Story Planning Worksheet

Linux Magazine aims to publish articles that are highly relevant to our readers. To do that, we strive to insure that each outline and the final story ultimately produced from its outline explicitly address a few basic questions:

• Who is the audience for the article? What level of expertise is assumed? What prior knowledge is needed, if any?

• Why would the audience find the topic compelling? Does it demonstrate a new technology, a novel technique, or a controversial yet valuable opinion?

• How does the topic help the reader do his or her job better or give the reader a competitive advantage?

• What are the trade-offs, risks, and benefits of the technology or technique? If you’re presenting an opinion, what do the critics have to say? Can you address any concerns?

• What instructions does the reader need to reproduce the technique or deploy the technology.

Your outline should demonstrate that you’ve considered all of these questions and should show how you plan to convey your answers to the reader.

List what sidebars you plan to write, and create small outlines for each sidebar. Also enumerate the visuals you plan to use to reinforce or illustrate your material. Specify word counts for each section of the article, including sidebars.

Refer to the sample outline for inspiration and direction.