HOW TO OUTLINE YOUR BOOK

This is why your outline needs to begin with a tightly crafted premise sentence that can answer the following questions:
•  Who is the protagonist?
•  What is the situation? What is the hero’s personal condition at the beginning? How will that condition be changed, for better or worse, by the hero himself or by the antagonistic force?
•  What is the protagonist’s objective? At the beginning, what does the hero want? What moral (or immoral) choices will she have to make in her attempt to gain that objective?
•  Who is the opponent? Who or what stands in the way of the hero achieving his objective?
•  What will be the disaster? What misfortune will befall the hero as the result of her attempts to achieve her objective?
•  What’s the conflict? What conflict will result from the hero’s reaction to the disaster? And what is the logical flow of cause and effect that will allow this conflict to continue throughout the story?

You should also roughly sketch out scene ideas. Every time you think you’ve come up with a good idea, take a moment to ask yourself, “Will the reader expect this?” If the answer is yes, write a list of alternatives your readers won’t expect.

Get to know your characters.To do this for your protagonist, work backward from the moment in which he will become engaged in your plot (the “disaster” in your premise sentence). Know what had happened to them, why their lives came to be as it was. Based on the scenes you’re already aware of, list the settings you think you’ll need. Can you reduce this list by combining or eliminating settings? Nothing wrong with a sprawling story locale, but extraneous settings should be eliminated just as assiduously as unnecessary characters.
Now then is the time to write your outline, put it down so you probably wouldn't forget what you had in mind so far.
After this, you are to scan through. Read through your outline and cut out pertinent points into an abbreviated version.

By now, you’ll be feeling prepared and eager to get going on your first draft. Each time you sit down to work on your manuscript, begin by reviewing your outline. Before you start writing, work through any remaining potential problems in your head or on paper. If the time comes (and it will come) when you’re struck with a better idea than what you had planned in your outline, don’t hesitate to go off-road.
An outline will offer you invaluable structure and guidance as you write your first draft, but never be afraid to explore new ideas as they occur. Remember, your outline is a map showing you the route to your destination, but that doesn’t mean it is the only route.