Before we begin: you can outline as much or as little as you want, because in the end, it's your story to outline, not mine. So do whatever you want, our tips are just advice and not rules!
How much you should really depends on you. Some writers like to outline to every single detail, while others prefer to wing it, or only plot the important parts of the story. Some writers claim that there's a certain story structure to follow:
Introduction to the main character & status quo
Initiating incident that changes the status quo
Development
Crisis (or climax)
Resolution (or the lack of one)
Once you have a plot (or a chunk of it), you can start planning. You need to, to a certain extent, know your characters. After that, the writing community is divided into two sides of a spectrum: plotters and pantsers. Here are the pros and cons for the two sides:
Outlining helps:
- visualise the bigger picture
- keep the story on track
- clearly presents character arcs
- helps writers plan out future events
On the other hand, outlining might lead to:
- a stilted narrative
- if it's a replica of a typical storyline, it might seem formulaic
- characters making unrealistic choices just for the plot
Personally, I like to have a few plot points in my head before I begin- I know how the story will climax and end, and the characters I have and how they react differently to different events. Otherwise, I'm clueless about my story, I just let the characters take me places.
I think that knowing several key events is the bare minimum for an outline if you're planning to do one, but detailed plotting can keep you in track and stop you from going weird places. But here's a quote from Stephen King to spice things up before I end:
"Outlines are the last resource of bad fiction writers who wish to God they were writing masters' theses."
And another quote from Google:
"The key to a good story structure is to write a great beginning and ending and keeping them close together."
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