What exactly is an outline, and how important is it to the creative and editing processes? Outlines for fiction projects can be as simple or detailed as you want them to be. Whether you’re in the beginning stages of your draft and need help visualizing your story’s path or you’re fine-tuning your manuscript for inconsistencies, we’ll discover the benefits of the outline to keep your story moving forward.

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Choose from one of the listed session topics or create your own!

Duration: 1 hour | Cost: $75

Oulining 101
You’ve seen it before: the classic three- or five-part structure punctuated by roman numerals, letters, or bullet points. Maybe you’ve used it for your school papers or professional documents. Perhaps you’ve used a simplified version for your to-do lists. But what can it do for your fiction? In this session, we’ll discuss the importance of outlining and what it can mean for your story. We’ll review the many types of outlines and determine which method works best for you. Rather than fearing the outline, we’ll learn to embrace it as an organizational tool that can benefit your creativity and let the words flow more quickly.

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Back to the Basics

Finished with your manuscript? Get back to the basics and uncover your story’s key elements in its simplest form. Stuck in a writing rut? Experience the freedom of experimenting with your story outside the confines of the written draft. No matter what phase of writing you’re in, the outline can serve as one of the best editing tools there is to create a work with a solid foundation and strong finish. In this session, we’ll take a look at the outline of your draft to see what’s working--and what isn’t. We’ll discuss ways to cement your vision and add layers and depth to your characters while presenting you with a stronger sense of your story.

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Twists & Turns

As the writers of our manuscripts, we know our own story better than anyone, but sometimes even we can be taken by surprise. If your plot seems stale or your characters need some extra motivation, now is the time to see where your imagination can lead you. In this session, we’ll take a closer look at your manuscript’s outline and have some fun experimenting with changes in structure, point of view, and plot and character development. We’ll let the story guide you in a new direction and discover answers to questions you didn’t know you were asking. Whether you embrace these new ideas or reestablish your former direction, you’ll end the session with a better understanding of your story, your plot, and your characters--and maybe have a few new insights along the way.

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Create Your Own

Create your own session to help navigate your story's structure!