I've been building an outline method for years. Each time I learn something new about writing, I devise a new tool and add it to my system. Parts of this system have helped other writers fix their story problems, and the growing system has helped me pull my stories together.
The end result of this outline method is a sequential list of dramatic events. I distinguish dramatic from non-dramatic events by changes in a live element's attributes. In EM Forster's lecture series, "Aspects of the Novel," this would be what he called the story in time.
Forster also described the story by values. The idea was that a mere sequence of events could only satisfy a reader's base desire to know what happens next. Engaging more than simple curiosity takes the kind of intensity that comes from meaningful experiences.
The story in time requires attention to the details of cause and effect. It has points in time where it starts and stops. The story by values takes more work in the way of structure. It has points of importance that begin and end. I have tools and worksheets to address both sides of the event list.
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