Brandon Sanderson's 9 Step Outlining Method

I pored through lectures and blog posts to learn about Brandon Sanderson's outlining process. This video will show you how to use what I found to improve your own writing!

[foldingchairfilmworks]

I was blown away when you mentioned this was your first video. The setting, the audio & video quality, the editing, and the content itself—all fantastic and the work of a professional. If this is your floor, I can hardly wait to see the ceiling. Great work!

[irishspartanstudios]

Step 1: Overview — One paragraph summary of plot. Set tone and concept.

Step 2: Setting — Worldbuiling; tech, magic, culture, geography, myth, biology, factions, aesthetics, societal trends, the big plot secret.

Step 3: Main Characters — Flaws, arcs, worth, goals, obstacles, persona. 3-5 paragraphs. Heading per character.
(Steps 4 & 5 follow similar format.)

Step 4: Secondary Characters — 2-3 paragraphs.

Step 5: Minor Characters — 1-2 paragraphs.

Step 6: Plot Archetypes — Plot layers, maintain cohesion, plots feed back into one another. Identify story type for study.

Step 7: Plot Endings — Figure out how all these plots end to satisfaction.

Step 8: Disconnected Plots — Filling gaps between otherwise disconnected plots. Heroes journey, save the cat, three act structure. Every story beat has a plot heading, with bullets explaining the start and end of these plot points.

Step 9: Writing Your Story — Combine these various A, B, C, etc. plot outlines. Chapter arrangement is useful. Draw bullets from the various outlines to combine things into one.

Now write the story.

[MemphiStig]

This is what a lot of new writers don't understand about outlines. The story has a lot that needs to happen, and most of us can't work that all out in our heads and retain it until it's written. You do a great job of explaining how Sando does it, and he clearly knows what he's doing. This is an excellent way to see how an outline helps work plot, world-building, and character development together into the finished product. I'm starting Mistborn tomorrow (first time reading him for me), can't wait.

[haydencrawford]

Watching this in 2024, when you said this was your first vid, I was utterly shocked. Very impressed, and definitely subscribing!

[ZombiePilot]

Well, I'm here 3 years later, and I'm looking forward to watching your other videos on writing!

[VisionaryStorytelling]

A game changer to be pointed towards his lectures (I've watched the 2020 series of them). Man I've learned so much, and this has solved all the major problems I've had with how to structure writing a large fantasy work. Was basically stuck at draft outline that I couldn't figure out how to move forward with. So grateful to have all this structure to hang my story on now!

[taytortots]

this video is two years old but i just stumbled upon it and i am, in fact, here because i'm writing a story where the sun turned off.

[jessw]

Wow! I never thought to try plotting all the arcs separately and then piecing them back together like that! I have been watching Sanderson’s lectures on YouTube recently and this was really cool to see how he breaks down his outlines! Thanks, great video!

[ThefLukeful]

I literally-literally screamed when you mentioned a plot involving the sun mysteriously turning off because that's just as literally (and in the literal-literal sense) a major plot point in a narrative I've been working on for a couple years now. Thanks for that coincidentally *very* targeted joke and cracking me up 2 years later :D

[zoepetit]

watching this (January 2025) and just seen that you haven’t posted in a year :( this video helped me so much today haha come back

[coolestgyever]

It's always frustrating (in the best way) when I see a video like this, one that summarizes all of the issues that I'm having with some particular endeavor and then provides such a structured and succinct solution for me. This is a great video! I plan to try all of this for the book that I'm writing currently, since I'm needing to go back and rework the first few chapters. There is simply too much going on for me to be able to write it by the seat of my pants. And I think I'm learning that about myself, that one of the reasons why I can't write like that is because I simply want to put too many things into my novels for them to accidentally come together perfectly. I need to plan and design my elements with each other in mind.

Thanks for the video!

[reasesoffice]

I just found this video while scrolling through videos on writing in between writing spurts, and I have to say I was blown away by the idea of bullet points and using them to fulfill A, B, and C arcs. I just wrapped up my first novel, but after editing and pushing it out, I'm definitely doing that idea for my next one.

[FantasySoundscape]

I can not stress enough, how top notch this video is for your first one! I'm just beginning my writer's journey, and this video has helped me out so much. The rewatch value of this video is amazing as well.

[theashbucket]

Found your video 2 years later, impressed that this is your first, your production setup is pretty good. Can't wait to dig around your channel and see what else you've got 😊

[hugo_]

I'm a bit late to the party but this has been the key video I needed to stop just thinking about how wonderful it would be to write a novel and actually starting writing things down. Besides the content of the video, your way of communicating is amazing, and as a not native English speaker your way of speaking is so clear that even without a high level I could understand every single part. Im surely checking your other videos, so I hope you don't stop doing what it seems you enjoy. Thanks a lot!

[Amaidenofprose]

Thank you for saying what you did about how this outlining method isn't the only and infallible way to outline and plan a story. I subscribed and liked immediately when I heard that. So many times I see new writers (like me when I first started writing) believe that the way other people outline and plan their novels is the only correct way. The point of outlining and planning is to create a map of the story you are writing so you know what's going to happen. Because of this, every person creates their map differently and its so important that all writers know they can create an outline that works for them and not just to make it look "perfect" or "accurate" by someone else's standards.

On another note, I really loved learning more about Sanderson's outlining method. I'll definitely play around with this method and add it to my own outlining process. You did a great job breaking down his outlining method and explaining how writers can apply it to their own writing.

Good video! Thanks so much for sharing and keep it up! :)

[amandaelam]

This is such a great video. You had me laughing out loud when you were talking about the speed limit and being happy that people still cared about writing in the "future"!

[beastamers]

This is the first outline method ive found that doesn't leave a huge gap between "plan your characters and jot down some key plot points" and "now you write a book". The dot point methodology from steps 7-9 are the piece of the puzzle my ADHD brain has been needing to get my stories from disconjointed scenes in my head to becoming an outline of a cohesive story. Credit to branden sanderson for his method, but thank _you_ for the video. After years of wanting to create stories and researching what makes for good writing, i finally feel not just motivated to try, but actually prepared to do so.

Ps. I did tweak it a little, i felt that "whats stopping your character from achieving their goal" was a bit... Eh. Heres what i listed down:

Main characters:
•who are they?
•what do they want?
•what do they need?
•what do they lose along the way?
•what do they gain along the way?
•How do they get there?

Secondary characters:
•who are they?
•how do they serve the story?
•what impact do they have on the main characters?
•what do they want and what do they get?

Minor characters:
•who are they?
•how do they serve the plot?

[sparksdog]

This video made my heart sink when I realized just how incomplete my narrative is. But at least now I know what I need to do to fix it. Great video!

[annahcreates]

TIL I outline like Brandon Sanderson! It's weird because it's literally exactly the same. It was just so much easier to outline when I knew the plot archetypes and how each of those would morph before putting them all together in a massive outline. Great video!