So the next thing that happens is…

As I said in our last exciting episode, there are two kinds of novel outlines writers do:  the sort meant to sell a manuscript to a publisher, and the sort meant to help the writer write the book. This post is about the second kind.

The first and possibly most important thing to know about the planning-and-guidance sort of outline is this:  It is entirely optional, and may be subject to change at any time at the writer's whim. (Or, as my friend Lois Bujold puts it, "The writer should always...