Writers will sometimes refer to themselves as pantsers or planners. They are talking about how they plot. Do they fly by the seat of their pants as they write? Or do they plan out every detail before they start a draft? I’ve tried both extremes and found that neither really works for me. Instead, I settled on a middle ground. There are numerous names for this method, from a Story Spine to the Pixar Formula. I refer to it as a Because of That Outline or BOTO. It goes like this:
Once upon a time, there was a [boy/girl/clown fish etc.] Everyday, he or she . . .
Until one day . . . [something happens that sets the story in motion].
Because of that . . .
Because of that . . . [repeat as many times as needed].
Until finally . . .
Here is an example of a BOTO for a very simple story, The Three Little Pigs.
Once upon a time, there were three pig brothers. Every day, they worked on building their houses. Until one day, a big bad wolf came to town wanting to eat a pig.
Because of that, the wolf blew down the first brother’s house that was made of straw.
Because of that, the brother from the straw house ran to the second brother's house made of sticks.
Because of that, the wolf blew down the house made of sticks.
Because of that, the first and second brothers ran to the third brother’s house made of bricks.
Because of that, the wolf tried and tried to blow down the house.
Until finally, the wolf either gave up and left (if you have a preschool version) or climbed down the chimney and got cooked (if you have a version for an older audience).
The Because of That Outline gives your story a logical main plot (free of meandering rabbit trails) while still leaving room for the story to develop and grow as you write.
It works for me.