# How to outline a screenplay before you write it

**Quick answer:** Build your screenplay outline around what the character wants, what gets in the way, and what changes. Keep enough detail to guide the next scene without writing every line.

Source: https://scriptsolo.com/blog/how-to-outline-a-screenplay/ · Scriptsolo · Updated 2026-10-23

Here is how to outline a screenplay: list the story’s scenes or key moments in order, from the opening image to the ending. Test the list before drafting. For the wider process, see the [guide to writing a screenplay](https://scriptsolo.com/guides/how-to-write-a-screenplay/).

## What is a screenplay outline?

**Screenplay outline**: A screenplay outline is commonly a list of scenes or key moments in order, prepared before drafting. It lets you examine the story’s shape without drafting every scene.

An entry might read: “At the repair shop, Mara asks for her father’s radio. When the clerk refuses, she takes a job there to get access.” This gives you an action, resistance, and a decision.

## How do you outline step by step?

Build the outline around choices and consequences, then check what connects them. Mara’s decision to work at the shop should create the next problem, not leave her waiting.

**Build and test your screenplay outline**

1. **Name the character’s goal.** Write what your central character wants and what blocks them. Use the guide to [testing your story’s central goal and conflict](https://scriptsolo.com/blog/how-to-write-a-logline/) if that remains unclear.
2. **Choose the opening and ending.** Describe what the audience sees at the start and finish. Look for a visible difference that reflects the character’s choices.
3. **List the moments you know.** Write the discoveries, refusals, losses, and decisions your story needs. Leave gaps where you have not found the connection.
4. **Put the moments in order.** Ask what causes each event. Move or replace moments that depend on information the audience has not received.
5. **Write scene entries for the gaps.** Name the place, the character’s immediate goal, the resistance, and what changes. Keep dialogue for the draft unless a line helps you remember a choice.
6. **Test the whole list.** Read from opening to ending. If removing an entry changes nothing later, consider combining it with another scene or cutting it.

## How does an outline become a scene?

Turn the outline’s decision into something the audience can see and hear. Mara’s entry becomes a refusal followed by an action that changes her approach.

**Example:** Mara changes her approach

```
INT. RADIO REPAIR SHOP - DAY

Mara points to a wooden radio behind the counter.

                      MARA
          That was my father's.

                      CLERK
          Bring the claim ticket.

Mara opens her empty wallet. Beside the register: HELP
WANTED.

                      MARA
          When can I start?
```

## How detailed should an outline be?

Include enough detail to know what changes, but leave room to discover how it happens. “Mara visits the shop” leaves the scene’s purpose unclear. “Mara cannot claim the radio, so she seeks work there” gives you something to write.

Scriptsolo keeps Idea, Outline, and Script in a connected workspace, so your outline and script have a place together.

## When should you start writing?

Start drafting when you can follow the character’s choices to the ending, even if some details remain uncertain. You might know why Mara takes the job without knowing her first conversation there. The guide to [finishing your first screenplay](https://scriptsolo.com/blog/how-to-finish-your-first-screenplay/) continues from that point.

[Write your draft](https://scriptsolo.com/signup/)

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I have to outline a screenplay?

You can begin with a scene rather than an outline. If you lose direction, list what you have and decide what the character does next.

### How many scenes should an outline have?

Let the story’s necessary choices and consequences guide the length of your outline. Add a scene when a missing action leaves the next event unexplained.

### Can I change the outline after I start writing?

Treat the outline as a working plan, not a contract. When a new choice changes the story, update the later entries to follow its consequences.