Outlines, Outlines, Outlines

“Outlines ruin my creativity.”

“I like to go with the flow and see what happens.”

“Writing is creative, outlines are all about boring structure.”

This is total garbage.

Imagine an architect standing on an empty lot on the first day the construction crew arrives, and he/she/they don’t have a blueprint. No plan for where the bathrooms are going, where the bedrooms will be, what the actual design of the house will be. If it even is a house. Imagine then the architect saying any of the above statements.  Do you think anyone would pay this architect? Do you think this architect would develop a positive industry reputation? Or do you think this architect would be considered lazy and either uneducated or stupid?

Apply the same scenario to a lawyer walking into a courtroom. A doctor walking into a complex surgery. A race car driver plopping into his seat having never seen the track. So why…in hell…would someone who professes to be a screenwriter…who wants to be paid to write movies that will hopefully entertain large numbers of people…present a document that they made up as they went along?

I’ve read thousands of scripts. I’ve been around a while. Maybe one person in Hollywood history could get an idea, get some coffee, or other stimulants, and crank out a feature film draft that is coherent, well structured, has vibrant characters who go on emotional journeys. Maybe. I’ve never seen it. Or heard of it.

Oh, but wait. Maybe there was some famous writer (probably a writer-director), who claimed to have spat out a perfect script in a weekend frenzy. You know what I would call anyone making that claim? A liar. And sure, we hear about films getting greenlit before there is a completed script – like Gladiator apparently – and they managed to eek out a movie that makes sense. That’s a gamble, and I’d rather buy a lottery ticket to be honest…but even in that scenario…tell me there wasn’t at least an outline.

Outlines are your blueprint. Outlines are your opportunity to have all the ideas, the good ones, the bad ones, the entirely stupid ones, and the ones so far away from where your brain was when you sat down to explore this story that it just might be accidental genius. Outlines are where a lot of the magic really happens. Outlines are definitely where so much of the actual work happens. Outlines show you care. Outlines show you are serious about being a professional writer. Outlines have absolutely nothing to do with stifling creativity. In fact, outlines are the opposite. They promote and stimulate creativity.

If you have ever told someone you don’t believe in outlines…we both know you’re too lazy or scared to learn screenwriting rules, too lazy to do the work, and your high school creative writing talent has misguidedly got you thinking you’re a natural screenwriting star. There are no natural screenwriting stars. Just like there are no natural NFL quarterback stars. Talent is great. Hard work is essential. Outlines are work. If you aren’t prepared to write one, you aren’t prepared to be a professional screenwriter. So tell me…who are you and what do you want to be?

Now that we have that settled. There is no one way to write an outline. It’s yours. Whatever works for you is the right way to write an outline. Don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise. Stick post-its on the back of a donkey while walking in the Grand Canyon if that’s the most effective way to harness your creativity. Write in peanut butter on the dining table. No one cares.

Just do the work, find the story, find the characters, find the subtext, find the emotional journeys. Once you have your blueprint, then you get to find the dialogue, which will often take you in new directions. At which point you get to go back to your outline, use the information your characters have provided, and rebuild.

Outlines matter. WAY more than your high school creative writing, or any trash-talking “industry vet” who spews lies to make themselves seem special. Do the work, spend time on an outline, you’ll have your blueprint, and you won’t be looked at as an amateur laughing stock.  

Join Tim Schildberger on September 18, 2025, for a live interactive webinar where you will explore why an outline matters so much, what risks you take by not diving into one, and offer helpful tips and advice on making the most of the time you spend prior to launching into ‘page one’. You will leave this webinar empowered to explore your idea in whatever outline format suits you best. You will gain an appreciation for the outline, you will write better outlines, which will lead to better scripts, immediately.