Step 1

The worldbuilding document

The rules of your story's world, written down before you draft. Contemporary or fantasy — it doesn't matter. Without this, you lose the thread every time.

Step 2

The logline

One sentence that forces you to name the protagonist, the conflict, and the stakes. If you can't write it in a sentence, the story isn't ready to draft.

Step 3

The beat sheet

The structural skeleton of your story before you write a word of prose. The development executive's primary tool — applied to your work.

Step 4

The chapter outline

Scene by scene, before you draft. Once this is solid, you don't deviate. This is the step that turns planning into a finished manuscript.