How to choose an outline template

If you’re having trouble finding which outline fits your idea, read through all of the following and find which numbered question applies best to you. Please refer back to the Outline Templates in Week 4 once you've chosen the best fit.

1. Do you primarily want to create a new way of thinking for people or to convince them to live in a different way?

   If so, I recommend “Manifesto Style.”

2. Do you primarily want to tell stories?

   If so, I recommend “Belief Change (Memoir Style).” To clarify this one, think of it as “Memoir Style (w/ Inclusions of Advice/Self-Help/Belief Change).”

3. Do you primarily want to teach people how to do, achieve  or overcome something?

   If so, I recommend the “Big Idea + How To” template.

4. Do you primarily want to create and/or explain a new, “big idea”?

   If so, I recommend the “Big Idea” template.

5. Do you primarily want to share a variety of information, facts or ideas about your topic?

   If so, I recommend the “New Commandments” template.

6. Do you want to write short chapters with action steps for each? If so, I recommend the “New Commandments” template.

   It doesn’t have to be exactly the same as the template. You can have “action steps + value” instead of “commandments.”

7. Do you want to combine “Hero’s Journey” and “Manifesto”? 

   If so, I recommend making your intro and/or Part 1 the story of your “Hero’s Journey”. If it’s a short story, just make it the intro. If it’s a long journey, make it all of Part 1 — multiple chapters. Then, make the rest of the book “manifesto style.”

Also, keep the general Punchy Books Framework in mind. It’s more of a general one that applies to everything! It’s just the general idea of “beginning / middle / end” to keep the reader engaged, as I discuss in the lessons.