Welcome back to B is for Book Coach. I’m B, a book development partner for non-fiction non-writers, and for the next few minutes, you are my author.
Don’t worry—that doesn’t commit you to anything more than what you’re doing right in this moment. Because the best authors are simply people who show up as themselves, for themselves and for their readers.
Today, we’re creating space for 5 minute outlines.
I have used an exercise called the 5 Minute Outline for years now, both in my own practice as a ghostwriter and book coach and as I’ve taught others to navigate their own writing process.
Originally, it was a post on the Story Grid blog. Here’s a bit of what I said over there:
The basis of this exercise is to make quick, gut decisions on the five nonfiction storytelling commandments that work well enough to get started.
Like a brain mapping or meditative journaling exercise, the constraints of a literal timer help you get down to what you know to be true, before you have a chance to rationalize it away.
…The more authentic the book’s concept is, the more effective this exercise will be.
We’re going to make room for five minute outlines now and in future episodes, but I want to start with the acknowledgment that we can’t template our way out of a challenging topic.
The non-writer’s creative process often involves discovery and exploration. This exercise is not meant to bypass that experience by committing you to whatever comes up in a quick exercise.
Instead, it’s meant to help us acknowledge whatever is already coming up, before we have a chance to talk ourselves out of it with shoulds and obligations and performances.
We’ll practice with a simple 5 Minute Outline for the book that you’re writing or hoping to write.
Rather than mapping out every single chapter, we’re just going to name the five major milestones of the message you’re here to share.
In five, one-minute long segments, I will give you prompts and tell you where to write them down. You will write for the duration of that minute, allowing any and everything to come to the surface.
No stopping. No editing. No judging.
You might write in bullets and fragments. You might find yourself starting a story and wishing you could keep writing. You might find yourself drawing or using shorthand.
All of these are fine.
As long as the timer is running, no stopping. No editing. No judging.
Don’t worry about getting it “right” or making anything shareable. We can make sense of it later. The work for now is to keep going throughout the exercise so that the heart of your message can come to the surface, and self-editing will interrupt that flow.
Before we begin, pause here to get a pencil and paper.
While you’re at it, start envisioning the book as a completed project. Imagine yourself handing it to a real person, feeling excited and proud to have created something that you know will help them out.
Then, write the numbers one through five onto that paper.
Shake out your muscles, take a deep breath—or several—make sure you’re in a quiet place, and we will begin.
Minute One/Number Three: What’s your key takeaway?
Beginnings are full of performative pitfalls, so we’re going to start writing next to number three. Start by writing the question “What’s my key takeaway?” next to the number three, and take a deep breath in and out…
[Timer starts]
What is the most important thing your reader can take away from this book?
If absolutely nothing else “stuck,” what would you want that one thing to be?
Write everything that comes to mind, trusting that you’ll be able to sort to out later…
What do they need to know, understand, or learn that would make this whole writing effort worth it?
[Timer stops] Now stop, and give that list a quick glance. You probably have several things listed. What stands out as the key takeaway? Circle it right now, then shift your pencil to the number one spot on the list and get ready for minute two.
Minute Two/Number One: Why do we care about this topic?
Now that we see where we’re going, it’s time to look at where we’re starting. Next to number one, write “Why do we care?” and take another deep breath.
[Timer starts]
With the key takeaway in mind, why would anyone need to know, understand, or learn that thing?
What experiences or pain points make the topic of this book so necessary?
What is the reader doing or feeling right now because they don’t yet see the world through your eyes?
What would your world look or feel like if you hadn’t come to this realization?
[Timer stops] Stop writing, and once again, circle what seems most relevant or interesting in this moment.
Now shift down to number two in your list, and we’ll move on.
Minute Three/Number Two: What’s in our way?
This minute will probably bring up the most content, so be ready to write down absolutely everything that comes to mind. Ready, set…
[Timer starts]
What stands in between your reader and the key takeaway?
Beliefs, misunderstandings, societal blocks, old habits, worries…
If you met them at their pain point and directed them to the key takeaway as a solution, what would they have to overcome in order to believe you?
What obstacles keep them from making the change that the book advocates?
[Timer stops] Deep breath.
I still want you to circle the most significant obstacle that you see in this list, but each of these will likely become relevant when you write. These are the obstacles you’ll overcome through story and teaching throughout your book.
But first, let’s shift down to number four on the list, remembering that we already named the key takeaway on number three.
Minute Four/Number Four: What anchors us to the takeaway?
This one may bring up the least content, and that’s okay. Write something down, even if it’s “I don’t know, but…” or something general like “a story” or “hardcore data.” Here we go:
[Timer starts]
What does your reader need to see or understand in order to believe the key takeaway is theirs to take away?
In light of all of those obstacles we just named, what will anchor them to the heart of this book?
Is it going to take a powerful story? A convincing bit of research?
What made you believe this takeaway was for you?
What will shift them from writing this off as someone else’s change toward the deep belief that this message is specifically for them?
[Timer stops]
That’s all for now. It’s more than fine if you don’t have a specific story or message here. Knowing what kind of anchor you’re going to look for is more than many authors have at this—or any—stage.
Once again, if something you wrote stands out as more salient than the others, circle it, and let’s wrap up.
Minute Five/Number Five: What’s on the other side?
An honest ending creates a lasting impact. When we’re writing for change, the invitation to the new world can’t be sugarcoated or tied up with fancy ribbons. So let’s imagine everything about the book so far has been effective and the reader wants to embrace it as their new perspective.
[Timer starts]
What happens on the other side of the takeaway?
Name the benefits, yes, but what else?
Are there things they’ll have to give up? Will there be blowback to expect?
How will they change?
How will their world change?
How did you change?
[Timer stops] Here, you might circle both a positive and a negative, for lack of better terms. Bittersweet endings ring the truest, and nonfiction is no exception.
Now, shake all of your muscles out again and start to shift out of the meditative space we’ve been in.
You should be able to re-write or type up a basic five-point outline:
Where our attention is now that makes the topic of the book relevant.
Things we’ll have to overcome on our way toward shifting our attention to the heart of the book’s message.
The core understanding or teaching of the book.
The kind of content that will ground us to that teaching before we give up on it and ourselves.
The way our world—and attention and beliefs—will shift before the book is over.
Check in with yourself one more time: is that a book you’d like to write? If you met all of those objectives in this book, would you be satisfied with the outcome? Proud to hand it to a reader?
Are you inspired to start filling in the gaps between these five points to start seeing the book come together?
Once you’re looking at a list wishing this book already existed, then you have found your objectives. The work now will be to write toward each of them until you have a completed draft.
If what you outlined here doesn’t feel resonant yet, take a break and come back to run the exercise again. See what changes, what evolves, what emerges.
If you still can’t get traction after that, or if you’re excited to expand from here and don’t know how to let’s book a free thirty-minute checkpoint to get you moving.
I have a workbook on Amazon and free to Substack subscribers that can help you with this process. And keep an eye out here for more guided five-minute outline episodes to keep you moving.
I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Thanks for creating this space with me today. Whether or not you’re ready to dive into writing just yet, remember that the best authors show up fully, just as they are. That’s all it takes—and you're already doing it.
Be sure to subscribe on Substack or wherever you listen to podcasts to catch every coaching moment to come. And when more of your book is ready to emerge, the space we made today will be here waiting for you.
And so will I.
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