Writing Tip: The Inside Outline

The inside outline is an outlining tool developed by Jenni Nash that is simple (but not easy) to create and a terrific help to designing your story. I took a class on it a couple of weeks ago and have been playing with it ever since. I’m becoming a strong fan.

 The inside outline is a two-tier structure wherein for each scene you note the plot, which is the outside, and the point, which is the inside. (I wrote about exterior and interior conflict here.) The plot is what happens in the scene and the point is why it happens to the protagonist. You connect them with a because of that…..In this way, you build a plot which is logical on the exterior level without ignoring the interior aspect.

 You could build yourself and Inside Outline right this minute, with the information I’ve given you in the above paragraph. That’s really all there is to it. Very elegant and simple. And yet, once you get started working on it you’ll also see that it’s incredibly difficult to get on paper. However, once you do—voila! You’ve got a workable blueprint for your book.

 You can learn more about it in two ways. First, by buying her new book. I like this book so much because it is short and to the point, not padded with a bunch of crap you don’t need, as writing books so often are. The book offers her entire blueprint system, of which her Inside Outline is the main part. But the rest of it is good, too.

 You can also take her classes. She has one on the Inside Outline and another one on the Blueprint.

 But even if you don’t want to buy the book or take her classes, give the Inside Outline a whirl!