A reverse outline is something done AFTER you have completed your initial draft. The idea is to quickly read through your manuscript and write down the plot points, character arcs, scene nuggets, and the purpose of each scene in outline form. Then it’s time to edit.
By editing an outline rather than prose, you don’t get bogged down in the details, but rather you get a distant, overarching view of the plot which allows you to be judical when cutting “darlings” or figuring out if a plot twist actually works in the story.
When going through my outline, I asked a few major questions: does this scene have a purpose, does this scene move the plot along, does this scene change anything? If it does none of those, then I strongly consider deleting it or changing it.
Reverse outlining has been a game changer for me. My plot is tighter, my characters desires and motivations are clearer, and I’m not wasting time writing scenes which will later be discarded. If you have never tried reverse outlining – consider this your call to action! Try it out and let me know how it goes in the comments! It might just change the way you edit forever!
All my best,
RL Platt
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