First Draft Outline

First draft a map to follow. What I do is I think-sketch everything I need to into a notebook. Then I take plot points/events onto index cards. Then I arrange the index cards and then plug that into scene structure in Scrivener. What is also fun about Scrivener is that you can drag and drop scenes to arrange as you want. You may also want to make yourself a cast list.

• Think-sketch ideas on paper.
• Write description of story. Break down into events.
• Write down events onto index cards.
• Arrange index cards by acts/parts and put them in chronological order.
• Add scenes to Scrivener.
• Group scenes together for chapters in subfolders.
• This is your general outline.
• Fill out the scenes. 

Some tips:

Don't edit along the way. Edit when it is time to edit. You can fix minor mistakes as you see them just don't edit the whole thing until your done. When I say done I mean after your revisions and when it is time to line edit. Otherwise you're going to alter things and editing before that is just a waste of time.

If you need to recalibrate take a look at the overview of your outline. Think-sketch ideas on paper, then organize them into a list of text similar to a storyboard. White boarding the text storyboard along with drawings of text maps (such as an organization of who goes where and what is happening in a larger scene).

You can print an enumerated outline from Scrivener in the compile options.

Your outline is a living document and will change as you progress. I keep the old scene lists in chronological order and then bind them in a comb machine for archival purposes.

If you find yourself with a scene that is no longer needed. Instead of just deleting it move it to a deleted scenes folder.

If you need to sit down and daydream about a scene you are working on. Keep the number of creative pomodoros down and produce pomodoros up. 

Importantly know maps are just a general guide as to where your story will go. Think of it again as a technique or a play from a sports playbook. You may set out a plan, but that plan will be altered along the way.

A word on backups. Back up on offline USB's at least twice once a week depending on your writing speed.

Ready for that first revision?