Ask the Editor: How to Outline a Non-Fiction Book

If you asked me to list the three fears I picked up in high school English, they would be diagramming sentences, red ink and outlining. I’ve never gotten past my red ink complex, but I can now see the true value in outlining any writing project before touching fingers to the keyboard. Contractors don’t build houses without blueprints. You can’t write something big (especially a book) and not use an outline; it’s the writer’s blueprint.

The two most popular techniques are the mind map and the chapter-by-chapter outline. You can use them separately, or start with the mind map and expand into the chapter outline.

Mind Mapping

For this exercise, you need a large piece of blank paper and a pen. Draw a circle and write your title or main idea in the middle. From there, add bubbles around your main idea with smaller topics. Keep adding topics that you might want to cover in your book until you can’t think of anymore.

Now step away. Ignore it for a day or two to distance yourself from the information. When you’re ready, go back with a few different colored pens. Do you see topics that are similar enough to be covered in the same chapter? Circle them in the same colored ink. Are there any topics that don’t really fit in with your overall idea? Mark them with a huge “X” in another color.

For some writers this may be enough to keep them on track, but for others this exercise feeds directly into a chapter outline.

Chapter Outline

Create your outline in a word document so you can easily add and move information. You already know you’re going to start with an Introduction and end with a Conclusion; now you just need the middle section. For natural progression, keep basic ideas toward the front and then move into more advanced topics. The most important information for non-fiction outlines are chapter titles, key points, resources that need to be referenced, people to be interviewed and research required. If you wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (don’t we all wish we did?!), your outline would look something like this:

1. Habit: Be Proactive
   1. Take initiative. Realize your dreams.
   2. Take responsibility for your choices and their consequences.
2. Habit: Begin with the End in Mind
   1. Self-discovery: clarifying important character values.
   2. Pinpoint important goals to achieve.
   3. Envision ideal character values for your roles and relationships.
   4. Determine your mission statement.
3. Habit: Put First Things First
   1. Prioritize.
   2. Plan.
   3. Execute.
   4. Evaluate your effort.
4. Habit: Think Win-Win
   1. Strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in relationships.
   2. Value and respect people. A win for all is ultimately better, long-term.
5. Habit: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
   1. Listen first.
   2. Listening compels others to reciprocate and keep an open mind.
   3. Listening creates atmosphere of positive problem solving.
6. Habit: Synergize
   1. Combine strengths of people through positive teamwork.
   2. Teamwork achieves goals no one person could do alone.
7. Habit: Sharpen the Saw
   1. Balance and renew resources, energy and health.
   2. Creates sustainable, long-term and effective lifestyle.
   3. Emphasis on exercise, prayer and service to society.

If I’ve learned one thing post-high school English class, it’s that outlines aren’t scary. What is scary is a book which has absolutely no pattern, theme, or point. Well, that, and maybe my freshman yearbook photo.

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