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.
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
- 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 if that remains unclear.
- 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.
- List the moments you know
Write the discoveries, refusals, losses, and decisions your story needs. Leave gaps where you have not found the connection.
- Put the moments in order
Ask what causes each event. Move or replace moments that depend on information the audience has not received.
- 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.
- 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.
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 continues from that point.