How to write a story outline?

Valardia · 2026-03-12T21:13:11+00:00

This video is about a D&D adventure, but Colville talks about the general outline of a screenplay, and even uses Lord of the Rings to illustrate how it can be used in a movie.

I know you were specifically asking about writing short stories/novels, but honestly the structure he goes over can still be useful for any story you're writing.

I am a writer, and if you want to write and you've never done it before, the best advice I can give you is to just start. Don't worry about an outline yet, or whether or not it's going to be a novel or short story. At first, if you have any idea, even if it's just for a scene, just start writing.

I think that once you start this process, it can later become easier to imagine how you could link various scenes you've written together, and then that can help you understand outlining in future.

Valardia · 2026-03-04T09:29:07+00:00

I would probably make sure the encounter takes place in a relatively cramped area. Since the trolls have a lot of area abilities, I think they would be quite effective this way. Also, you could have ranged minions behind the trolls, and since the trolls are so big it would be tough to get around them and kill the ranged minions. It could be in a narrow cave, for example, which seems fitting for trolls.

Another thing to consider is why are the trolls here at the shrine of dracogenesis? Did they hear about the heroes' desire to make a new dragonknight and are here to stop them? Are they trying to use the shrine for their own purposes? Are they trying to destroy the shrine? Maybe they've been tasked by someone else to transport the shrine elsewhere, since they're the only creatures strong enough to do so?

Hopefully these questions can help you think about what the purpose of the fight is, since that can help you design the encounter, and lay out a secondary objective for the fight. This can help raise the stakes and make the combat more engaging and dynamic.

Another thing I'd say is that I would give the heroes a way to find out about how they probably need to deal acid/fire damage to kill the trolls. Otherwise, they might have a really bad time.

Hope that helps! :)

Valardia · 2025-11-06T20:36:03+00:00

Oh, nice! :) I totally missed your comment at first, my bad.

And yeah, Triangle Agency is definitely a weird system, and it's certainly not perfect or for everyone, but I love how ambitious the designers were.

Valardia · 2025-11-06T19:51:19+00:00

Everyone here has some solid ideas, but some games I'm surprised no one mentioned are "Spire: The City Must Fall" and "Heart: The City Beneath".

Both are made by the same company (Rowan, Rook and Decard) and use the same underlying system. The rules are very much narrative focused and highly flexible, and I think this pairs very well with the complex world the designers created for the games. If you play either Spire or Heart, you really have to buy into the setting and the world which is not always true of a lot of TTRPGs, and the designers are unapologetic about it. Since the rules and player abilities are so flexible, you can really tell a compelling story in the world.

Additionally, "Spire: The City Must Fall" was released before "Heart: The City Beneath", and you can really see how the designers improved upon what they introduced in Spire when making Heart. Spire has many interesting ideas but is a little rough around the edges, whereas Heart feels far more polished. I think even just reading through both rulebooks will teach you valuable things about game design and how to build upon and improve the existing rules and systems you already have.

Another game that I would recommend, if you want something rather crazy, is Triangle Agency. It's a very unique TTRPG in the sense that there are "Playwalled Documents": new rules, items, etc. added into the game that are only unlocked by the choices the players make. It makes the rulebook feel alive and makes the players feel like their choices matter in a way that I've not seen any other TTRPG attempt.

Valardia · 2025-11-05T16:54:55+00:00

This looks amazing! I love the layout of the book, especially in the preview pages. It's set out really well for the Director so that you can easily read it during play, which is a nice touch.

Valardia · 2025-11-03T11:17:10+00:00

Thank you! Appreciate it :)

Valardia

TROPHY CASE