflict and complexity, and Act III resolves the main tension.

Beat sheet

A beat sheet lists major plot beats or turning points that shape your story’s momentum. Beats mark moments of discovery, reversal, tension, or emotional shift.

Scene list

A scene list breaks the story into individual scenes with notes on goals, conflicts, and outcomes. It’s ideal for writers who like granular planning or who write episodic fiction.

Snowflake Method

This method gradually expands your story from a single sentence to multiple paragraphs, allowing structure and complexity to develop layer by layer.

Freytag’s Pyramid

This model visualizes narrative tension using exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. It’s useful for understanding emotional pacing and dramatic shape.

These formats offer different levels of detail and flexibility. The right one for your story is whichever helps you understand the story clearly and write forward with confidence.

How to outline a story step by step

Follow these eight steps to create a clear, flexible story outline:

Step 1. Define your story premise

Goal: Establish the central idea driving your story.

Write a one- or two-sentence premise that introduces the protagonist, their goal, the obstacle they face, and what’s at stake.

Example: A small-town baker must win a national competition to save her family’s bakery from closing.

Step 2. Develop your main characters and their arcs

Goal: Build characters who will shape and be shaped by the plot.

For each major character, list:

• Their primary goal
• Their internal flaw
• How they change by the end of the story

Example:

• Protagonist:
  • Goal: save the bakery
  • Flaw: fear of failure
  • Arc: learns to take creative risks

Step 3. Choose a story structure or outline format

Goal: Pick the narrative framework that best fits your story.

Select a three-act structure, beat sheet, scene list, or the Snowflake Method, depending on your planning style.

For example:

• Three-act structure works well for traditional novels.
• A beat sheet suits fast-paced thrillers.
• A scene list is ideal for serialized or episodic fiction.

Step 4. Map out your major plot points

Goal: Identify the turning points that shape your story’s arc.

Write a sentence or two describing how each story plot point advances the protagonist’s journey.

Example:

• Inciting incident: A rival chef sabotages the bakery.
• Midpoint: The baker discovers a secret recipe.
• Climax: She wins the competition.

Step 5. Expand your outline into scenes

Goal: Turn major beats into a working list of scenes.

For each scene, note:

• The goal
• The conflict
• The outcome

Example:

• Scene: kitchen disaster
• Goal: test a new recipe
• Conflict: oven breaks
• Outcome: protagonist improvises with unexpected success

Step 6. Add character and setting details

Goal: Enrich your outline with emotional and sensory anchors.

Add brief notes about:

• Setting details
• Emotional tone
• Mood shifts

Example:

• Setting: early morning kitchen; scent of bread
• Tone: anxiety shifting to determination

Step 7. Review and refine your outline

Goal: Strengthen clarity and pacing.

Read your outline from start to finish. Ask whether each scene advances the plot or reveals character growth. Adjust pacing by merging repetitive beats or expanding moments that need more emotional weight.

Example: If two scenes show similar conflicts, combine them and raise the stakes in the new version.

Step 8. Put your outline into action

Goal: Write your first draft with confidence.

Treat your outline as a living guide, not a strict blueprint. Adjust scenes as your characters evolve or as you discover new ideas during drafting.

Example: If a side character becomes more compelling than expected, expand their subplot while staying aligned with the story’s structure.

Story outline examples

Every story outline looks a little different. Some writers prefer high-level summaries; others build scene-by-scene plans. Here are three examples that illustrate different approaches to outlining a story:

Example 1. Short story outline

Premise: A reclusive watchmaker receives a letter that reignites an old friendship.

• Setup: Introduce small coastal town and protagonist’s daily routine.
• Inciting incident: A mysterious broken pocket watch arrives in a cardboard box on his doorstep. There’s no return address; just a note to deliver the repaired watch to an address the watchmaker recognizes as an abandoned building on the other side of town.
• Rising action: As he repairs the watch, memories and emotions trigger as he recalls anecdotes related to the different watch parts and issues he finds with this watch.
• Climax: He decides to leave his workshop and deliver the watch in person. The watchmaker worries about who could be the recipient and wonders why they asked him to deliver it to an abandoned building, but delivers it anyway out of a sense of duty to his craft.
• Resolution: The door opens to reveal a friend whom the watchmaker believed to have died in a war decades ago. The watch restarts as the friends reunite, symbolizing their restored connection.

Example 2. Character-driven story outline

Premise: An ambitious journalist moves to a quiet town to recover from burnout but discovers a decades-old mystery.

• Act I: Introduce the town, supporting cast, and the journalist’s struggle to slow down.
• Act II: She uncovers the mystery, becoming obsessed with solving it. It’s the story of a van that’s sat long-abandoned in the woods at the edge of town. Initially, nobody shares information, but as she builds trust in the community, people open up.
• Midpoint: She realizes the truth about the van and the reason why it’s there may hurt those who helped her heal.
• Act III: She must choose between her career instincts and her moral compass. Does the clout that comes with solving a famous mystery outweigh the personal healing she’s felt as a member of this community?
• Climax: She publishes the story with integrity, protecting the community. Some members feel vindicated, others feel relieved, and all feel seen and heard as their town’s story is finally told accurately.
• Resolution: She finds balance in her career and renewed purpose in all areas of her life.

Example 3. Genre story outline

Premise: A retired detective returns to solve one final case after copycat crimes reemerge.

• Scene 1: Discover a new murder mimicking an old case. The detective immediately experiences a rush of emotion as he’s reminded of the old case.
• Scene 2: Clues tie the case to a personal tragedy. Begrudgingly, the detective comes out of retirement to solve it.
• Scene 3: Press conference turns public opinion against him. He’s more determined than ever to solve the case.
• Scene 4: Partner betrays him, revealing she works for internal affairs. The detective considers giving up. He’s lost faith in his profession.
• Scene 5: Final confrontation reveals the real killer. It’s his son.
• Scene 6: Epilogue shows he turns in his badge, still haunted and scarred from the reveal.

Best practices for writing a story outline

• Start broad, then add details. Beginning with major acts or beats keeps you flexible.
• Keep summaries concise. One or two sentences per beat make your outline easier to read and revise.
• Track emotional and structural arcs together. Aligning plot and character growth strengthens pacing and resonance.
• Stay flexible. Your outline should evolve as your story evolves.
• Check flow regularly. Each event should lead naturally to the next. If it feels like you’re forcing a scene, step back and consider reworking the story’s structure or deleting the scene.
• Seek outside perspective for feedback on your outline. A fresh set of eyes can reveal gaps or opportunities.
• Revisit your outline after drafting. Update it as your story shifts to stay aligned with your goals.

How Grammarly can help you write a story outline

Grammarly supports every stage of story outlining, from brainstorming to final checks. Here are some specific ways Grammarly can support you through writing your next story outline:

• Use Grammarly’s AI writing tools to generate premise variations, character ideas, and plot directions.
• Use Grammarly’s free AI outline generator to turn your notes into a hierarchical outline ready for revision.
• If your notes run long, Grammarly’s free AI summarizing tool can condense them into one-line scene goals.
• Preview how your story’s emotional beats or structure may land with an audience with Reader Reactions.
• Use Expert Review for AI-powered feedback on pacing, stakes, clarity, or structure.
• Grammarly’s tone and clarity suggestions help ensure each scene summary communicates a clear goal and outcome.

Whether you’re writing short stories, novels, or scripts, Grammarly helps you refine your outline and draft with clarity and confidence.

Story outline FAQs

What are the benefits of outlining a story?

Outlining helps you organize plot points, clarify character motivations, and spot pacing or structural issues before drafting begins.

What types of story outlines can writers use?

Writers often choose from the three-act structure, beat sheets, scene lists, Freytag’s Pyramid, or the Snowflake Method, depending on genre and planning style.

What elements should a story outline include?

A strong story outline includes a premise, characters, conflicts, major turning points, a climax, and a resolution. Notes on setting, tone, or themes may also help guide drafting.

What are some common story structures?

Popular structures include the three-act model, Freytag’s Pyramid, and the Hero’s Journey. Considering your story’s structure as you write its outline helps you map rising action, climax, and resolution.

When is the best time to create a story outline?

The ideal time to create a story outline is during prewriting: after brainstorming but before drafting. Many writers also revise or expand their outline mid-draft to strengthen structure.